74 TIME COMPRESSION
The advantages of using an in-house SRP machine T
here are significant reasons why a product design company would use an external subtractive rapid prototyping company (SRP), like First Cut Prototype, part of the Proto Labs Group, instead of buying its own CNC milling machine or SRP system. It is a challenge for product designers to stay abreast of materials technology. A good SRP provider can ensure that the correct material is chosen from the outset. For designers with little or no manufacturing experience, producing a prototype component rarely means making just one part, but typically involves several iterations before design or manufacturing problems are overcome. An SRP provider only makes parts designed by its customers, giving designers access to a vast manufacturing knowledgebase. The result is the right part, including any necessary changes to ease
Multi-material printing T
ough economic times mean that manufacturers are increasingly squeezed on time and cost, even as products become more complex. With the increasing use of advanced manufacturing techniques, such as over-moulding, and the growing prevalence of products featuring multiple types of materials, product designers need even more advanced prototyping and modeling techniques. Multi-material 3D printing is a solution to this challenge.
Based on the well-known approach of jetting a single photopolymer model material and a support material layer by layer onto a build tray, multi-material 3D printing involves the simultaneous jetting of multiple types of model materials. It makes it possible to print
parts and assemblies made of multiple model materials that have different mechanical and/or physical properties, in a single build. There is also the possibility to fabricate materials on the fly, enabling users to create composite materials that have preset combinations of mechanical properties. This allows printed parts with specific Shore A values to match the values of the intended production materials. The result: models that closely emulate the final product, enabling, for example, feasibility testing and over- molding process simulation. Multi-material printing, such as provided
by Objet’s PolyJet Matrix Technology and its Connex500 3D printing system opens the way to savings throughout the design cycle.
It enables close emulation of the look, feel and function of final products, facilitating selection of end-product materials. In addition, it enables printed prototypes that are very close to the production part, and it can save days and eliminate the costs of simulating and preparing complex and expensive molds for double injection. n
Enter 74A or ✔ at
www.engineerlive.com/ede
Objet Geometries is based in Rehovot, Israel.
www.objet.com
manufacturing, in the best material, made quickly and cost-effectively. It is rare that a designer needs just one prototype part. More often, he will need several during the development phase and, once the product has been signed off for marketing purposes, may need runs of 10s or even 100s off. Using an in-house SRP machine means setting up a volume production operation, which can be disruptive, expensive and time consuming. Using the inherent flexibility of CNC milling machines, a good SRP provider can supply exactly the number of parts required, whether one-off or for a batch of 100. n
Proto Labs Ltd is based in T
www.protolabs.com
Enter 74 or ✔ at
www.engineerlive.com/ede elford, UK.
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