HP and Ford Team Up to Convert 3D Waste Into Auto Parts
reprint from Digital Engineering Companies found way to extend life of already-used 3D printed powders and parts, turning them into auto components for Super Duty F-250 trucks, creating closed-loop on waste. Ford says 3D printing has potential to revolutionize customization of low-volume vehicle parts, accelerate sustainability. Image courtesy of HP and Ford. Ford is seeking to drive the future of automotive 3D printing, this time teaming up with HP to innovatively reuse spent 3D printed powders and parts, closing the loop and turning them into injection molded vehicle parts, the companies say. The resulting injection molded parts are better for the environment with no compromise in the durability and quality standards Ford and its customers demand, the company says. The recycled materials are being used to manufacture injection-molded fuel-line clips installed first on Super Duty F-250 trucks. The parts reportedly have better chemical and moisture resistance than conventional versions, are 7% lighter and cost 10% less. The Ford research team has identified 10 other fuel-line clips on existing vehicles that could benefit from this innovative use of material and are migrating it to future models. “Finding new ways to work with sustainable materials, reducing waste and leading the development of the [...]
Design for Additive Manufacturing: Internal Features and Channels
Additive manufacturing is rapidly rewriting the rules of how metal parts are made, and it’s doing it with the help of a new design language - Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM). Developed to take advantage of the enormous design freedom that comes with 3D printing, DfAM allows manufacturers to unlock a host of benefits - from highly complex geometry to the use of generative design tools to the ability to create internal features and channels - and create parts that would otherwise be too difficult or costly to justify with traditional manufacturing methods. Internal Features and Channels For some 3D printed parts, the greatest benefit isn’t on the outside, but the ability to create complex internal features. By building parts layer by layer, 3D printing opens new possibilities for engineers and designers to create parts with internal features - like conformal cooling channels - that would be impossible for conventional manufacturing approaches. Incorporating such features into parts can often result in improved performance like faster cooling rates for injection molds and improved heat transfer rates for heat exchangers, leading to production increases as well as reducing both the time and cost of creating parts. Part Examples Asthma Inhaler Mold Insert Asthma Inhaler [...]
Time To Update Mastercam
It's time to start thinking about options to update your valuable Mastercam CAD/CAM investment. With the upcoming release of Mastercam 2022, Mastercam 2019 will be three versions removed from the latest CAD/CAM technology now on the market. Plus, in two more releases, Mastercam 2019 will sunset, at which point updates and support will no longer be available. You can keep those benefits by updating to the current version of Mastercam, at a fraction of the cost of purchasing the latest version outright. Mastercam 2019 delivered cutting-edge technology when it was released, but valuable productivity improvements have since been developed — across the entire suite of Mastercam solutions — including advances in the breakthrough Dynamic Motion® and Accelerated Finishing® technologies. Many of the latest developments are the result of direct feedback from Mastercam users pushing efficiency and productivity targets. Here are some highlights since Mastercam 2019 that you can add to your CAD/CAM capabilities when you update. The good news is you can update Mastercam 2019 at any point up until it sunsets. You can plan an update at a time that works best for your organization to gain dramatic savings and revolutionary, industry-changing technologies for your CNC manufacturing needs. Just contact us to [...]
3DGence Announces the INDUSTRY F350 3D Printer
3DGence announced a new industrial 3D printer for their INDUSTRY line, the F350. The 3DGence F350 production 3D printer Previously the company launched the F340 and F420. The new F350 seems to fit in-between the previous two models, as you might suspect. However, unlike most “mid models”, it isn’t just about a build volume that fits in-between. 3DGence has implemented an interesting combination of thermal capabilities as well. Each of the three INDUSTRY models uses the FFF process with 1.75mm filament. They all sport dual extrusion by means of swappable modules, which offer the ability to very quickly put in place hardware that’s optimized for specific materials. These modules can be interchangeably used on each of the machines. All machines in the INDUSTRY line include actively heated build chambers and hot ends that can hit a sizzling 500C. All machines include filament storage that’s also heated. With all those common characteristics, how do these machines differ, and how does the new F350 fit into the lineup? Let’s look at some specifics. The build volumes are the most prominent difference, but not the sole difference. The F340’s build volume is 260 × 300 × 340 mm; the F350’s build volume is a [...]
What is the Universal CMM?
The Universal CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) is a software-only alternative to many of the cryptic and clumsy programming software products that ship with CMM’s and Head controllers. The Verisurf AUTOMATE module provides communications between Verisurf software and the CMM giving you a simple user interface to address authoring inspection programs from a variety of supported CMM’s. Tolerating outdated metrology software is now a thing of the past, especially for companies owning multiple CMM’s, each with its own clumsy programming software. You can now switch your CMM programming to a common platform for both CNC programming and CMM inspecting. Powered by Mastercam Design, all Verisurf software runs ‘inside’ the Mastercam User Interface, providing a common, industry-leading programming interface from the most popular CAM system in the world. Tool changers for probe swap-out are fully supported through the UCMM. Even support of indexing heads, disk probes and star probes are fully supported and easy to address through this powerful CMM programming tool. The UCMM connects Verisurf software with some of the most powerful and popular CMM’s on the market today. Supported CMM’s include: Brown & Sharpe / DEA controllers Brown & Sharpe DCC CMM’s Leitz Controllers Leitz DMM CMM’s Mitutoyo Controllers Mitutoyo DCC CMM’s Wenzel [...]
Mastercam 5-Part Vision for Smart Manufacturing
Mastercam is an integral slice of the reality of Smart Manufacturing. It is one of many fibers giving strength to the digital thread that is Industry 4.0. The following, courtesy of Strategic Market Analyst Ben Mund, are five areas in which Mastercam’s vision is on the future of connectivity as it benefits the manufacturing community 1. Awareness Mastercam is addressing the emerging shift in the market by acknowledging the rapidly evolving Industry 4.0 concept and the fact that it’s here to stay. From the software and hardware developers, the people on the shop floors and those who educate the market, are all working together to define that concept and to bring together the pieces for a clearer view of the future. Where does Mastercam fit into this idea? Connectivity. It’s about how many places Mastercam’s software can touch to ensure that information can be brought in and to use that information the best way possible for an output that has value to the customer. And when it does, can that information be used in other areas of their shop? That’s what Mastercam’s CAD/CAM platform does. It powers the machine tool but that is obviously just a portion of what a shop needs to [...]