3D Printing Page 7

In our previous blog post, our software team shared with you some of the most useful tips they wished they knew when they started using SOLIDWORKS. In this continuation, we’ll take a look at what TriMech’s hardware team wished they knew when they started using SOLIDWORKS, and how some software updates have helped them in their pre-printing process.

Whether using 3D printing for business or for personal projects, nobody wants to have to re-print a part because of a flaw that happened during printing, especially if it could have been easily prevented. We’ve put together five key areas to monitor to avoid common print quality issues in order to achieve consistently better results.

Stratasys PolyJet 3D printers and specialty dental materials create multi-color dental models with unmatched accuracy that can mimic gum textures and print complex geometries. These multi-material models enable a variety of applications including orthodontic models, implantology case planning and cast partial frames. This additive manufacturing technology can empower you with more cost-effective interventions, enhanced efficiency, fewer risks and optimized patient outcomes.

The Stratasys J750 is capable of all sorts of amazing things, as we’ve seen recently with our articles involving the application of real-to-life textures and eyewear prototyping. An amazing new application for the Stratasys J series of printers that I’ve been running into quite a bit is the creation of full-color topographical maps that display visual data on top of satellite imagery, similar to how GIS software overlays data onto a two-dimensional map, but with the bonus of being able to quickly display elevation as well! What we’ve found in our initial studies of this application is that these three-dimensional maps are great at displaying data in a way that can’t quickly be understood when looking at a two-dimensional variant, such as census data regarding population density in relation to mountains and valleys. To get a good idea of what goes into this process, we’re going to overlay street data for the area surrounding Boston onto a topographical map of Eastern Massachusetts. 

Nano Dimension announces the new DragonFly LDM 3D printer for manufacturing electronics. This unique system brings a specialized Lights-Out Digital Manufacturing (LDM) technology and additional diagnostic automation which enables the system to run around-the-clock with little to no monitoring. This is the first of it's kind for Nano Dimension and enables 24/7 uninterrupted 3D printing for greater production output which results in a significant decrease in time and labor cost for realizing in-house printing of electronics.

From Unimate (the first robot placed on the factory floor by General Motors) to Roomba™ the robotic vacuum, there is no question that the field of robotics has drastically changed our culture over the past four decades! The industry is estimated to hit $135.4 billion in 2019, according to International Data Corporation. While robots have played an important role across various industries and even in our homes, there is a whole new category of robots, soft robotics, which could cause exponential growth over the next decade.

Within the past few decades, robotic arms have allowed the manufacturing industry to develop into the fast production entity it is today. First used in the automotive industry, robotic arms can be programmed to take on any task that calls for high repeatability and precision. Today, robotic arms are used in almost every industry imaginable: from medical, to agriculture, to electronics manufacturing- and additive manufacturing tools like 3D printing is making the technology even more accessible.

3D printing processes are easy to implement and offer a wide variety of materials to support a part’s requirements while eliminating cost, lead time and design barriers for adopting manufacturing aids on the shop floor. 3D printed composites are an exciting new trend. Whether it is chopped carbon fiber filled into a thermoplastic or continuously laid inside of a 3D print geometry, the benefits of the strength-to-weight ratio are far superior to traditional 3D printed materials. In this blog post, we’ll compare continuous fiber, chopped fiber filled nylon and Stratasys Nylon 12CF and when it’s best to use them while 3D printing parts or prototypes.

The VeroFlex and VeroFlexVivid family of materials are an unbelievably unique set of new materials available on Stratasys J Series 3D printers, which are capable of producing parts that have improved strength and flexibility while retaining great shape memory. Similar to how our simulated rubber-like Agilus material works, parts produced in either VeroFlex or VeroFlexVivid do not need to be handled as gently as other material parts and will hold up with little fear of them breaking. However, unlike Agilus, this material produces parts that are rigid and will snap right back to their original shape after being flexed in any direction. This makes them a great material to print high-quality full-color parts that are thin, like eyewear and small action figures, so today we’re going to show these new materials in action as we make some incredible Fourth of July sunglasses!

With the latest advancements in additive manufacturing, it is now possible to 3D print insulative and conductive material together, enabling the rapid on-demand production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), antennas, flexible electronics and other functional freeform electronics. In this article, Simon Fried, President of Nano Dimension USA, answers the top five frequently asked questions about this new technology. You will learn about the benefits of 3D printing electronics in-house, understand how inkjet deposition technology works, examples of how to design parts for electrical prototypes and watch examples of 3D printed parts being created using the DragonFly 2020 Pro electronics 3D printer.

June 23 is International Women in Engineering Day! This campaign was created to raise awareness about the amazing women that fulfill engineering positions in our workforce, and to ignite a spark of interest in young girls and women around the world to pursue a career in engineering. In this blog post, we are going to learn about ten women that impact the 3D printing industry everyday with their creativity and drive.

Printing amazing full-color, real to the touch textures using the Stratasys J735 or J750 printer and Agilus30 White simulated rubberlike material is truly amazing. Previously, we discussed some ways to create colored 3D texture files for printing through the use of wood and stone 2D image files. In this article, I’m going to show you some tips and tricks when creating your full-color 3D models in Adobe Photoshop to create a leather texture. Additionally, I’ll share some things to look out for when you are creating your models to avoid not-so-appealing final models, and what you can do to fix these issues.