TriMech Blog

Anyone who has compared traditional FDM (sometimes called Fused Filament Fabrication) to other 3D printing technologies, such as PolyJet, SLA and SLS, has definitely thought at one time or another, “This technology is both inexpensive to print and strong, but I really wish it had better resolution.” In this blog, we explore how to make FDM look as good as other technologies while remaining inexpensive and not impacting overall strength. We’ve printed a horde of Easter Island Moai to play around with the top three ways to smooth PLA parts.

I focus my SOLIDWORKS design process with a concept at the top of my mind: make it so anyone can open them, understand my approach to the design and make changes easily. There are many times this isn't just a good practice, but a necessity for your business to keep moving forward. For example, you get promoted and working on older projects isn't the best use of your time or you are on vacation and one of your files needs to be changed or you have been tasked with a more critical project. There are countless other scenarios where you may need to step away from a project, so making models easier to work with for anyone opening your previous designs is a must. Keep reading for three of my favorite engineering design process tips. 

The creation of circuit boards involves a lot of complex pieces to manage and consider; from mechanical and electrical engineering to the final board production. TriMech might have found the perfect combination of software and hardware to streamline this complicated prototyping process. 

Ready to take your designs to the next level? Objet Connex machines are a great aid because some of the printers have the ability to print in multiple materials and colors at the same time. This allows you to produce parts with varying durometers of rubber, different colors for text inlays and accents, live hinges and overmolded parts. This opens up countless doors, especially in the Consumer and Commercial Goods industries.

If you haven't slowed down to appreciate the more subtle aspects of the SOLIDWORKS user interface, we recommend you take a moment to do just that. It’s easy to get so caught up in your design task, that you miss the many cues SOLIDWORKS provides to help with important commands that we all repeat, day-in and day-out. Keep reading for some helpful hints to be more aware of the cues SOLIDWORKS offers. 

To conclude our two-part blog series, we will describe how to refresh and enable linking to SOLIDWORKS PDM. Plus, we'll outline how to have the variables dynamically link to the PDM metadata.

The Fourth of July is a great time to enjoy fireworks, friends, and food. For me, the Fourth is also a signal to prepare for the impending harvest of blueberries. While I eat as many fresh-off the bush berries I can, freezing is required keep this fruit available year-round. However, it is not as simple as just throwing a bag of berries in the freezer.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we'll walk you through the process to define Product Data Management (PDM) variables, manage data cards and designate properties in Microsoft Office.

A popular question among SOLIDWORKS users is “How do I determine volume marking levels in containers?" Perhaps you have run into a similar scenario in the past. This is easy if the container has a regular shape (like a cylinder or pyramid), but it becomes a bit more challenging when the container has an irregular shape.

Additive manufacturing with 3D printing technology can be applied in a variety of different ways. It can be used to create parts and assemblies without tooling, reduce design risk through prototyping, provide efficiencies in the manufacturing process and be used for low-production digital manufacturing. But with so many applications it can be very hard to pin down the technology that is right for your specific needs. 

Problem solved! On Thursday, July 12, you will have the opportunity to see multiple additive manufacturing solutions under one roof. 

We are all well-acquainted with the “order dependent” nature of the SOLIDWORKS FeatureManager. You can enable display characteristics of the FeatureManager Design Tree by selecting options on the Tree Display submenu of the shortcut menu. Keep reading for a further review on utilizing this feature. 

TriMech is fortunate to work with clients from Maine to Florida and out to Arkansas, offering a wide range of engineering solutions. This week's client story showcases PlasticsOne and their use of the Stratasys Objet260 Connex3.