The TCT Magazine - Latest News

What's New in Release 3 of Tebis' V3.5 Software

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Tebis has released revision 3 of it's V3.5 software, in which the company has reportedly fine-tuned some details. Users can now compare CAD files without prior loading or create blanks by layering. Data can be output in the universal STEP format or automate your deep-hole drilling. Deform complex parts at the click of a button. The most important enhancements of the V3.5 R3 are summarised here. The advantage is found not only in the system as a whole, but also frequently in the details.

Base

Output

Use the new STEP export interface to export Tebis CAD data to the neutral STEP format. One more reason to use the powerful and easy-to-use CAD functions of Tebis.

CAD

Layer blanks

Combine any number of cuboid blanks to a layered blank. The individual cuboids can be easily created and adapted as required. In addition, the system creates a bill of material with the used volume for the manufacturing department. Thus, you can quickly determine the required raw material, which is very important in model making.

Compare

Utilize the layer or filter structure to easily compare geometries. Without having to open the files, the system automatically matches the two structure trees with each other. Irrelevant areas of the structure can always be ignored. The geometry comparison is started only after the matching has occurred and is displayed or stored as usual. Thus, all relevant differences or commonalities, even in large files with complex products, will quickly be found.

Sort

Optionally, the features can be sorted with the SORT function to store features of the same type and with the same orientation on a separate sublayer. Deviations of up to 45° from the main direc- tion are displayed in the layer. In this way, the features can be organised right down to the details.

Same direction

When grouping features, the user can specify whether only features with identical orientation are to be grouped. The first selected feature determines the direction; use the box to select additional features. At this point, Tebis will perform the detail work.

BREP

Morph

It is now possible to automatically and easily deform any com- posite surface using topological deformation rules. Map the complex deformation requirement to any number of surfaces and transfer them highly accurately to each of your surface models, at the click of a button. Extensive preparations — such as splitting surfaces — is a thing of the past.

NC base

Hide

In NC programming, the windows of the job manager and the machining function are hidden temporarily when the dialogs for tool, machining elements, strategy, macro or technology are called up. This ensures that the graphic area in the view window is not covered unnecessarily.

Simulate

Use the standard TSIMU function to simulate the traversing paths of electrodes. Independently of the Electrode module, the Tebis Viewer family can now be used to check electrodes for collisions and fitting accuracy. The system also displays the coordinates of the reference point in a text banner.

CAM

Orientation

It is now possible to conveniently determine the tool tilt direc- tion during calculation in the MSURF and RSURF functions. Interactively check your selected tool tilt direction and correct it at the click of a button, if required.

Deep-hole drilling

The functions for deep-hole drilling have been expanded signi- ficantly. Drilling features can be combined with each other; gap areas are identified. The traversing speeds can be individually and flexibly adjusted for machining with several tool lengths, thus significantly reducing your manufacturing times. If the final depth of the hole is greater than the depth of the tool, the drilling depth can be limited. The cutting data for gap areas, material entry and exit, threading and unthreading can be optimized. Everything is prepared for your automation of deep- hole drilling.

Draw

Using the drag points, it is possible to interactively define the required or desired setting angle in many 3+2-axis functions. You may also rotate or directly drag at the tool or machine head. Drag the ball cutter where it is needed.

Grooving

The MVERT function for grooving has been enhanced in some fine details. The user can now specify allowances for flanks and base surfaces, independent from each other. Use the "Overlap" parameter to position the first milling path outside the specified material and to start the grooving operation at the left or right side of the flank with an optional plunge position.

Assign

The user can now assign any number of NCSets to a feature for automatic 2.5D drilling and milling. If the tool of the first NCSet is not available in the tool library, the system searches the alter- native NCSets in the sequence of their listing until a suitable set is found.

Chamfers

Chamfers can now be milled with the MCONT function. What is special is that the chamfer does not even have to be fully designed. Just specify the sharp edge and start milling.

Materials Solutions as Approved Supplier to ITP Group for Metals AM Supply Chain

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Materials Solutions has announced that it has become an approved supplier to ITP Group and its supply chain for metal additive manufacturing. Carl Brancher, CEO of Materials Solutions said: "I am very pleased to gain 'approved supplier' status from ITP. We are very quality focused and this approval, to add to our existing approvals, is recognition that we meet the very highest standards."

