Introducing the New Freescan UE Pro Laser Scanner
The Freescan UE Pro is our latest and most impressive handheld laser scanner. Similar to the UE11 and UE7, the UE Pro also has settings for reflective and black parts, making it a very durable option to scan multiple part textures without the need to spray the surface. Developed by Shining 3D, this scanner’s accuracy specification is +/- 20 microns or +/-.00079”. More importantly, the Pro’s resolution can be dialed into an incredible 10 microns or .00039”. Resolution is a scanner’s ability to capture fine detail. Many scanner manufacturers refer to resolution as “point spacing” or “point density.” So when set to 10 microns, this scanner can essentially capture sharp edges on parts. While the UE Pro has an incredible resolution for capturing tiny details, it also has built-in Photogrammetry for error reduction when scanning very large objects. Unlike many scanners that deploy photogrammetry, the UE Pro doesn’t require serialized targets to be placed onto the object. Two scale bars that come with the scanner are all that are needed to tie photogrammetry into your scanning sessions. Finally, through a USB3.0 connection, the 26 crossing lasers can scan at an incredible rate of 1.85 million points/second, making the scanning of very large objects [...]
Is Additive Manufacturing the Same as 3D Printing?
Reprint from Additive Manufacturing Some say yes and we say no! Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing are overlapping terms but not synonyms. 3D printing is the operation at the heart of additive manufacturing, just as “turning” or “molding” might be the operation at the heart of a conventional manufacturing process. In a nutshell, 3D printing is one step in an overall additive manufacturing workflow that also includes design, build preparation, postprocessing, business considerations, and more. Importantly, “3D printing” does not describe just one type of technology. Per ISO/ASTM, there are seven different “families” of 3D printing processes and a growing number of material and machine options. Read the Full Story Here Our Additive Manufacturing Solutions
3D Printed Electric Dirt Bikes
A reprint from Additive Manufacturing New Electric Dirt Bike Is Designed for Molding but Produced Through 3D Printing Cobra Moto’s new all-electric youth motocross bike could not wait for mold tooling. Parts have been designed so they can be molded eventually, but to get the bike to market, the production method now is additive manufacturing. Sean Hilbert, president of Cobra Moto, says manufacturers make a mistake in the way they justify additive manufacturing capability. “We cost it wrong,” he says. If the expense of a production AM system is amortized across the parts it produces — the typical way to account for production capital equipment — then the unit cost of each 3D printed component is apt to be high. Additive manufacturing is often subject to bursts of activity, producing parts as they are needed. Read the full article More info on 3D Printing
3D Printing Provides New Options for Extol
Reprint from Additive Manufacturing Manufacturing technology supplier Extol has always served customers who are producing polymer parts. Now, it's making some of those parts in-house through 3D printing, providing new options ranging from functional prototyping into bridge production and beyond. As the automakers centered in Detroit have been chasing electrification and faster, more agile product development, a manufacturer on the other side of the state of Michigan has felt a shift in the supply chain for polymer parts. In the past, vehicle development was slower, more in line with the lead times expected for injection mold tooling. If new plastic parts couldn’t be sourced in time, automakers often had the option to pull from inventory developed for previous years’ models to get cars into testing and fulfill early purchases. But electric vehicles often don’t have this luxury; whether developed by startups or legacy OEMs, EVs tend to be new vehicle platforms without legacy parts to fall back on — and they are being launched into the market at accelerated rates, creating a demand for faster production. Read the Full Story Here
Bridge Production Is Real Production
Reprint from Additive Manufacturing The chance to launch a product into the world using additive manufacturing as the initial process delivers important new possibilities and even keeps on delivering advantages far into the product’s life. We are watching additive manufacturing find its place as an accepted and established method for making production parts. What will be the ultimate extent of additive’s share of production? One way to think of this is as a percentage: the portion of production performed through 3D printing. However, another way to see AM finding its place is in terms of sequence: the role additive production is finding in the stages of development of manufactured products. Similarly, we are watching additive manufacturing realize new possibilities. One way to see this is in engineered geometries — the elaborate forms, and customized forms, that can only be made through AM. However, another way to see AM realizing new possibilities is in the products that never would have come to market without it, because of the way 3D printing permits both fast speed to market and bringing the product to market without the investment and commitment needed for production tooling. Read the Full Story Here
NASA Sends Formlabs Parts to Space
Reprint from Digital Engineering 247 Parts will ride aboard the SpaceX Dragon Resupply Capsule. Later in the summer of 2022, SpaceX will launch its 25th commercial resupply services (CRS-25) mission to the International Space Station (ISS). On board, the cargo capsule will be 4,500 pounds of food and equipment for the crew members on board the ISS. This mission is part of the ongoing cargo contract between SpaceX and NASA and involves collaboration and partnership between the two entities. Among the pieces of equipment on the CRS-25 flight will be electroplated brackets printed on a Form 3 stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer from Formlabs. The brackets are designed to hold a laser during various experiments and will be exposed to the external environment of the space station. NASA engineers display the 3D printed and plated components in front of the Formlabs printers. Image courtesy of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The 3D printed and plated parts will be exposed to the harsh environment of space and the results could inform how NASA, SpaceX, and possibly other aerospace manufacturers may incorporate additive manufacturing into potential future product plans. NASA engineers at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center have been working with the Formlabs [...]