3D Printing (2) Page 2

For the last 15 years Stratasys and their value-added resellers, like TriMech, had to field one reoccurring question that divided our 3D printing world into two clearly different segments. That question was, “Can I have the material performance of FDM, with the surface finish of PolyJet right out of the printer?" For so long, that answer was “no” unless you did some post-processing of the prints. Even looking into the history of Stratasys in the years before the Objet and Stratasys merger, you were mainly on one side or the other – strength or surface finish. However, this all changed with the advent of Programmable Photopolymerization (P3) technology, which is now found in the Stratasys Origin One 3D printer, and finally, we can say “yes”...

If you have kept your ear to the ground on the 3D printing front, you were bound to have heard the rumblings that Stratasys was planning to launch several new technologies this year. That rumbling turned into full quake at Stratasys’s Manufacturing Event, at the end of April, where they introduced three new platforms – effectively doubling Stratasys’s 3D printing technology offering.

Regardless if you were seeing feeds on social media or attending the virtual launch event, the impact of this announcement will be felt across the 3D printing industry. I wanted to take a few minutes to help you understand the significance of these new technologies, as this announcement is a major leap forward in TriMech’s polymer-based 3D printing portfolio. We will review these new offerings, why they matter, and who they matter to.

Technology continues to develop at an ever-faster pace and educators have long realized that the best way for students to keep up, is to gain hands-on experience. 3D printing is no exception, and many schools and universities are integrating 3D printers into their curriculums. These tools give students capabilities that could only have been imagined years ago, while building skills that apply to real-world applications. The challenge for educators is sorting through the wealth of options that exist, to narrow down the best choice for their students. In this article, we will explain some of the benefits of key 3D printing technologies and the departments that could take advantage of each one.

Whenever we ask participants in training classes what lessons they hope to take away from the training, the most common question is “How can I design more efficiently?” Using SOLIDWORKS, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and additive manufacturing can accelerate your process from idea to prototype to product, but it can be hard to know how those tools can can apply to your specific needs and business. We've looked at each of these and pulled out what we feel are the top 15 tips to get you speeding up your design process as soon as possible.

Since March 2020, additive manufacturing has gained a lot of press for the way in which it was relied upon for pandemic emergency supply production. When hospitals and healthcare facilities were suddenly short on everything from personal protective equipment (PPE) to breathing apparatuses, additive manufacturing stepped up to the plate to produce mass volumes of these critical supplies.

Specifically, additive users often turn to vat photopolymerization print technologies like stereolithography (SLA), Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) for benefits like highly accurate part builds and cost-effectiveness. However, the final leg of this process, post-printing and especially resin removal, has traditionally been prohibitive to this technology’s progress, until recently. 

3D Scanning has been around for quite some time now and has evolved to have a place in a multitude of applications, especially for manufacturing. Whether the need is to reverse engineer a long out-of-production part, or to perform quality inspections on parts and equipment, 3D scanning is up to the task. Let us look at a few of instances where Artec 3D solutions are making it possible to get much needed data that would be hard to get any other way.

The demand for reliable and accurate production-level additive manufacturing is growing exponentially, as companies were faced with crippling supply chain issues due to scarcity of raw materials and inhibited labor forces during the Covid-19 crisis. Stratasys has answered this call by expanding their polymeric 3D printing capabilities into SLA and DLP with acquisitions of companies such as Origin and RPS, Most recently, Stratasys continues to grow, by entering into the powder based additive manufacturing market with the introduction of SAF (Selective Absorption Fusion) technology.

On average, 15% of the time in your 3D print lab is wasted on order management. Yes, you heard that right, 6 out of every 40 operating hours in the work week gets devoted to tracking down orders, managing files, and communicating with file creators. That is over seven weeks a year where productive time is not being devoted to part production. This isn’t the fault of the hardworking individuals in your print lab. It is the result of the available production management software tools not being tailored to the needs of 3D printing labs…..until now.

Carbon fiber materials and carbon-reinforced polymers can replace metal for lighter, more ergonomic tooling. Add to that the power of additive manufacturing to print the part, rather than machine it, and you can significantly reduce both your part weight and tooling lead time. In this article, we are going to review the differences in printable carbon fiber materials and the machines capable of printing them to understand how the 3D printing industry has created approachable solutions for just about every level of production.