Laser Powder Bed Metal printing with Xact Metal – Webinar on Demand
Laser Powder Bed Metal printing with Xact Metal Learn about Xact Metal's mission to produce an entry-level LPBF printer (Laser Powder-bed Fusion) to be accessible to more companies, but without sacrificing accuracy, resolution, and high cost of start-up. https://cimquesttv.wistia.com/medias/71mwhlwdod?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640
Exploring the MakerBot Method 3D Printer
Let's take a look at the Makerbot Method Series. A performance platform, the Method bridges the gap between industrial 3D printing accuracy and desktop accessibility. The Method Series offers an entry into industrial applications at an affordable price. Built on the bedrock of proven FDM technology from Stratasys, the Method series leverages 21 industrial patents. This distinguishes Method from many of the other entry-level 3D printers on the market. Let's take a look at some of the key features. It all starts with the patented circulating heating chamber. The circulating heated chamber utilizes two heat exchangers with active blowers to fully envelop each print with hot air during the entire print. The result is consistent dimensional accuracy within .2mm and optimal part strength. Method is a dual extrusion platform with thermal cores 50% longer than most desktops, allowing for more control and faster print speeds. Inside, the rigid full-body metal frame eliminates flexing that typically occurs during high-speed print movement. Less flexing means more consistent prints with better part accuracy. The flexible spring steel build plate sits on a factory-calibrated base, machined from aluminum. The plate leverages high-strength magnets for easy print removal. Once a part is complete, the plate comes off of [...]
Keep it Real – Four Applications to Increase Productivity
Working more efficiently and effectively is a goal of essentially every organization, regardless of sector or industry. Using 3D printing, many companies around the world can increase productivity in warehouses, assembly lines, and factories, enabling them to achieve results otherwise impossible. Read on for real-world applications that companies are leveraging to increase their productivity. Support Tools and Quick Fixes In a fast-moving environment, time matters. Take Heineken’s bottling plant in Seville, Spain, for instance, which produces more than 500 million liters of beer each year. Efficiency is the name of the game, which means spare parts and other tools must be quickly available should the need arise. Using 3D printing, Heineken is able to print spare parts and tools on demand, minimizing downtime and ensuring that product is continuously manufactured. Trivium, which manufactures tin packaging for products used in industries such as beauty and personal care, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical, uses a device that measures the speed of its conveyor belts. When the wheel of this device broke, however, the company was often left waiting on a replacement. By 3D printing the wheel, downtime was reduced from days – or even weeks – to hours. Assembly Tools Workers at both Ford's Cologne and [...]
Making the Switch from Mastercam Lathe to Swiss
If you are using a lathe to machine a part with a length to diameter ratio that exceeds 3:1, you may be wasting time and money. Luckily, switching from Mastercam Lathe to Mastercam Swiss Solution is quick and simple. Virtually everything is the same as using Mastercam Lathe when programming a part for a Swiss machine. The Mastercam interface has not changed at all, and you use the same tools inside of Lathe to generate code for a Swiss machine. If you can program a part in Lathe, you have essentially already programmed it for Swiss. The minor differences lie in Custom Parameters, Miscellaneous values, and pick-off and cut-off (POCO) operations. These differences come into play with machines that have variable options, like the use of high-pressure coolant. This will be different with every machine brand. For example, a Star maching programs differently than a Tsugami, which programs differently than a Citizen. Fortunately, the programmer can easily handle these variables within Custom Parameters and Miscellaneous values. Custom Parameters and Miscellaneous Values look like this in Mastercam: Using both of these settings allows you to create special switches or options so that you get specific NC code output from the post. Mastercam and the [...]
Dynamic Thinking With Mastercam
Strategically Integrating Post and Go An optimized post processor means the code you generate in your software is the exact code that will run on your machine. Programmers are often too busy to optimize their post processors but doing so is guaranteed to save time and money. Without a well-tuned post processor, machinists often have to find workarounds by rewriting the G-code at the machine. Not only does this open the process to an entirely new opportunity for user error, it allows even the best-intentioned operator to make modifications that could reduce efficiency or increase the risk of scrap. These modifications haven’t been run through the software’s simulation and therefore are unpredictable. Even if his or her edits are efficient, the time that the operator must invest in learning the nuances of the machine in order to make the changes is discouraging, and an entire project could be held up in the case of that particular operator taking a sick day. When post processing features are as synchronized as possible, a program will behave almost identically on relatively similar machines. There is no need for operators to rewrite code, to stand by and watch machining, or to study each machine thoroughly to learn [...]
Cimquest Used Demo Equipment Annual Sale
We are selling a few of our demo 3D printers. If you are in the market for a 3D printer and are looking for a good deal, please see below for the machines currently available. Fortus 900mc Gen2 (Stratasys) - $229,000 (OBO) FDM Technology 36” x 24” x 36” Build Envelope Capable of running these materials. HP Jet Fusion 5200 (20% Discount) Multijet Fusion Technology (MJF) 15” x 11.2” x15” Build Envelope Supports: PA11, PA12, PA12 Glass Bead, TPU, PP Optional Upgrade to the 5210 Desktop Metal Studio (20% Discount) Bound Metal Deposition Supports: 17-4, 316L, H13, 4140, Copper Optional Upgrade to the Studio 2 xRize Printer ($19,000) 12” x 12” x 8” Build Envelope FFF with Full Color Printing Supports: Rizium One, Rizium Carbon, Rizium ST - for full color 3D Rize One Printer ($5,000) 12” x 12” x 6” Build Envelope FFF with Blue Scale Markin Supports: Rizium One & Rizium Carbon Please contact us for more information. Contact Us