The Cimquest Manufacturing Lab
Cimquest was founded in 1990 as a reseller of CAM & CAD software and soon became a premier training facility. At times we heard our customers struggle with applying new tooling and equipment with the latest Mastercam toolpaths and we wanted to address this issues. We began to build partnerships with tooling, fixturing, and machine tool companies to teach how all these components work together. Shortly after these partnerships started the vision of the lab began. We wanted to develop a lab that is a collaboration of our partners who teach the applications of the latest manufacturing technology – a lab with a team of instructors made up of experienced machinists, tool and mold makers, and engineers. When these folks are not teaching or solving customers problems, they use this lab to learn new tool paths, equipment, or processes to pass that knowledge on. The Cimquest manufacturing lab has CNC machines and access to the latest in 3D printing to enable us to show and prove the synergy between these technologies. It is a hub for teaching industry, college, and trade schools students, the next level of advanced manufacturing. This lab will fuse subtractive and additive manufacturing together for a production process that [...]
How Lumenium Saves 85% of Cost with 3D Printing
Lumenium is another of the pioneer customers. The company is a Virginia-based advanced engine technology company. They are also the inventor and developer of a highly innovative family of internal combustion engines (IDAR Engines). The Lumenium Inverse Displacement Asymmetrical Rotational Engine (IDAR Engine) is a novel design for producing robust, efficient, internal combustion. Its unique engine geometry provides unparalleled power density for dramatic efficiency gains and work output from a smaller, lighter engine. Qualities include lower fuel consumption and meaningfully lower emissions through more complete combustion at lower temperatures. Lumenium demonstrates how the connecting rod was scanned. Working with Desktop Metal, an optimized design with self-supporting angles to reduce 3D printing time and material consumption was created. This redesigned part improved the ratio of part volume to material volume with uniform geometry and no overhanging features, meaning that the support structures are extremely light in comparison to the weight of the part. Desktop Metal explains, “On the top and bottom of the saddle carrier, Lumenium typically machines the channels that mate onto the swing arms (also a Studio fabricated part). The Studio System delivers the ability to adjust density in certain sections of the part. We were able to increase the [...]
Desktop Metal Ships Their Metal 3D Printer to Google
The Desktop Metal Studio System with metal 3D printer, debinding station and furnace. The first metal 3D printing system from Desktop Metal is FFF/FDM based and also includes a debinder and sintering furnace. According to the company it is 10 times less expensive than existing technology today. The Studio System was first announced in April and uses a filament containing bound metal rods that are 3D printed to create a green part. This can then be sintered in the furnace to create a dense metal component. Early reports from pioneer customers praise the process. Metal 3D Printing at Google The first customer to receive one of the Studio System metal 3D printers was Google’s Advanced Technology and Products (ATAP) group. While Desktop Metal cannot reveal precisely how ATAP are using the machine, past projects at ATAP have tended to focus on mobile hardware. One such endeavour was the now defunct Project Ara – aimed at making a modular phone. “This marks the first time our team will be able to use metal 3D printing for rapid prototyping of our hardware parts,” said David Beardsley, manager of Google’s ATAP. “For prototyping, we have previously relied upon casting or using plastic 3D printing. [...]
Desktop Metal Named “2017 Best of What’s New” in Engineering
Popular Science Names Desktop Metal Production System "2017 Best of What's New" in Engineering Highlighting its speed and inkjet technology, Popular Science recognized the Desktop Metal Production System™ with its “2017 Best of What’s New” award in the Engineering category. The Production System is the first metal 3D printing system for mass production of complex metal parts that is up to 100 times faster than current laser systems. Arriving in 2018, the Production System delivers the speed, quality, and cost-per-part needed to compete with traditional manufacturing processes. Created by the inventors of ground-breaking technologies in both 3D and 2D printing – binder jetting by Ely Sachs and single pass inkjet by Paul Hoisington – the Production System builds metal parts in a matter of minutes instead of hours. Leveraging low-cost Metal Injection Molding (MIM) powder, it is designed to deliver high throughput and per-part costs that are competitive with traditional manufacturing processes—up to 20x lower than today’s laser-based additive manufacturing systems. "The Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that shape the future," says Joe Brown, Editor in Chief, Popular Science. "From life-saving technology to incredible space engineering to gadgets that are just breathtakingly cool, this is the best of what's new." [...]
Formlabs Announces Two New Materials
Formlabs’ library of versatile, reliable Engineering Resins is formulated to help product designers and manufacturers reduce costs, iterate faster, and bring better experiences to market. They recently announced the addition of two new materials for the Form 2: Grey Pro Resin for Versatile Prototyping and Rigid Resin. Grey Pro Resin offers high precision, moderate elongation, and low creep. This material is great for concept modeling and functional prototyping, especially for parts that will be handled repeatedly. This material is best for form and fit testing; prototyping injection molded products; mold masters for plastics, silicones, and more; jigs and fixtures for manufacturing. Rigid Resin is filled with glass to offer very high stiffness and a polished finish. This material is highly resistant to deformation over time and is great for printing thin walls and features. Rigid Resin has the highest modulus of all Formlabs materials. It has great impact strength, heat resistance, and stability, but is more brittle than Tough and Durable. This material is best for turbines and fan blades; jigs, fixtures, and tooling; manifolds; electrical casings and automotive housings. Please click below for more information on all of the Formlabs materials. More Info
3D Printing HP Labs Innovation
Progress in 3D authentication and identification brings 3D manufacturing closer Multi-jet-fusion printed part on the left and a high-resolution scan of the indicated portion of it on the right showing the micro surface structure used for authentication. An HP Labs investigation into accurately identifying and authenticating 3D-printed objects is helping enable a future where parts for high performance machines like jet engines are routinely printed to order. It may also aid the development of new systems for tracking physical objects of any kind on a massive scale. “To use a 3D printed part in a machine like an aero-engine, you need to be able to confidently identify and track that part after it has been printed from a known and trusted printer,” observes Bristol, UK-based researcher Stephen Pollard. One way to do that would be to add a unique identifier like a bar code to each printed item. But Pollard and his colleagues in HP’s Print Adjacencies and 3D Lab wanted to come up with an approach that added no processing or materials cost to the 3D printing process and that would also have applicability for 3D objects created via more conventional methods. Their solution: a low cost, three-stage, automated identification [...]