3D Printing Page 0

Selecting the right 3D printing technology can be difficult, especially when you consider all the different key drivers in the decision-making process. Are you looking for a smooth surface finish? Maybe you’re looking for strong mechanical properties with a common, easy to use plastic such as ABS or ASA? Now, what if I told you that you didn’t always need to compromise here? With minimal amounts of post-processing techniques, you can achieve a smooth injection molded finish using FDM technology. Sure, parts are fully functional right off the print tray, but utilizing an additional post-processing step can help elevate your part to the next level, and really catch the end user’s eye. Like the flexibility that 3D printing provides, users have many different solutions for their post-processing needs, so let’s dive in!

Raw 3D printing material symbolizes infinite possibilities unlocked by the user’s creativity; however, if the raw material is mistreated and improperly handled, that potential vanishes. Making sure to take proper care of raw materials and store them in their intended conditions is the best way to ensure high quality prints. In times of extended shutdowns, or simply long hiatuses between prints, it’s imperative to store material properly.

International Women in Engineering Day is June 23! As technology and additive manufacturing improve, women and young girls have become more interested in pursuing an engineering occupation to transform the future. This year, we are celebrating ten women who continue to revolutionize the 3D printing industry by educating and inspiring others. 

3D printing has been in use in the medical industry for years. Most people have seen prosthetics that have been 3D printed. Whether it is a prosthetic for cosmetic purposes or a functioning limb, 3D printing has made these easier and quicker to get and coupled with 3D scanning technology, these prosthetics can also be custom tailored to each individual. This is all great and exciting and ultimately 3D printing will continue to advance prosthetic development. In addition to prosthetics, there are other ways in which 3D printing is changing the healthcare industry. In this article, we look at some of those advancements and how medical professionals and patients are benefiting from them.

Stratasys’ PolyJet 3D printing technology can produce some amazingly detailed parts that can mimic a wide range of rigid and flexible materials – even full-color and transparent parts. With some simple post-printing steps it is easy to obtain a stunning high gloss finish on even the matte surfaces of PolyJet parts. In a previous overview, we showed you how to clear coat complex shaped parts to obtain a gloss surface without any sanding or polishing. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create high gloss, even optically clear finishes, on parts the old fashioned way, with some elbow grease.

TriMech is fortunate to work with clients from Maine to Florida and out to Arkansas, offering a range of engineering solutions. This week's client story showcases how TriMech's Project Engineering Group helped the Ben Bronz Academy with their keyboard devices.

Gone are the days of simple monochromatic 3D printing. Now, more than ever, we need a single language to connect product designers to model makers to ensure that prototypes look just as they were intended, and the PANTONE color scheme is the key for creating products and prototypes with 100% color specificity! This allows manufacturers to visualize the exact color of their products or prototypes, and to match their colors to brand or product guidelines as needed. For the past decade, we have seen how the 3D printing industry has evolved to full and multi-color printing and how today, there are multiple PolyJet 3D printers capable of creating full-color, high-accuracy parts with the PANTONE colors. In this article, we explore the different PolyJet 3D printers that can print using the PANTONE matching system (PMS).

When creating multiple iterations of a part, it can be helpful to apply a label for identification purposes. Using SOLIDWORKS, we can apply a label to our part with color and finish, then transfer those settings directly to our printer software for 3D printing on our Stratasys PolyJet machine.

Technological advancements in 3D printing and scanning have opened up so many possibilities to revolutionize the fashion industry. Stratasys has teamed up with innovative designers to produce 3D printed clothing that goes beyond traditional fabrics. They unveiled a major breakthrough with flexibility, customization and replication of any color. 

When 3D printing, you can sometimes run into issues trying to work with extremely thin features. Most of the time, good design practices can help to fix these issues. Two GrabCAD tools, the Thick and Thin Wall command and the Variable Width Fill command aid in resolving these issues more efficiently, leaving you with a sturdy, high-quality design.
In this video, Application Engineer Ricky Shannon demonstrates just how to utilize these built-in tools on a multi-bodied SOLIDWORKS part using a straight 3D CAD file.

When printing a transparent material using a Stratasys PolyJet 3D printer, any surface where support material touches the model will result in a matte surface that doesn’t transmit light which can stand in contrast with any glossy surfaces. The part can be post-processed to achieve a higher level of light transmission with an even and glossy surface. In this article, we look at a quick and relatively low-effort method for giving a part an even, smooth and transparent finish.