Forgive us for the countdown
drama, but our engineers have been working on something very
exciting! It’s fun to have a big secret, and it’s even better to
shout it out: Our new printer is so cool!
First of all, for a professional Fused Deposition Modeling system, Mojo is impressively
compact. It fits in my humble cubicle. I know this because a
3D-printed prototype sat on this very desk for a few days last
winter. FDM on a desktop. And why not? Independent research says 80
percent of 3D models...
The
Lamborghini Aventador was the Top Gear Car of the Year for 2011. It
accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and boasts a top speed
of about 230 mph. It’s 9 percent more powerful, 20 percent more
fuel efficient and 6 percent lighter than the previous generation
Murciélago. The key to the Aventador’s extreme performance is its
light weight carbon-fiber reinforced composite (CFRC) monocoque,
the core of its integrated body-chassis.
The component is the result of research involving 3D...
Recently,
we've seen an increase in requests for various types of inserts in
3D prototypes and production parts. With Fortus 3D Production Systems, a build can be
paused and objects can be inserted directly into a 3D printed part.
You can then resume the build and when it’s finished, your
object is embedded firmly into the final part; it can be partially
exposed outside the part for functionality or completely enclosed
within the part. The end result is some very cool looking and
functioning 3D...
I
recently received a 4:30 p.m. distress call from a customer. He
runs a small service bureau using only Fused
Deposition Modeling (FDM) machines. He was really hoping to
deliver a 3D prototype the following day to impress his new
customer, but the green flag (default) run time was 36 hours and 11
minutes.
The part was basically a large, thin-walled container.
Naturally, he chose to orient it with the cavity upward to avoid
filling it with support, but a thin rim around the top still...
Many
years ago I was given the opportunity to design my first product.
The terms rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and 3D prototyping were foreign to me.
Although I felt confident in my abilities to design a complex piece
of equipment, I was ill-prepared when it came to making the parts I
needed.
We had a large in-house machine shop and I was assigned a
machinist to build my prototypes. I would bring him a drawing of a
part I’d worked on all day. He would bring me the part and I would
find an error...
This
is the first of many posts in a regular series from Stratasys
application engineers, who’ll offer technical advice, new ideas and
experienced reflections on Fused Deposition Modeling from an
engineering perspective.
One thing that’s true of rapid-prototyping machines across the
board is that some post-build processes must be done before a 3D
printed or rapid-prototyped part is ready to be used. The parts
have been built, but support removal and/or some additional post
processing is required.
The mousetrap and
the bicycle are often held up as icons of good design — effective,
simple, tough to improve upon. The inventors behind them were so
good that it’s easy to forget human minds created them. Some of our
favorite modern gadgets have the same quality, seeming to have
sprung fully formed from collective need rather than a series of
prototypes.
What famous design, old or new, do you admire to the point of
envy? What makes you go, “Darn, I wish I’d thought of that!”
At
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, students are hard at work
becoming tomorrow’s aerospace engineers. The institution’s College
of Engineering emphasizes precision in aircraft and spacecraft
design, according to laboratory manager Chris Smith.
But once students had perfected a CAD design and were ready to
test what they’d created, they had to hand carve models from
mahogany or rely on offsite machinists to make models by hand. The
school needed a cost-effective way for students to create...
The
RDASS 4 is a remotely piloted, 3D printed helicopter from Leptron.
The little five-pound drone contains modular, nesting layers.
Depending on purpose, these clever interchangeable layers stack
inside the fuselage to provide tailored functionality. Applications
include flying ahead of armored vehicles to see over the
horizon.
Leptron had to develop eight layer variations, crash-test the
prototypes, and create end-use parts on a competitive timeline.
This would have been prohibitively expensive...
SAP,
a Norwegian company that makes parts for marine environments (like
oil-drilling facilities in the North Sea), bought a Fused
Deposition Modeling System to save time and money in prototyping.
To SAP's surprise, its prototypes were strong and attractive enough
to become end-use products.
SAP's move to direct digital manufacturing (DDM) grew out of
necessity. An extensive redesign of a driller-operator chair
involved many intricate parts and was running up against a tight
deadline. So SAP...
The Department of Defense STARBASE
youth program recently placed a large order – roughly $1 million –
with Stratasys for another batch of 3D printers. DOD STARBASE
locations nationwide now have more than 100 Dimension and uPrint 3D
printers being used as classroom technology. 3D printing or
rapid prototyping with FDM technoloogy helps the
program raise kids’ interest in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) subjects and careers.