About Materials Solutions:

Materials Solutions is a specialist in additive manufacturing of metal components particularly in high temperature alloys for aeroengine components. Over half of its sales are exports to North America and Europe. Materials Solutions is an AS9100 REV C supplier with approvals from Mercedes AMG high Performance Power Trains, Rolls-Royce PLC, Rolls-Royce Canada and Rolls Royce Nuclear Sector-submarines.

About ITP:

ITP (Industria de Turbo Propulsores) is a global company operating from 18 centres in Spain, UK, Malta, Mexico, China and India delivering high-technology products and services to the aerospace and industrial engine market. It is a major partner in the European Defence Consortium (Eurojet, Europrop, MTRI) with reference partners such as Rolls-Royce, GE, P&W, Snecma and Honeywell.

Case Study: Using Rapid Prototyping to Give an ALS Sufferer His Voice Back

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Engineers at RapidKeypads.com recently used their rapid prototyping capability to give a man suffering with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) his voice back.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the control of muscles throughout the body.

In our case, ALS had caused paralysis throughout his body leaving him with extremely limited use of the index finger on his right hand. The paralysis had also affected his vocal chords preventing audible speech. This meant that he could not call for help. Originally he was able to use his index finger to press a button to call for help. This soon became impossible as he lost strength in his finger as the ALS progressed.

One of the nurses responsible for taking care of this ALS patient contacted RapidKeypads.com to see if they could help. This nurse wanted a communication device capable of being triggered by simply touching a button, similar to that of a touch screen found in modern day smart phones and tablets.

RapidKeypads.com proposed a simple solution. They would make a custom medical device consisting of a touch sensitive button and driver electronics capable of producing high-fidelity audio. When the patient touches the button an audio sound would be produced. This sound would be interpreted as a call for help by the nurses taking care of him.

RapidKeypads.com used its ability to digitally print capacitive touch switches and its Fast Touch electronics to detect the presence of a finger and provide audio feedback. This system was nicely packaged inside of an off-the-shelf plastic enclosure.

After receiving this medical device the nurse had this to say:
"Dear Jameel Ahed:
It works exactly as you said it would. A trillion Thanks. The patient used it for almost an hour straight, smiling the entire time. Tears of JOY and HAPPINESS were present, not only on his face, but mine as well. You are a hero in our eyes. Great job! Know that you have given a dying man (who has given of himself his entire life) the greatest gift of all… peace. He no longer has to struggle to be heard, or lay there worrying if it will work. I personally thank you from the bottom of my heart. Best wishes for your future accomplishments. May you and yours have a healthy and happy life."

This project was completed within one day because RapidKeypads.com posses:

Experience in designing and manufacturing capacitive touch switch interfaces.
Rapid prototyping equipment that digitally prints film based capacitive touch circuit layers.
Special internal hardware and software configuration tools.

About RapidKeypads

RapidKeypads.com has been designing and manufacturing capacitive touch interfaces. Their customer portfolio has been steadily increasing over the last three years. Their customers belong to a broad range of industries such as medical, aerospace, industrial, consumer, etc. RapidKeypads.com has pioneered the rapid prototyping of capacitive touch keypads. It possesses several pieces of specialty equipment, such as a high powered laser, digital printers, and other rapid prototyping tools. Using these tools RapidKeypads.com was able to develop the Fast Touch system which is what makes prototyping a "looks like, feels like" capacitive touch system extremely fast. From the graphic overlay to the electronics, RapidKeypads.com can provide a complete functioning system.

The Fast Touch system consists of hardware and software configuration tools that help the engineers of RapidKeypads.com tune the buttons to different overlay fascias, choose between various noise rejection algorithms and also select the appropriate communication protocol, such as USB - HID, SPI, I2C, UART, etc. This optimises the performance of the touch interface, producing a successful capacitive touch system. This system has led Blue Sparq, Inc. to file over 13 patent applications.

Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 — Laser Sintering Milling Hybrid

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Following on from almost a decade of groundbreaking research and development by Matsuura Japan, additive manufacturing has a new unique one process solution in its armory - the LUMEX Avance-25 metal laser sintering/high-speed milling hybrid machine tool.

This new dynamic technology combines the additive metal laser sintering process to grow a component from powder with the ability to utilise high speed machining to finish machine the whole or sections of the part to an immaculate surface finish and extremely high accuracy - in one machine.

Configured with a 400W Yb fibre laser, Matsuura 45,000 rpm spindle and Touch Screen NC operation & functionality, many of the key technological advances and unique components for the LUMEX Avance-25 were developed in house at Matsuura Japan.

By changing the laser focus and power, varying densities of material including porous structures can be produced.

