Desktop Metal Releases Pure Copper 3D Printing Material
Now Commercially Available to Studio System Customers Worldwide, Copper Enables High-Performance, Highly Optimized Parts for Oil & Gas, Auto and Consumer Products Industries Desktop Metal recently announced the launch of copper for the Studio System. With its excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, copper is considered an ideal material for transferring heat or electricity and is used in virtually every electronic device made, as well as in many of the heat exchangers used across a variety of industries, including oil and gas, automotive, and consumer products. A key benefit for Desktop Metal customers is that the copper material used with the Studio System is pure copper. Unlike laser-based processes, which often print chromium zirconium copper, the Studio System’s proprietary Bound Metal Deposition process is able to print pure copper, unlocking the full benefits of the material. “Known for its excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, copper is a highly desired material for a variety of industries and applications, such as heat exchangers and electrical components for heavy industries to consumer products,” said Jonah Myerberg, CTO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. “Whether for heat sinks, electrical motor and power grid components, or resistance welding electrodes, 3D printed copper on the Studio System is an ideal choice [...]
Success with Mastercam Swiss Solutions
Two of our Mastercam experts (Rick Bair and Yolexis Lima) recently joined a corporate Mastercam meeting to discuss the success they were having with Mastercam Swiss Solutions. Here is what our experts shared about their confidence in the product, and how it is not only opening the doors to new customers but strengthening relationships with customers already using Mastercam. The following are excerpts from the presentation. Top left to right: Mastercam Swiss Product Specialist Chris Leclerc, Cimquest Director of Mastercam Sales Rick Bair. Bottom left to right: Cimquest Senior Account Executive Yolexis Lima, Mastercam Chief Technology Officer TJ Boberek Rick: I’ve been selling Mastercam for thirty years, and this is the first time that I’ve had a Swiss solution that I feel comfortable with. The Swiss market has been growing tremendously in our territory, so it’s something we definitely need to have. Chris’s knowledge of the Swiss world and machines allows him to be extremely helpful when explaining the Swiss solution to customers and potential customers. Having this Swiss solution keeps us in the conversation with potential customers that have Swiss machines, as well as keeping our existing Mastercam customers from looking at other products for a solution. It’s very easy to [...]
Measuring Features on a Mesh Without a CAD Model
While most inspection software will use a nominal CAD model during the inspection process for comparison of manufactured features to exact CAD features, Control X can perform a feature-by-feature analysis without utilizing a CAD model. This can come in very handy when a CAD model doesn’t exist for inspection and just a 2D drawing is used. The first step is to import just the mesh file or point cloud into Control X. As a reminder, mesh files go into the MEA (Measured) node and CAD or nominal models end up in the REF (Reference) node. Since the system will assume the mesh or point cloud should be the MEA for the upcoming inspection, that is the node where the polygonal file ends up. We need to use the Model Manager and transfer the mesh to the REF node, indicating that no CAD model will be used and just the mesh will be inspected. Next, we need to create Regions on the model so the software can identify features. Once Regions are created, you can measure any of the Region Features as if they come from a solid model and not a mesh or point cloud. Regions are identified by color, as depicted below. [...]
Manufacturing Tooling with Desktop Metal
About manufacturing tooling Tooling is a general term for components used in various manufacturing processes—including machining, injection molding, extrusion, stamping, casting, as well as workholding jigs, fixtures, and end of arm tooling. A single tooling mechanism may consist of several complex parts or one unique part. Tooling is used widely across all manufacturing processes. Though often created in-house by manufacturers, tooling may be outsourced to a specialty tooling shop when complexity or lead time exceeds in-house capabilities. The Challenge When a manufacturer gets a drawing or CAD model for a new product, the first thing that must be done is plan how the part will be manufactured—this plan almost always requires creating tooling. For traditional manufacturing methods, tooling fabrication demands significant non-recurring time, cost, and effort. Both to design the tooling, and then to manufacture it. Once tooling is created and volume production begins, manufacturing lines still need to be maintained, and may often need replacement parts as components wear out or break. To avoid downtime, those maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) parts need to either be warehoused for immediate use or produced very quickly to get the manufacturing line back up and running as quickly as possible. Many forms of tooling require [...]
Take Advantage of Section 179 and Save Money
Most successful businesses take advantage of legal tax incentives to help lower their operating costs. Did you know that you can immediately deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software? Section 179 of the IRS tax code lets businesses do just that. Much of the equipment businesses purchased to conform to COVID-19 restrictions will qualify for the Section 179 tax Deduction. Further, eligibility for the Section 179 tax deduction for 2020 is unaffected by any pandemic-related financial assistance a business may have received (e.g., PPP Loans.) In other words, if a company received a PPP loan or any other Pandemic-related assistance, they may still claim their Section 179 Deduction. 2020 Section 179 Deduction Limit for Businesses is One Million Dollars The Section 179 deduction for 2020 is one million dollars. This means U.S. companies can deduct the full price of qualified equipment purchases, up to $1,000,000, with a “total equipment purchase” limit of $2.5 million. The deduction includes both new and used qualified equipment. In addition, businesses can take advantage of 100% bonus depreciation on both new and used equipment for the entirety of 2020 Curious how much you can save with Section 179 on your own purchase? View the 2020 [...]
Nexa3D Partners with Siemens to Automate Additive Manufacturing
Siemens, the technology powerhouse in manufacturing, mobility and infrastructure automation, and digitalization, and Nexa3D, the maker of ultrafast polymer production 3D printers, today announced a collaboration designed to bring Nexa3D’s additive manufacturing production systems up to full Industry 4.0 preparedness. This partnership highlights both companies’ strong commitment to help additive manufacturing prepare for Industry 4.0 with innovative collaborations, open architecture, and predictive serviceability. Having worked side by side with automotive, aerospace, medical and industrial customers, Siemens and Nexa3D have proven the need to combine connectivity, digital twin sensing, and data acquisition to deliver 24/7, lights out predictive maintenance, process monitoring and print optimization to deliver polymer additive manufacturing solutions at scale on the factory floor. Under this collaboration, Nexa3D’s entire Quantum Laser Sintering (QLS) product line will be standardized to Siemens’ state-of-the-art factory automation and edge computing technologies. Nexa3D plans commercial delivery of its QLS-350 polymer production 3D printer powered by Siemens’ automation controls in the first quarter of 2021. “We are very pleased to join forces with Nexa3D and together unleash the power and potential of our products to create more resilient and sustainable supply chains,” said Tim Bell, Head of Additive Manufacturing, Siemens Industry, Inc. “Covid-19 underlined the incredibly rapid and [...]