Start the new year off right when you check
out all the great information at any of industry events noted here.
We frequently post links to events, shows and conferences centered
on rapid prototyping technology, digital manufacturing, 3D printing
and more, so check back often for the latest offerings.
Forward-looking
news and information blog Big
Think is out to clear up a misconception about 3D
printing: that it’s only good for prototypes. Big Think editors
point out that, in aerospace alone, thousands of 3D printed
components are already in the skies as end-use parts on military
and commercial aircraft.
I can’t resist noting that many of these end-use parts come from
Stratasys Fused Depostion Modeling (FDM) systems, which work with
ULTEM 9085, a lightweight thermoplastic with great strength,...
At year-end there are always a ton
of “Top 10” and “Best of” lists. At Stratasys, we’ve compiled our
“Best of 2011 Webinars” list too. Whether you’re looking for
inspiration to maximize your existing additive manufacturing
equipment or justification to present your case for securing a
rapid prototyping system, grab a cup of coffee and spend a few
minutes with a few of Stratasys’ webinars
from 2011. We'd love to hear what other webinars you might like
to see -- leave your comments below.
Polycarbonate
(PC) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics in
industry. As manufacturers look to 3D printing (additive
manufacturing) to produce functional prototypes and production
parts, it’s only natural that PC materials should be one of
their top choices. Parts made from this
material have the advantage of duplicating the
properties of injection-molded PC parts.
Stratasys offers three PC formulations. Basic PC has
excellent mechanical and thermal properties that make it
suitable for...
Until our economy turns around, will you
hunker down or invest in technology?
When the economy started to tank, Matt Hlavin, CEO of Thogus
Products, a 61-year-old manufacturing company rooted in injection
molding and heavily dependent on the automotive industry, chose not
to await economic recovery, but to invest in Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) technology and diversify. His decision has paid off
in spades.
With FDM in place, Thogus shifted to small-volume molding and
now competes with high-cost...
From
the early days of FDM technology, ABS has been the most
popular material choice. Today, there is a wider range of FDM
materials, and ABS itself has evolved to a number of formulations,
each tougher than the original material and offering advantages for
specific applications. ABS-M30 (aka ABSplus) is up to 40 percent
stronger than standard ABS material and is an ideal material for
conceptual prototyping, design verification, and direct digital
manufacturing. ABSM30i is even stronger than...
Thermoplastics
have excellent mechanical properties yet they are light and
relatively inexpensive. This helps explain why they are the raw
materials from which most consumer products and many
commercial ones are composed. The fact that they're used in so
many finished products makes them ideal for prototyping as well as
direct digital manufacturing.
One of the major advantages of FDM technology is that it can be
used to produce parts in a wide range of thermoplastic materials
including:
For
superstar rock band U2's massive U2360 tour, which delivered
concerts to arenas worldwide from 2009 to 2011, the band needed a
steering-wheel-shaped microphone strong enough for singer Bono to
swing from. Oh — and it had to glow from within, illuminated by
LEDs. U2 turned to 1212-Studio, which had used Fused Deposition
Modeling to provide large, illuminated stage pieces for the same
tour.
"Bono's microphone was a much more complicated design and
manufacturing challenge because of how it was...
If you’re looking for a break from cold winter
weather, December and January offer several warm-weather industry
events. Check our events section
frequently, as we regularly post events interest, including events
centered around rapid prototyping technology, digital
manufacturing and 3D printing.
Recently,
we've seen an increase in requests for various types of inserts in
3D prototypes and production parts. With 
I
recently received a 4:30 p.m. distress call from a customer. He
runs a small service bureau using only 
SAP,
a Norwegian company that makes parts for marine environments (like
oil-drilling facilities in the North Sea), bought a Fused
Deposition Modeling System to save time and money in prototyping.
To SAP's surprise, its prototypes were strong and attractive enough
to become end-use products.
Forward-looking
news and information blog 
Polycarbonate
(PC) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics in
industry. As manufacturers look to 3D printing (additive
manufacturing) to produce functional prototypes and production
parts, it’s only natural that PC materials should be one of
their top choices. Parts made from this
material have the advantage of duplicating the
properties of injection-molded PC parts.
For
superstar rock band U2's massive U2360 tour, which delivered
concerts to arenas worldwide from 2009 to 2011, the band needed a
steering-wheel-shaped microphone strong enough for singer Bono to
swing from. Oh — and it had to glow from within, illuminated by
LEDs. U2 turned to 1212-Studio, which had used Fused Deposition
Modeling to provide large, illuminated stage pieces for the same
tour.
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