FDM Technology Page 1

Having spent a great deal of my time over the last decade working in various design, CAD, CAM and additive manufacturing software tools, I am always grateful for features that save time and improve the ability to get to my desired outcome. With the year coming to an end, there is no better time than now to reflect and present the top 10 features I am thankful for in GrabCAD Print.

GrabCAD Print is a very powerful program for converting a CAD model into a toolpath for 3D printing, and it has some features that can help you get the most out of your Stratasys FDM 3D printer. One of these is the SMART Support feature, which allows you to create a custom support structure that uses less material and takes less time than a traditional support structure.

It is a well-known fact that bringing in additive manufacturing (AM) can help save companies time and (arguably most importantly) money! AM has been used in a variety of applications like jigs, fixtures, concept designs and end-use parts just to name a few. Customers in all fields have felt the benefit of merging AM into their everyday workflow. But many user’s may not be aware that with a few changes they can save even more. In this article, I am going to break down the top five ways you can reduce the time and cost of your FDM printer, in no particular order.

Many times, when nearing the end of a workday you may find yourself having to stay late to start a new build on your machine. Or you may be working from home and must travel to the office just to send a print job over. If only there was a way to set the machine and have it print immediately once you send a job to it. With Stratasys FDM machines, you can do just that!

Every day people walk around without realizing just how much mold manufacturing impacts their lives. The mouse being used to navigate around this post was built with molded parts. The shell of your cellphone, the plastic cup you use to get a drink of water and parts of your shades or eyeglasses are made through manufacturing using molds. Manufacturing with metal molds is a large part of today’s manufacturing process, but these aren’t the only kinds of molds that can be beneficial to companies.

This week's Product Story showcases nVent and how they utilize Stratasys 3D printing to create a custom solution to an intricate problem.

An electrical solutions company, nVent, specializes in solving unique problems across different industries and faces multiple challenges with needing custom parts created based on each project. Just like any other company that services a wide variety of industries, they face manufacturing constraints with creating specific parts for each client. Machined components are the traditional way of acquiring these parts and can be costly and can take weeks to produce. Let's dive in to how they utilize Stratasys 3D printers to build the part on demand.

Robotic automation, frequently in the form of robotic arms, is used across multiple industries to automate tasks that require precision and call for high repeatability. End-of-Arm Tooling (EOAT) is one of the main components of robotic technology and typically refers to the device attached at the end of a robotic arm. In many cases, these robotic arms are used continuously for long periods and eventually need to be replaced, halting production, and becoming a financial burden. Traditional methods used to replace these parts, similar to CNC, can take up to 24 hours to produce a new part and do not guarantee the part will fit in the EOAT. Thankfully, 3D printing brings a solution to minimize downtime and ensure the replacement part will fit perfectly the first time. Let's look at some examples of how different companies in multiple industries have taken advantage of 3D printing to quickly fix their EOAT.

In this Video Tech Tip, we go over some easy ways to add strength to your FDM parts in GrabCAD Print. GrabCAD allows users to effectively add strength to certain areas without using excess materials.

The importance of increased productivity, quality and consistency are rapidly growing in necessity in many industries to stay a step ahead of the competition. Many are taking advantage of rapid prototyping to produce jigs, fixtures and tools with FDM materials that provide engineering-grade strength and a faster timeline to production. This advancement of improved design and build processes is very important to the improved productivity, but the final step in production is often overlooked as an opportunity to further optimize overall production times.

So you need threads within your plastic 3D printed part and you are questioning the holding strength of printed or threads, and you should. There are few applications where a 3D printed threaded hole for a piece of conventional hardware will do the trick. It is okay, we don’t need to sugar coat it, 3D printing can do some downright amazing things, but 3D printed threads are not high on the list. How about under sizing the hole and reaming it and tapping a threaded hole? Great question and a great solution in some situations. Depending on how fine the thread pitch is, the end condition of the hole, your available tap sizes and expected pulling force – cut threads might not, well…cut it. Chances are, what you need is a threaded insert.

As we have seen throughout this series, departments in different areas such as healthcare and fine arts have benefited from 3D printing and have taken advantage of the different 3D printing technologies available. Today, engineering departments are also implementing 3D printing to expand their students' knowledge and prepare them for future jobs in manufacturing. Different universities have implemented rapid prototyping centers or created curricula to offer advanced additive manufacturing degrees or certifications. In today's article, we go over some of these programs.

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!