The LUMEX Avance-25 makes it possible to produce components that prior to this hybrid technology were simply impossible to create.

Benefits to user:

Accuracies of ±2.5 μm achievable with full component accuracies of ±25 μm due to growing the part while finish machining in one setup.
Internal features of the component can be finish machined and then sealed within the part leaving no external access. These parts could not be manufactured using the conventional methodology of production.
On plastic injection moulds 3D water channels can be produced with finish internal surfaces.
No wasted material.
The ability to rapid prototype an accurate and completely machined development part in one set up, in an unattended process.
60% reduction in 3D mould making lead times
50% reduction in mould production costs
No EDM required on deep narrow slots due the walls of these slots being machined while the part grows.
New components can now be designed that were not conceivable before, now that the additive process can be combined with machining. (Aerospace, F1 etc.)

Basic specification as follows:
Travel: X / Y / Z mm 260 / 260 / 100
Laser Oscillator Y b Fibre Laser
Laser Power W 400
Maximum Working Size mm W250 / D250
Spindle Speed min^-1 45,000: BT20
Feedrate: X / Y / Z m / min 60 / 60 / 30
Number of Tools 20

New Strategies for Roughing and Turn-Mill in Feature-Based CAM

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Delcam has launched the 2012 R2 release of its FeatureCAM feature-based CAM system, which includes important new strategies for roughing and turn-mill operations, alongside a range of more general enhancements to allow faster toolpath generation and simulation.

FeatureCAM was the world's first feature-based programming software when it was launched in 1995. Constant development since then has ensured that the system has retained its leadership in programming speed and ease of use, while an increased range of strategies has been added to provide more efficient toolpaths giving greater machine productivity.

The main addition to FeatureCAM 2012 R2 is a series of new strategies for 2.5D roughing. These include a continuous spiral option to minimise wear on the cutter and machine tool, high-speed roughing options, including trochoidal machining and Delcam's patented Race Line Machining, and "tear-drop" moves to clear corners more smoothly.

Stepovers for 2.5D mill roughing can now be set as large as the tool diameter itself. Previously, stepovers were limited to 50% of the tool diameter and, if this limit was exceeded, the toolpath would leave stands. The new algorithm supports larger stepovers by providing extra moves automatically to clean up those stands.

Other milling improvements include an option to add an extra profile pass exactly at the base of flat pockets, the ability to use face-milling tools with chamfered edges to machine chamfers as well as faces and so minimise the number of tools needed, a choice of right- or left-handed thread-milling tools resulting in either climb or conventional machining of the thread, and the ability to reduce calculation times by saving boundaries as curves if they will be needed for subsequent calculations.

Roughing has also been improved for users of turning equipment that can operate with live tooling. A new option allows cutting with a live milling tool, while the workpiece is rotating in the turning spindle. This approach avoids the issues associated with interrupted cutting and ensures regular chip breakage.

Turn-mill programming has been improved with the addition of more flexible five-axis positioning. For example, any amount of negative b-axis movement available can be used, so avoiding extending the y limit too far back into the machine. Switching the positioning angles in this way makes editing easier to keep the machine within its travel limits.

Another turn-mill improvement is support for cylindrical interpolation, which allows toolpaths to be created with NC code for a plane and then wrapped around a cylinder. This approach, which can also be used for four-axis milling, allows cutter compensation to be applied when calculating the toolpath and gives smaller NC code files.

All FeatureCAM users will benefit from improvements to the simulation module. In particular, they will see much faster results through the use of multiple cores for these calculations. In addition, the ability has been included to save a position during the simulation, for example, while toolpaths are being edited, and then to run the simulation from that position rather than from the start.

Proto Labs Expands Cool Idea! Award to the European Union

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

After seeing the success of the first Cool Idea! Award program, Proto Labs the world's fastest manufacturer of CNC machined and injection-moulded parts, has announced the expansion of the program to include the European Union in 2012. The Cool Idea! Award, which launched in the United States last year, gives product designers the opportunity to bring innovative product ideas to life. In addition to the expansion, Proto Labs has also increased the award amount from $100,000 to $250,000 worth of prototyping and short-run production services.

"The response to Cool Idea! has been incredible, so we knew we wanted to expand the program's reach," said Proto Labs founder and CTO Larry Lukis. "We're committed to supporting designers and the development of new ideas, and we can't wait to find out what kinds of ideas we'll see from a new crop of innovators!"

