Desktop Metal Studio or Xact Metal XM200 3D Printing System?
How to make the best 3D Printing choice for your application First up, let’s talk about the Desktop Metal Studio System for low-volume or functional prototype 3D metal parts: What is unique about the Desktop Metal Studio System? The Desktop Metal Studio System is an end-to-end process with a software-managed workflow (Fabricate) to ensure your success. It utilizes a 3D technology called Bound Metal Deposition (BDM), which is comparable to one of the most widely known plastic 3D printing processes, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). The Studio System Printer comes with two ancillary system components depending on the chosen setup. The first is the Debinding unit which removes binding agents from printed parts and the second is a large-capacity sintering furnace that requires no special venting and is safe to touch. The entire system is considered office-friendly and calls for no special powder handling. The newly released Studio 2 has reformulated consumables to further simplify the process by cutting out the debinding unit completely and the burn out occurs in furnace. Desktop Metal Studio System provides a new strategy to achieve an end-use metal part. Unlike traditional machining or tooling to cut a block of metal to create a metal part, the Studio System [...]
New Mastercam 2022 Features You Need to Know
Meet Mastercam 2022. Since the release of Mastercam 2021, the Mastercam User Experience team has surveyed countless users, conducted usability tests inside and outside of Mastercam headquarters, and spent hours and hours trying to reduce mouse miles. The result is Mastercam 2022—a powerful new release driven largely by customer feedback. let's explore some of the features that you requested—like more advanced roughing in 2D machining and improved workability with meshes—and to find out how the latest version of Mastercam can help you. 1. OptiRough in Mill and Router When OptiRough was first introduced in 2010, it was not sold as an add-on; it was given to every Mill 3D user on Maintenance. Since then, the Mastercam development team has collected immense amounts of feedback and has made continuous improvements to the technology. As a result, OptiRough is one of the most well-tested and reviewed toolpaths within Mastercam. Now, the 3D High Speed Dynamic OptiRough toolpath is available for all Mill and Router product levels, notably bringing this technology to 2D users. With OptiRough, users can rough an entire part with one toolpath rather than multiple individually programmed 2D operations. The collision-aware toolpath relies on Dynamic Motion technology to maximize material removal in the [...]
Upcoming Desktop Metal Webinar – Design for Additive Manufacturing
The next generation of 3D printing has arrived - Desktop Metal + nTopology Over the next decade, additive manufacturing will enable new products to feature unprecedented levels of complexity, be 30-50% lighter, and be mass-customized to each local market. Join this event on June 16, 2021 from 11AM - 1PM EDT to learn about how you can start realizing some of these benefits today, from tips and tricks when designing parts for 3D printing in CAD, to next-generation technologies like topology optimization software to unlock the full potential of 3D printing in metals, polymers and elastomers. Register Here
Metrology Minute – Runout and Total Runout in GD&T
In continuing our Metrology Minute focus on GD&T, this month we will discuss Runout and Total Runout. Simply defined, Runout is how much a model feature varies with respect to a datum when the part is rotated about the datum’s axis 360 degrees. The datum in question would necessarily be an axisymmetric feature. It generally involves the analysis of a circular feature that is created when taking a single point tool and rotating it around a feature to form what would be a circle. Runout may be called out against any feature that is rotated about an axis. Some refer to it as how much ‘wobble’ occurs when one part feature is referenced to another feature that is generally a datum. In the example shown, Datum A is the larger cylinder and the Runout is tested by taking a single point and revolving it in a circular path around the smaller cylinder to test for how much wobble (out-of-round) the formed circle is. The tolerance provided in the callout symbol (.2mm, in this case) references the acceptable wobble in the resultant circle. What is important to note is that these formed circles are checked individually, not with respect to each other. So in [...]
Mastercam 2022 Released
The much-anticipated release of Mastercam 2022 has arrived! CNC Software has announced the release of Mastercam 2022. Many of the improvements in Mastercam 2022 are directly driven by Mastercam users and shops. Feedback from Public Beta releases, shop visits, customer surveys, and consultation with our expert industry partners create the practical, shop-driven focus that helps ensure Mastercam users’ success. Faster, more flexible multiaxis programming As more shops seek the benefits of a single setup, multiaxis cutting strategy, Mastercam 2022 adds new techniques and strategies such as the Unified Multiaxis toolpath which allows you to select multiple pieces of input geometry to generate the toolpath pattern. Using those geometry choices, the toolpath picks the best algorithm to calculate the path. Multi-pass on Deburr toolpaths supports flat chamfered and rounded edges which gives the user added flexibility, allowing the Deburr toolpath to create a quality surface finish on larger chamfered or radiused edges. Modeling advances Mastercam 2022 introduces powerful mesh creation and editing capabilities that deliver a new class of modeling tools, including the ability to reconstruct models from scanned data. Being able to directly edit wireframe geometry without interacting with the dialog box speeds up design and modification work. And the Overflow UV function [...]
Comparing 3D Printer Soluble Support Material
Today we will discuss soluble support material for 3D printers that are in the extrusion category. During the extrusion-based 3D printing process, parts that feature structural overhangs or internal cavities require support material during a build. Think of it as temporary scaffolding extruded alongside the base material to support the part as it is building up layer by layer. Upon completion of a print, the support structure can be either torn away manually or dissolved in a solution. Soluble support is removed by a completely automated process using either a wash tank or a container filled with water. Dissolvable material allows for geometries that have internal void and leaves little to no blemishes to the outer wall - keeping fine delicate features fully intact. Internal cavities and un-scarred surface-finish are features that breakaway support material cannot accommodate. Let’s take a look at four different types of soluble supports material. The first type of soluble support we'll cover is the most common - PVA or Polyvinyl Alcohol, a water-soluble polymer. PVA is a colorless, odorless synthetic polymer with significant biocompatibility properties. It is compatible with PLA, Tough PLA, PET-G, and Nylon. Aquasys(r) 120 is the world's first tap water-soluble support material that works with [...]