Manufacturing Day 2021
Did you know that this Friday, Oct 1st is Manufacturing Day? While Cimquest is busy exhibiting at local tradeshows, Mastercam will be celebrating Manufacturing Day on Facebook Live this Friday at 10 a.m. EST. Their applications engineers will be going behind the scenes in the Mastercam Manufacturing Lab. This is your chance to get a sneak peek at the machines and how they operate. After the tour, they'll answer your questions and they will even be giving away free Mastercam gear! If you have any questions about the manufacturing industry or would like to see how the Mastercam machine shop operates, jump on Facebook this Friday morning and check it out.
CAM for Milling
CAM for milling is one of the most commonly used techniques in the manufacturing world for producing parts to extremely precise shapes and sizes because it combines two powerful tools: milling and CAM software. Milling is a type of subtractive machining process, meaning that it removes material from a workpiece. It does this by using a spinning tool like an endmill to cut the stock material. Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) refers to using specialized software to automate manufacturing on compatible machinery. CAM software takes part files created in a computer-aided design (CAD) software and creates the code to control CNC machines to cut the part. Mastercam, for example, is a CAM software with built-in CAD, but you can also import CAD files from virtually any CAD software to prepare for machining on a CNC mill. CAM for milling is the use of CAM software to automate CNC milling machines for efficient manufacturing. What are the advantages of CAM for milling? The alternative to using CAM software to automate the milling process on a CNC machine is using a manual milling machine or creating the CNC machine’s G-code by hand. Both options are time-consuming and leave opportunities for human error. It is almost always better [...]
Comparing FDM, SLS, and SLA 3D Printing
reprint from the Formlabs blog In-house 3D printing can increase manufacturing speed, reduce costs, enable rapid prototyping, and facilitate innovative products and designs. The popularity of 3D printing has grown as it has established itself as an accessible alternative to traditional manufacturing. However, 3D printing is not a one-size-fits-all technology. There are three well-known types of 3D printing: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Stereolithography (SLA). Each method has its unique benefits. The 3D printing infographic below is provided by Formlabs and it describes the key differences between FDM, SLS, and SLA 3D printing. It provides handy visuals for each method’s print process. The results of the printed parts differ, so it shows the results achieved with the three different 3D printing technologies. It is also important to optimize your workflow and floor space to best implement a 3D printer into your office environment. Lastly, the infographic demonstrates what applications each 3D printing technology is best suited for. With this handy infographic, you can deepen your understanding of 3D printing technologies and jumpstart your decision-making process about which printer is best suited for you. (Click on the image to be taken to the Formlabs blog to view a much bigger [...]
What Are the Differences in CAD vs CAM?
When someone mentions CAD programming, odds are they will also bring up CAM programming in the same conversation. Some people even erroneously use the two terms interchangeably. If the two software systems are so intertwined, where is the line between the two drawn? The answer lies in the stage of manufacturing in which each is used. CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design (in some circles, it can refer synonymously to Computer-Aided Drafting), which refers to the design or modification of a digital model. CAM, on the other hand, is Computer-Aided Manufacturing and controls the machine used to produce a part. CAM draws the CAD model into the real world. CAD 101 Before any machining can take place, the product must be completely, precisely, and accurately modeled. This is where CAD plays its role. CAD replaces the outdated manual drafting of 2D and 3D models, which was time-consuming and more prone to errors. Industrial designers use CAD to create renderings and vector-based drawings that culminate in 3D models that display the finished product’s size, shape, and texture. The benefit in using CAD, other than the obvious time savings, is in the nearly limitless opportunities for modifications that don’t add any cost to a part. Programmers [...]
Advantages of 3D Printing with Polypropylene
This article will cover a highly versatile 3D printing material called Polypropylene. 3D printing with Polypro offers the ability to produce prototypes in the same material as your final parts. Let’s take a look at two different options and find out what their unique advantages are. Polypro is popular due to its chemical wear resistance, weldability, and electrical resistance. It has a variety of uses, most notably packaging applications, consumer goods, and medical equipment. A big challenge for engineers is to create functional prototypes that will closely mimic the real-world part. Before 3D printing, Polypro prototypes could only be produced through molding, which would delay the time to market. In the early stages of product development, you can get away with using a material such as ABS, but when executing a field test it is necessary to test in the same material as your commercial production part. The first material we will cover is Ultimaker Caverna Polypro. It is made by melt processing two polymers at near-equal parts, to create a filament with a co-continuous morphology. This means there is a consistent distribution of interconnected channels. After dissolution, the water-soluble phase leaves behind a cave-like network of interconnected channels making it light, soft, [...]
What Will Manufacturing Look Like in 40 Years?
Manufacturing 40 Years ago Back in the late 70’s, I started my career at Grumman Aerospace and we had all NC (Numerical Control) machines in our plants as well as the very first licenses of Catia ever used in the U.S. ‘CNC’ (Computerized Numerical Control) technology was extremely new and had not yet made its way to our plant. Our machines to manufacture parts had no memory and were driven by mylar or paper tapes that had G-Code programs punched into them. Longer programs simply were made up of longer tapes. The NC machine read the tape and simultaneously ran the program. If the tape tore, a new one was punched. NC machines were extremely expensive and well out of reach for most small to mid-sized job shops and manufacturers. There was no ability to edit programs at the controller and no ability to store multiple programs on a controller. If there was an error in the program, it meant scrapping the tape (and possibly the part) and starting all over. Programmers of NC machines were referred to as ‘NC Programmers’ and likewise, we also had ‘NC Operators’. In the early 1980s, CNC machines began showing up at Grumman. The need to punch [...]