The Cool Idea! Award was created with the belief that there are many great product ideas that don't get off the ground due to lack of resources and funds. Unlike other awards that recognise products or innovative design after the product has already launched, the Cool Idea! Award program helps designers take their product idea or part from a 3D CAD model to its first-run production stage with Proto Labs' proprietary Firstcut CNC machining and/or Protomold injection-moulding services. In order to be eligible for consideration, Cool Idea! Award applicants must demonstrate the benefits of their product to the end-user and explain what makes it a ‘cool idea'.

Cool Idea! Award recipients make up a wide range of industries and product offerings.

Past winners include:

Don Ladanyi, TruFlavorWare: flatware to help alleviate metal sensitivity for chemotherapy patients.
Rice University, R-one Robots: swarm robots to improve engineering literacy
Whirlwind Wheelchair International, RoughRider: highly durable wheelchair to handle rough terrain
Matt Nestor, QuicKaddy: magnetic hex key case to easily store and remove a tool
Andy Miller and Tess Bakke, SkyLight: adapter device that connects smartphones to microscopes to digitally capture and share scientific images

For more information about the Cool Idea! Award, visit the Cool Idea! website

TCT Editor's Pick of 2011 Multimedia Digital Magazine now Available

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Catch up on some of the top stories of 2011 with TCT's multimedia extravaganza packed with videos and a wealth of related content.

Click the image below to read the 2011 Editor's Picks of 2011:

Air Cleaning Systems Shows Machine Cleaning System at MACH 2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

At MACH 2012, on Stand 5280, Air Cleaning Systems (acs) will be demonstrating the mobile, hot, low pressure machine tool cleaning system from PH-Cleantec, Germany, that has simplified the tedious task of machine tool cleaning since its launch in 2009.

The Cleantec SRK1000-AS is an innovative machine that heats water or machine coolant to 95 degrees C within a minute to conduct machine cleaning operations. The 1000SRK-AS works at an operating pressure from 3 to 7.5 Bar to clean components and machine tools and since its launch it has reportedly been significantly reducing machine shop maintenance and cleaning procedures.

This unit, for which acs are the official UK agent, is ideal for manufacturers that use a variety of materials on machine tools and cannot allow swarf contamination from one material to the next. The 1000SRK-AS will rapidly remove any swarf or excess material eliminating the risk of contamination. For maintenance departments, the extremely mobile cleaning unit can be wheeled to any machine in a production area within minutes, credit to its lightweight 55 kg frame. To further improve access to machine tools, the unit has a 5 m suction hose, 5 m power cable and 5 m lance cable attached to a standard 600 mm lance.

The flexibility of the 1000SRK-AS enables maintenance/service engineers to comfortably load/unload the unit from a vehicle or storage facility direct to the area to be cleaned with exceptional ease. Once in place, the compact mobile unit that has no fluid tank can suck liquid directly from the machine tool coolant sump or can be connected to an external water tap providing a variable spray water volume from 1 to 1.8litre/per minute. This provides maintenance staff with a solution to removing stubborn marks, oil, swarf and stains from the area to be cleaned. It is this mobility and extreme deep cleaning capability that makes the 1000SRK-AS the ideal solution for thoroughly cleaning machine tools at planned maintenance downtimes. For further details on how to clean up your machine shop and components with the PH-Cleantec range, please come and visit us on Stand 5280 at MACH 2012.

MakerBot Industries Launches The MakerBot Replicator, to Debut at CES

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The MakerBot Replicator is being touted as 'the ultimate personal 3D printer' by it's own makers, MakerBot Industries. The new system features MakerBot 'Dualstrusion' (2-colour printing) and a bigger printing footprint. Assembled in Brooklyn by skilled technicians, the MakerBot Replicator is ready within minutes to start printing right out of the box. Starting at $1749, The MakerBot Replicator is an open source 3D printer that is compact enough to sit on a desktop.

The MakerBot Replicator makes use of the MakerBot Stepstruder MK8, the extruder is the part of the machine that turns raw feedstock, like ABS or PLA (a biodegradable material made from corn), into the objects. The Replicator can be specified with single or dual MakerBot Stepstruders. By choosing the dual extrusion option, users can print with two different colours at the same time. According to the company's release statement: "MakerBot Dualstrusion unlocks the ability to make beautiful combinations of colours and opens the door to experimenting with with multi-material objects."

A globe, printed in two colours on the same build thanks to Dualstrusion.

The release continues: "The MakerBot Replicator is ideal for personalised manufacturing, providing a new way to make the things you want and need. It is also an essential tool for children and students; parents and educators with a MakerBot Replicator offer the next generation an opportunity to learn the digital designing skills required to solve the problems of the future. Students with access to a MakerBot have an edge in the future job market. Just like the youth of the 1980's, who had access to computers, children with access to a MakerBot Replicator will become the leaders who make a better tomorrow."

