3D Printed Drone with Embedded Electronics Flies Where Others Can’t
Can embedded electronics be combined with 3D printing in a high-temperature environment to produce a super heat-resistant drone? Ido Elyon and Stanley Leung of Stratasys Asia Pacific approached PhD student Phillip Keane, who had already successfully launched a CubeSat company, to try to answer this question. Keane is researching applications of ULTEM 9085, Stratasys’ traceable, aerospace-grade, high-strength FDM 3D printing material, at the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing at NTU (Nanyang Technological University) Singapore. The drone that he designed, a quadcopter, was 3D printed with embedded electronics. Embedded electronics are not a first, but the temperatures involved were very high; when 3D printing ULTEM 9085, the material requires a print chamber temperature of a minimum of 160°C and an extruder temperature in the region of 300°C. The 400mm class drone 3D printed using Stratasys ULTEM 9085 material. Transmitter shown for scale. The end result was an incredibly tough quadcopter that can, in principle, survive in temperatures that exceed the limits of commercially available drones. Additionally, the project has determined some best practices to be employed if engineers should wish to embed electronics hardware mid-print. Watch the video below for more information. For more information on our full line of 3D printers, [...]
Silicone Molding Workshop – Beyond the Build Plate
On February 9th, Cimquest and MakerBot are hosting an interactive post-processing workshop. The event will walk you through the process of creating silicone molds around 3D printed masters. By attending, you will gain knowledge on how to apply this to your product development process. You'll also get to take home your final part, as well as the mold, master, and a supplies kit so you can repeat the process on your own. Watch the video below for a workshop preview. http://cimquesttv.wistia.com/medias/cdi8iq0jpd?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 EVENT DETAILS When: Thursday, February 9th, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Where: Cimquest Headquarters, Branchburg NJ Cost: $75 Register for this event by clicking the button below. [button link="https://cimquest-inc.com/newsevents/3d-printing-events/" color="default" size="" stretch="" type="" shape="" target="_self" title="" gradient_colors="|" gradient_hover_colors="|" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" bevel_color="" border_width="1px" icon="" icon_divider="yes" icon_position="left" modal="" animation_type="0" animation_direction="down" animation_speed="0.1" animation_offset="" alignment="left" class="" id=""]Register Here[/button]
Cimqust 3D Prints Blue Man Group-Inspired Colorful Tubulum
If you’ve ever watched the Blue Man Group perform, you may have wondered about the series of tubes they strike to create percussive yet melodic notes. It’s called a tubulum, and it’s in the same family of instruments as a xylophone or vibraphone, only it utilizes hollow tubes to create music. The Blue Man Group’s giant tubulum was built from PVC pipes, but we realized that we could create the same effect through 3D printing. We decided to have a little fun with 3D printing while also demonstrating the capabilities of the technology. CEO Rob Hassold, inspired by the Blue Man Group, came up with the idea to create a version of their famous tubulum – scaled down a bit, understandably. The design was drafted in SOLIDWORKS as a multi-part assembly, then converted to an STL file and printed in 145 parts on our Fortus 900 and Fortus 400 3D printers. While the tubulum could have been printed in one piece on the Fortus 900, we decided to print it in multiple pieces, not only to be more efficient but so that they could use all ten colors available with Stratasys’ ASA material, an ABS-like, production-grade thermoplastic. The entire thing, including the wheels [...]
3D Printed Medical Models
3D printed medical models have come a long way in helping doctors in their approach to specific surgical procedures. If there is one area where 3D printing excels and that is the best demonstration of unique complex geometry and high value, it is probably medical applications. Every person has a unique body composition and therefore custom solutions and treatments must be tailored to different individuals. A patient of the Jacobs institute was diagnosed with a life-threatening cerebral aneurysm in her brain. With the help of 3D printing, surgical teams now have an advanced tool to help them find the right method to isolate the patient’s blood vessel, helping reduce risks associated with delays and potential complications with various surgical approaches. While there are several options for treatment, no two aneurysms are identical and it’s necessary to have deep knowledge of a patient’s vascular anatomy. In this case, doctors were able to derive a tangible 3D model of the aneurysm based on patient CT scans. The 3D model, printed using flexible TangoPlus photopolymer, gave the doctors the opportunity to not only inspect a life-sized replica of the aneurysm, but also conduct a series of pre-surgical tests against several treatment options. The model enabled the [...]
Inspect Freeform Surfaces
There are various types of dial indicators and other manual gauges that can be used to inspect freeform surfaces and determine if they are within tolerance. However, inspecting surface profile tolerances can be quite challenging when you are measuring freeform surfaces. One solution for this scenario is utilizing Verisurf software along with the CMM Master. In Verisurf, you can define the Geometric Characteristic, the Tolerance Zone Size, and add the Datum References called out on the manufacturing drawing. Next, add a surface grid of points on that freeform surface. The probe will scan and analyze each one of these points as it sweeps across the surface. You can control the density of the scan points, as well as the path direction the probe will take. Once you finish programming the probe path, use the CMM Master to inspect it. The probe then follows the automated repeatable path created in the Verisurf software, and quickly scans and collects the data from each grid point. Once this process is done, you can easily produce a First Article Inspection report per AS9102 REV B standard, or output a PDF with the tolerance information. As you can see, inspecting a freeform 3D surface just got whole lot [...]
3D Printing Lets Young Designers Reimagine Product Concepts
Design 2020 student project – creating the ultimate bicycle bottle with the help of 3D printing. Today’s design students will be tomorrow’s engineers, and to help prepare them for their future challenges, Silicon Valley-based Innodesign, Stratasys and Dassault Systèmes recently partnered on the Design 2020 program. Design 2020 offered 20 Korean designers in their 20s a chance to become fully proficient in 3D design. Covering everything from industrial design and CAD rendering to 3D printing, the program gave 20 university students and local designers the opportunity to learn theory and gain first-hand experience with the goal of conceptualizing their designs and exhibiting them publicly. Students at Design 2020 experiencing Stratasys 3D Printing. Experts from Stratasys Korea were on hand to guide the young designers through building their work on both FDM and PolyJet-based 3D printers. “Our role is to hold and mentor the students throughout the project to help them really understand what 3D printing can deliver for them,” said Daniel Thomson, General Manager of Stratasys Korea. Innodesign and Stratasys 3D Printing: Turning the Conventional to Unconventional One of the world’s top design firms, Innodesign was founded in 1986 by Kim Young-se (the current CEO). Innodesign is known for [...]