Rize One 3D printer is at work 24/7 at NHF.
Architectural façade company, New Hudson Façades (NHF), which specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of custom aluminium and glass façade systems on sky scrapers, has revealed how it’s now saving up to 50,000 USD per quarter using 3D printing.
The company installed a Rize One desktop 3D printer on the desk of engineering manager, Andrew Black inside its manufacturing facility in Linwood, PA, which is being utilised around the clock by Black and the CNC team to produce a range of custom fixtures.
In one use case, NHF is using the machine to quickly manufacture clamping fixtures used in the assembly process for holding custom aluminium extrusions for glazing systems. Previously, the team would CNC machine custom fixtures, typically producing around 100-200 unique and temporary aluminium profiles per project at 200 USD per part. It is now producing accurate 3D printed clamping fixtures for a quarter of the cost.
NHF is producing around 100-200 unique and temporary aluminium profiles per project at 200 USD per part. 3D printed clamping fixtures can be produced for a quarter of the cost.
The company is also using 3D printing to create custom check gauges, or custom fixturing, for CNC machines used in quality inspections. Black and his team are designing and printing custom profiles for each project that meet with other profiles via unique hole patterns, each slightly different from the other. After machining, the 3D printed check gauges are slipped over the end of the part to ensure the holes are in precisely the right locations. Compared to previous methods of using a calliper to examine the accuracy of parts, checking time has been cut in half, speeding overall production time by 15%.
NHF has also reported an increase in the frequency of routine inspections of their parts from 5% to 25%, with no slowdown in production, and Black anticipates the company’s quality assessment rejection rate to drop significantly from 1.5% to 0.5%.
The NHF CNC team is using 3D printing to produce a range of custom fixtures.
Streamlining the process further, NHF has also began printing blocks and gauges that align parts during assembly and have cut the time of certain assembly activities by 50%.
In another novel hack, NHF’s engineers are testing 3D printed custom nozzles that mount to a robotic arm and dispense a two-part silicone used as a sealant on glazing panels between the glass and the aluminium frame. These low-cost nozzles will replace copper tips which cost around 100 USD each to produce. They’re also planning to leverage the Rize One’s ink marking capability by printing bar codes onto functional parts to ensure traceability and compliance.
NHF is the latest company to leverage Rize's machine for custom fixtures. Earlier this year the company announced a partnership with Azoth which aims to create and operate the Additive Indirect Supplies Crib to provide manufacturers with custom prototype tooling, gaging, fixturing on-site to reduce costs and lead times.