In the two years since the company was founded, the capabilities of a MakerBot have grown from printing cupcake-sized objects in 2009 to printing things as large as an entire loaf of bread today on on the MakerBot Replicator. MakerBot Industries continues to demonstrate its dedication to putting the tools of creativity into the hands of the those brilliant and bold enough to bring their imagination into the physical world.

3D Systems to Unveil a 'create-and-make online experience', Cubify.com, At CES

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

3D Systems Corporation has announced today that its Cubify.com 3D@home create-and-make online experience will go live in a beta release January 10, 2012. The company plans to unveil Cubify.com at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 10th-13th 2012 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the exclusive 3D@Home section.

Cubify.com combines reported colouring book simplicity with cloud gaming excitement to deliver a vivid 3D create-and-make experience through a fully integrated, fluid interface. With intuitive 3D apps, rich 3D printable content libraries of games, puzzles and collections, Cubify.com turns any mobile device, tablet or Kinect device into a powerful, digital canvas that unleashes creativity and brings ideas to life in 3D. Compelling content creation, capture and customisation apps make it simple and fun to personalise creations and print them at home on a Cube 3D printer or have them printed using our online Cubify service. Now everyone can unleash their creativity and earn money by marketing their own 3D creations or by developing new apps for Cubify.com.

To get engaged, 3D Systems will be demonstrating a new Kinect-to-print app powered by Geomagic and a variety of tablet-to-print content creation and manipulation apps powered by its 6000+ strong developer community. The company will showcase its new Cube 3D consumer printer and make available 3D collection libraries as downloads. 3D Systems calls on all aspiring 3D app developers and designers to become part of its groundbreaking Cubify.com community.

"We invite all CES attendees to experience the full impact of Cubify.com live," said Rajeev Kulkarni, Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Solutions for 3D Systems. "We expect Cubify to become the preferred destination for all kids and adults seeking to earn money by marketing their own 3D creations or by developing new apps for Cubify."

3D Systems Corp. Completes The Acquisition Of Z Corp and Vidar Systems

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

3D Systems Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Z Corporation and Vidar Systems for $135.5 million in cash, net of cash received and subject to final closing adjustments, from Contex Group, a subsidiary of Ratos AB, a listed private equity company located in Stockholm, Sweden.

The company also announced that it has consolidated its entire personal and professional 3D printer businesses into a single unit under the leadership of John Kawola, former Z Corp CEO who was named 3D Systems Vice-President and General-Manager, Personal and Professional 3D Printers business unit. The company affirmed its plans and expectations to deliver combined revenue and cost synergies in the range of $5-10 million dollars in 2012 and reiterated its expectation to incur incremental fourth quarter 2011 acquisition costs in the range of $2.7 to $3.2 million.

This latest reported acquisition integrates Z Corp and Vidar products and services with 3D Systems' extensive portfolio, uniquely positioning 3D Systems for accelerated growth in the dynamic, rapidly expanding 3D content-to-print space. The transaction completes 3D Systems' range of product capabilities, fills price gaps with complementary products and technology and doubles its reseller coverage globally. The Company expects the acquisition of Z Corp and Vidar to be immediately accretive to its cash generation and to its Non-GAAP earnings in the first full year following completion of this transaction.

"This is a historic, game-changing event for our customers and stockholders. Today we gained complementary full colour and high speed printing technology, increased our marketplace presence significantly in verticals beyond product development and direct manufacturing, assembled the largest and most-well prepared reseller channel in 3D printing, and catalysed our healthcare solutions business," said Abe Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. "Concurrent with the completion of this transaction today, we have taken immediate, decisive steps to unleash the combined revenue growth potential and deliver the value creation inherent in this acquisition for the benefit of customers and shareholders alike."

EnvisionTEC Announces HTM140 High Temperature Mould Material

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

EnvisionTEC now offers HTM140 High Temperature Mould Material, which the company says will dramatically change 3D printing capabilities for manufacturers. With a heat deflection temperature of 140°C straight out of the machine, high-definition parts printed in HTM140 can be directly vulcanised in rubber, eliminating the need for a metal master, says the company. It is designed to withstand both the heat and pressure of vulcanising the model in rubber with high detail and no loss of dimensional stability. It can also be used in a variety of applications that require thermal resistance such as items to be metallised or tested for hot air and hot water applications.

