TriMech Blog

Expanding your SOLIDWORKS knowledge to optimize your skills and your resume can be a daunting task when looking at the many certification types. The Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) certification is one of the first steps in expanding your SOLIDWORKS knowledge and is mainly taken by new users and students. There are five variations that allow you to specialize in a specific area. We will cover each one, as well as the basic courses recommended by SOLIDWORKS that should be completed before taking the CSWA.

Antero 840CN03 (ESD) is a PEKK-based FDM thermoplastic with carbon nanotubes specifically formulated for the flexibility of FDM technology. It combines physical and mechanical qualities with the use of electrostatic dissipative (ESD) properties. The electrostatic dissipative capability makes this material a better fit for prototyping electronics, compared to Antero 800NA. The Antero ESD is chemical and wear-resistant, has ultra-low outgassing properties and is a high-performance ESD. These qualities are critical in space and industrial applications.

Electrical and mechanical engineers can collaborate to design printed circuit boards (PCBs) that fit and function in SOLIDWORKS assemblies, bridging the collaboration gap between Electrical Computer Aided Design (ECAD) and Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD). Using add-on tools, such as CircuitWorks, designers and engineers have the ability to read ECAD files in SOLIDWORKS. In this blog, we'll go over what CircuitWorks is and the benefits of using this add-on.

This week's Product Story showcases Ford Motor Company's use of Metal 3D Printing to Produce New Components Rapidly.

Ever since Ford opened in 1903, they’ve been innovation leaders in the auto manufacturing industry. Fast-forward to modern-day, they’re constantly brainstorming new ideas and ways to continue being the leader. Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering Organization is responsible for developing new technologies and working with partners to bring those technologies to Ford Motor Company. Thanks to the Desktop Metal Studio+, their innovation has greatly improved.  

Desktop Metal has announced an all-new 3D printer and platform, the Fiber series. This series is the first desktop printer to miniaturize automated fiber placement (AFP) technology, found in high-end carbon fiber production processes, and combine it with fused filament 3D printing. The resulting parts created using the patent pending technology are up to 60 times stiffer and 75 times stronger than standard ABS plastic parts.

MakerBot Method 3D printers use production-grade thermoplastics to create functional prototypes, manufacturing tools and end-use parts that are durable, detailed and dimensionally accurate, all from a desktop sized printer. Getting industrial-grade jobs from a smaller footprint makes 3D printing real ABS much more convenient. Let's take a look at these new materials and what they mean for desktop 3D printing.

This week's Product Story showcases Eviation Aircraft and their use of 3DEXPERIENCE for faster collaboration in the Cloud. 

Eviation Aircraft uses 3DEXPERIENCE through the Cloud to create the world's first all-electric regional commuter aircraft Aviation Alice. Aviation Alice is a plane that holds nine passengers and crew, can travel up to 1000 kilometers per charge, has an all-electric battery and is capable of speeds around 450 kilometers an hour and 40 knots at 10,000 feet. Since they are new to the aviation industry, they wanted to differentiate themselves by by using a holistic approach to development. This was built from the ground up to the electric aircraft. 

The Tucker Carioca 1955 car was an idea that Preston Tucker dreamed of, but never built. Unfortunately, he died before he had the chance to do any engineering and bring his dream to reality. At Rob Ida’s shop, Ida Automotive, Rob and his team are working to pick up where Preston left off to build the very first Tucker Carioca.

Michael Souders from TriMech and Mike Sabocheck from SOLIDWORKS traveled to Rob Ida Concepts to help work on this project. Michael brought a couple of tools to scan items with him: the Artec Eva and Artec Space Spider.

In April of 2019, Stratasys announced that their J735 and J750 PolyJet machines successfully passed the rigorous requirements needed to make it the world’s first and only PANTONE-validated 3D printers. This was a huge hit and manufacturers around the world were rejoicing. In October of the same year Stratasys added two other members to its J-series of printers, the J835 and J850, which are also PANTONE-validated and include even more material options. This changes the game for 3D printing as design and prototype colors can now be matched with 100% specificity, making the process from concept to final product even more accurate. 

This week's Product Story showcases Taza Chocolate Manufacturing and their use of the Tulip Software Platform to identify bottlenecks on old machinery and improve overall effectiveness.

Diran (Diran 410MF07) is an FDM nylon-based thermoplastic filament material that is perfect for manufacturing tooling applications. This new material is specifically ideal for jigs, fixtures and typical manufacturing tooling that require a non-marring interface that has interactions between the tool and the workpiece. Let's take a closer look at this new FDM thermoplastic.

Many people’s dream is to travel the world and experience new adventures. But this might not always be the case because of natural disasters, over-tourism or even human-motivated vandalism. To document these at-risk landmarks and relics, 3D technologies, such as laser scanning, drones and photogrammetry are used to capture the detailed images of these places and objects. While heritage preservation has played an important role in encouraging more cultural exploration, there is a whole new use of 3D technology which could cause awareness and appreciation nationwide over the next decade from the comfort of our own homes.