3D Printing and Thermoforming Applications
Thermoforming is a process in which sheets of extruded plastic are formed into custom shapes. The process begins by heating a sheet to an elastic or pliable state. After the plastic softens, a mold is placed under the sheet, and the sheet is drawn onto the mold by either a vacuum or air pressure. Upon cooling, the plastic takes the shape of the mold, forming a finished solid part. Thermoforming is a widely adopted process in the packaging industry, most notably for food containers. But it can be utilized in the production of larger products & technical items, for example, car body applications, aerospace, mass transit parts, and even panels for refrigerator doors. Advantages include flexible wall thicknesses, short cycle times, high output, and the ability to produce heavy parts. It is also cost-efficient for small volume lots, and modifications are practical from a cost perspective. Traditional methods require aluminum or wood molds produced on milling machines, and prototyping calls for considerable time, labor and machining costs, which can limit the ability to test multiple designs. Manual drilling of vent holes is also required, which can potentially cause unevenness and increased overall time to market. 3D printing with Fortus FDM machines provides an [...]
3D Printing Comes to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts
partial repost from http://www.usnews.com Fashion, movies and athletic footwear companies are among the latest users of 3D printing. Boston has a storied tradition of textile manufacturing, and, in more recent history, a tech scene. In its current exhibition, #techstyle, the city's Museum of Fine Arts looks to the future and at how some designers have interwoven fashion with technology. This 3D dress and cape is part of the #techstyle exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Boston has a storied tradition of textile manufacturing, and, in more recent history, a tech scene. In its current exhibition, #techstyle, the city's Museum of Fine Arts looks to the future and at how some designers have interwoven fashion with technology. A source of inspiration for the show, which opened recently and will run through July 6, was the museum's acquisition of Anthazoa 3D Cape and Skirt, a 3D printed garment designed by Neri Oxman and Iris van Herpen, part of the 2013 Voltage Collection and printed by Stratasys. The introduction provides a historical perspective, showcasing the work of established designers such as Alexander McQueen, whose 3D printed Alien Shoe from his Spring/Summer 2010 Plato's Atlantis collection demonstrates what Parmal describes as one example of [...]
Getting the Most Out of Employee Training
Last week, we covered the Top 5 Reasons to Train Your Employees and now it’s time to discuss how to get the most out of their training. You’re making a big investment when you carve out time and money to send your employees to training. It’s important to get the most out of it and here are some things to consider. What is your plan for training your employees? Do you have specific goals in mind? Have you ever sent employees out for training and wondered if they learned anything that is relevant to what they do? There are many questions you should ask before and after your employees go off to training. Was there an end objective or training plan for the employee? What are the key points that would make the training successful? Many times there is a need for a particular skill to match current or upcoming work so you try to find someone to match the skill(s) or someone who could be trained to match it. In some cases HR is tasked to find training that sounds like it meets what this skill might be. There may be local state and/or federal funding available and this becomes the driving [...]
Limited Time Stratasys Promotions
Stratasys 3D Printers are revolutionizing the way in which new products are developed. Through additive technology, you can experience substantial lead time and cost savings while achieving greater freedom over your design process. For a limited time, we're running some great promotions on materials and trade-ins, and even a Buy One Get One on 3D printers. To learn more about all of our current 3D Printing promotions, please click the button below. Sales Promos
Stratasys New J750 3D Printer Brings One-stop Realism to 3D Printing
Stratasys has once again transformed the impact of 3D printing on product development and delivery with the new Stratasys J750 3D printer. This new solution enables customers — for the first time — to mix-and-match full-color gradients alongside a wide range of materials to achieve one-stop realism without post-processing. This, together with the system’s superior versatility, makes the J750 the ultimate 3D printing solution for product designers, engineers and manufacturers, as well as service bureaus. As the latest addition to the Objet Connex multi-color, multi-material 3D printer series, the J750 3D Printer enables efficient informed decision-making to help accelerate the way products are designed, evaluated and brought to market. A true industry milestone, the J750 is expected to improve Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by eliminating many of the traditional complex processes, time and resources required to create product-matching prototypes. Designers and engineers can physically experience true product prototypes within hours of developing an initial concept for immediate design and function validation with internal stakeholders and end users. The new Stratasys J750 3D Printer transforms product design with full color 3D printing and texture mapping to create realistic prototypes in a single print operation, such as these cosmetic tubes. “We’ve used [...]
Top 5 Reasons to Train Your Employees
The biggest, and likely most obvious, reason to train your employees is that it increases their productivity and quality through increased abilities. Training ROI on an employee can be equal to, or better than, a monetary pay raise while building confidence and commitment. Training increases employee morale, motivation, and creativity. Believing in your employees enough to send them to training gives them a sense of belonging and worth, which increases morale, motivation and creativity. Be sure to be open and make time to listen to all their new ideas when they get back. Training can increases communication and trust between employees and managers. Managers can be both the weak link or the magnetic force that keeps employees with a company. Managers and employees should discuss goals and expectations before training. After training, discuss the best thing(s) employees learned and how they can be implemented. Remember, employees don’t leave companies–they leave managers. Training intangibles - When employees are better prepared technically they have a higher positive attitude, which correlates to better customer relations and reduced scrap rates. Stay tuned for another training-related blog post next week when we will discuss how to get the most out of employee training. For more information on the [...]