To add to its versatility, another use is for making tools for small run injection moulding. The biggest advantage is its build time — reportedly depositing one inch in under 90 minutes at 35 micron resolution in Z. This material is available for all EnvisionTEC Perfactory and ULTRA models (software required).

Drumlord were delighted to win Caerphilly Business Forums ‘Business of the Year' Award 2011!

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Drumlord were delighted to win Caerphilly Business Forums ‘Business of the Year' Award 2011, at the 10th annual Gala Dinner last month.

The award, in the ‘25 Employees or Fewer' category sponsored by Caerphilly County Borough Council, was presented to Drumlord's, Sales and Marketing Manager Christopher McCarthy, Financial Director Alison Griffiths and Managing Director Rob Aldridge, above with TV and Radio Broadcaster Jason Mohammed and leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council Cllr Allan Pritchard. (Full story Click Here)

The award recognises so much more than sales growth; the fact that Drumlord have seen an increase in sales of over 50% compared to last year is only a small part of the story. In the past year Drumlord have increased their customer base by 25% (50% in 3 years), grown substantially in the Medical sector (71% increase over 2010), increased Vacuum Casting throughput by 97% and managed to invest in a number of areas of the business including Vacuum Casting and Spray Painting as well as recruiting new staff.

In tough times such steps have been sustainable and based on a long term strategy to win, and retain, new customers while maintaining the level of quality and service to our existing clients. Our customers are an integral part of Drumlord's business and, as such, played a huge role in our winning this award - thank you, all.

Proto Labs and Geometoy: Smart Prototyping results in Smart Toys

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

For Seattle-based designer Jonathan Stapleton, one particular college art class project became an obsession that lead to a unique business opportunity and several patents.

"The brief wasn't very tightly defined," he remembers "but we were working in wood, which meant we were creating models in three dimensions." The assignment turned out to be a catalyst for an interest in 3D tessellation that lasted far beyond college, through several years of teaching physics, and eventually, with the help of Proto Labs, gave rise to the creation of a small, three-dimensional building block that resembles a turtle. Today, the finished product — a snap-together toy branded Reptangles, has been licensed to a major manufacturer and distributor of educational and speciality playthings.

Complex Shapes

Reptangles are produced in injection-moulded plastic and packaged in sets. Each plastic block has 56 connectors (patent pending), allowing any two blocks to be attached to one another in hundreds of different ways. A set of 24 blocks can be used to create a dizzying variety of designs. But, getting from the initial wooden mockups to today's production version - by means of a handful of vital, injection-moulded prototypes — was no simple task.

"I chose a truncated octahedron for the shape of the turtle shell," says Mr. Stapleton. "Then, I took an extra turtle shell, cut it up, and made legs from the parts. I soon discovered that when I lined up matching angles on the legs and the shell, I was aligning the entire turtle with a 3-D grid. The figure was guaranteed to fit together and line up." That was the easy part, he remembers. "Then I had to make them stay together. Finally, I needed to find a way to produce these complex parts cost-effectively."

Reptangles, has been licensed to a major manufacturer and distributor of educational and specialty playthings.

The process involved making sketches, CAD models, and models in wood, before the first turtle was eventually moulded from a plastic resin. The connectors, in particular, turned out to be a significant challenge. "Shapes like standard LEGO blocks are relatively straight forward," says Stapleton. "Blocks that stack vertically can be held together with a simple friction fit, and because they connect top to bottom they can be made in a simple two-part mould. With Reptangles, however, the blocks have mating faces on the top, the bottom, and the sides, and even those aren't at simple right angles."

What Mr. Stappleton didn't fully appreciate at the design stage was that manufacturing the parts would prove to be an even greater challenge. To keep costs low, he knew he would have to design a product that could be made in a two-part, straight-pull mould, which meant there could be no features of the design—faces or connectors—that would be trapped as the mold opened.

"Any standard connector, male or female, that isn't located on a top or bottom of a surface could represent an undercut," says Mr. Stapleton. "If you imagine a pyramid, for example, with connectors on each face, you can see how a post rising from any one of the sides would be trapped by a mould-half that was opening and closing vertically to form all four sides of the pyramid at once. The challenge was to develop a connector that could be produced in mould-halves opening in one direction but connect in one or more other directions.

The challenge was to develop a connector that could be produced in mould-halves opening in one direction but connect in one or more other directions.

"At first, I tried a friction fit," he says, "but because of the complexity of the constructions and the resulting stresses on the connectors, the friction fit required unrealistically tight tolerances and restricted us to using resins that we didn't want to use. We needed something that would snap into place. On the other hand, the blocks are designed to be pulled-apart and reused, so we didn't want a connector that would lock, the way some clips do. The connectors had to snap together positively, but also release when pulled-apart."

Child's Play

In May 2004, when he was ready to create prototypes suitable for functional testing, a local injection-moulding business in Seattle, USA suggested that he try Proto Labs (then called Protomold). "I needed to know if the snaps would work and to know that they could provide solid connections and release as intended," he recalls. "I also needed to be sure that they could be effectively made in straight-pull moulds. I probably could have used other prototyping methods, but actual injection moulding was the only method that would confirm the mould-ability of the parts, and that was critical."

The first set of parts was delivered and testing showed the need for minor modifications, including small increases in some part sizes, which meant they could be realised by modifying the original mould rather than making a new one. With his design verified, Mr. Stapleton entered the marketing phase of the project. At first he sold Reptangles directly and then later he licensed the product to a larger company. He has since patented his turtles using the description Multifaceted Nesting Modules and submitted another patent application for the connectors themselves, recognising that they have a variety of other uses.

Four Faces

When development of Reptangles was complete, Mr. Stapleton moved on to his next project: a design for isosceles tetrahedral blocks. Unlike the turtles, these are simple, four-sided (triangular pyramid) blocks. But, like Reptangles they can be combined to create a virtually unlimited array of forms.

Functional testing identified the need for minor design modifications, but as with Reptangles the new prototypes were made by modifying the original mould rather than making a new one.

Much of the thought and development that had gone into Reptangles was applied to the new project; the new blocks presented some of the same challenges addressed in Reptangles — such as connecting faces that were not in a plane perpendicular to the direction of mould opening, so they use the same type of connector. Unlike Reptangles, the yet-to-be-named tetrahedral blocks are single, rather than two-piece parts. As with the Reptangle halves, however, they had to be suitable for straight-pull moulds.

This latest project also led to a new patent application, for a method of designing a cored-out polyhedron (a solid, geometric figure that has many faces). In 2007 Mr. Stapleton turned again to Protomold for prototypes. Functional testing identified the need for minor design modifications, but as with Reptangles the new prototypes were made by modifying the original mould rather than making a new one. Mr. Stapleton hasn't decided whether to market or license his new creation, but through careful prototyping he does know that his latest creation works as anticipated.

"Everything about working with Proto Labs was simple," he says. "The ProtoQuote quoting system, was fast and easy; every time I ordered parts they arrived sooner than I expected, and the up-front costs were really reasonable. When I've had technical questions they've been right there with answers. For example, in designing the tetrahedron I didn't think about ejector pins, but the company helped me include pads in the design, for the pins to use to push the part out of the mould. I'm currently working on a new part with a living hinge and they've been very keen to help.

"The other nice thing about rapid injection moulding," he adds, "is that you can't make anything that wouldn't work when it eventually goes into production. If you need to increase dimension of any feature on the part you can ‘tweak' the mould. I achieved realistic dimensional accuracy with the same resin that would be used for production; I got to see if it was going to warp, and I could see if the angles came out right."

Asked to sum-up his over-all experience of working with Proto Labs, Mr. Stapleton praises the experience as stress-free and easy: "The feeling it brought to mind," he says, " was like flying first class."

Voxeljet Debuts new VX1000 3D Printer at Euromold Frankfurt 2011

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

voxeljet has announced the world premiere of the VX1000 3D printer at the EuroMold in Frankfurt. The new machine combines high performance with a very large build space, enabling it to meet even the most demanding industrial requirements.

The VX1000 is designed as a high-performance machine, but nevertheless impresses with compact dimensions for this class at a total weight of approximately four tonnes. Even at first glance, one thing is clear: This is a 3D printer for tough industry conditions. The machine consists solely of high-quality components that ensure ongoing operations for many years to come.

The new VX1000 features a high-performance print head with 10,624 nozzles, which reaches a resolution of up to 600 dpi. The thickness of a layer applied in one run is 100 micrometres at a print width of 450 millimetres, and the build time for the layers is less than 30 seconds. This is an impressive value for a high-performance machine of the large industrial printer class.

The moulds are generated automatically and without tools in a layering process, based on 3D CAD data. The laborious and costly route to the otherwise necessary mould set-up is dispensed with. Thanks to the mastery of layering processes at an excellent speed, many different objects and moulds can be produced for metal casting not only quickly but also economically. It is also possible to print complex geometries with undercuts that are true to detail and precise.

"The VX1000 allows us to close the gap between our large format machine VX4000 and the proven VX800 industrial printer. The VX1000 features a large work field of 1060 x 600 x 500 millimetres, along with a compact design and high printing performance. With this new product, we now have a comprehensive product range that enables us to offer the most appropriate machine for virtually all requirements," says voxeljet COO Rudolf Franz.

If required, the VX1000 not only offers very rapid and precise work, but is also very environmentally friendly, as it is suitable for the new inorganic moulding material system developed by voxeljet in conjunction with H�tenes-Albertus. In some systems, inorganic binder systems are superior to products based on artificial resin. And contrary to organic products, inorganic binders do not burn during the casting process, thus completely avoiding the emissions that result from organic systems and which are harmful to the environment and health. The new technology also does not produce the typical odour that occurs during the casting process as a result of the combustion of organic material. The VX1000 will be available as of the second quarter of 2012.

Asiga Launches World's First 3D Pico Printer at Euromold 2011

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

At this year's Euromold, Asiga announced the release of the world's first low-cost high-resolution 3D printer. The printer, named the Pico, is tiny, having a 22 cm footprint and weighing only 10 kg. However, under the hood is a novel print engine based on Asiga's proprietary "sliding separation" technology.

The system has two build modes: 37.5 microns and 50 microns XY resolution; and the Z layer thickness is user selectable between 1 micron and 200 microns in 1 micron increments. The build envelope is 30 mm x 40 mm x 76 mm. The Pico is targeted at high-resolution digital manufacturing applications including the fabrication of dental models, crown and bridge casting patterns, jewelry, and hearing-aid shells.

The Pico is the first 3D printer to incorporate an ultraviolet 385 nm LED light source with up to 50,000 hours life time. The ultraviolet light source allows the Pico to print in pure white and water-clear materials. As the light source never needs replacing, it offers consistent performance from print to print and reduces the cost of ownership, as the only consumables are the fabrication materials.

Priced at US$6990, the Pico meets or exceeds the resolution of larger systems having ten-times the price.

Asiga's CTO Dr Ray Ericsson says the Pico is going to revolutionize many industries, particularly small businesses doing bespoke manufacturing. "There are many industries, including dental, hearing and jewelry, where the CAD design software is mature. The missing link that has prevented small businesses from fully engaging with these productivity enhancing tools is the high cost of tooling-grade resolution 3D printers. The Pico makes tooling-grade digital manufacturing affordable for everyone. This will result in significant productivity gains in may industries."

SLM Solutions Presents Latest Generation of Selective Laser Melting Systems SLM 280 HL

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

SLM Solutions GmbH, the German manufacturer additive manufacturing will present the SLM 280 HL, a new generation of Selective Laser Melting Systems at EuroMold 2011 in Frankfurt in hall 11.0, booth C80.

SLM Solutions, leading manufacturer of equipment for small and medium lot production of series parts is serving customers in the fields of Vacuum Casting, Metal Casting as well as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and presents its latest generation of Selective Laser Melting Systems, the SLM 280 HL. SLM Solutions GmbH focuses on technical parameters as there are given process reliability, operator convenience or build speed for example and works closely together with considerable economic institutions promoting the potential of Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).

A close cooperation with Fraunhofer ILT in Aachen enables the SLM Solutions GmbH to develop and to manufacture a system technology that is more effective to compact series parts. The generative Selective Laser Melting System SLM 280 HL provides a build chamber of 280 x 280 x 350 mm and a unique double beam technology. Due to the fact that the new system avoids the usage of "Z-Shift" F-Theta Optics, the beam focus as well as the component quality factor achieve a higher level of quality.

Furthermore a wide range of materials has been covered throughout the years with the result of qualified substances as there are Stainless Steel, Tooling Steel, Cobalt-Chromium, Super Alloys, Aluminium or Titanium.

Innovative solutions as for example the patented and bidirectional movement of the loader makes the SLM Solutions Systems to high rate products in its class. Together with the patented safe filter system in conjunction with the highly efficient protective gas agitation, the SLM 280 HL convinces with optimal process conditions in a lasting production. As a standard all systems are provided by the market-leading Rapid-Prototyping-Software Magics AutoFab to read a variety of Cad-format and STL-Data respectively Slice-Data configurating process- and part specific parameters. Moreover a totally open control programme supports the operator to work out individual building parameters. Therefore material qualifications can be implemented directly by the operator with regard to his own specific requirements.