Metal 3D Printing for Government and Defense
Encompassing more than 100,000 companies and subcontractors around the globe, the government and defense industries produce everything from equipment for law enforcement, infrastructure and public transit to the development, design, production, and maintenance of military weapons and systems, components, and parts. The mission-critical nature of many of their applications means government and defense manufacturers face a number of unique challenges, starting with production volume. From producing a handful of prototype parts for research to mass-producing a part for field deployment, government and defense manufacturers must be able to quickly move between low- and high- volume production, something that can be difficult - and expensive - for traditional manufacturing processes. To stand up to the harsh conditions they’ll face, including high stress, heat, and corrosion, those parts need to be made from metal - and often alloys with specific composition or performance criteria that can make them difficult to machine. Adding to the challenge government and defense manufacturers face is the fact that projects may last, in some cases, for 70 years or more. Maintaining or replacing parts over decades, however, can be challenging. If the original drawings or tooling is lost, they must be recreated from scratch, a process that is both time-consuming [...]
Introducing Desktop Metal Studio System 2™
The Studio System 2 - Office-friendly Metal 3D Printing in Just 2 Steps: Print. Sinter. With a simplified, two-step process that eliminates the need for solvent debinders, The Studio System 2 packs all the benefits of the original Studio System - no hazardous metal powders or lasers, no dedicated operators, no special facilities needs - into a package that’s more accessible than ever before and that produces even higher-quality parts. Using data from thousands of prints, Desktop Metal’s team of engineers and material scientists made significant advancements across virtually all aspects of the system, from material formulations to print/sinter profiles to hardware to the ability to sinter new geometries, all of which add up to improved part success. Along with new material formulations developed for improved surface finish, the Studio System 2 features a specially-formulated ceramic interface, designed to move more uniformly during sintering, reducing the chance of cracking or warping. With new print and sinter profiles built into the system’s software, complicated printing and metallurgical processes are automated, making it easy for Studio System 2 users to produce high-quality parts with improved feature accuracy, surface finish and material properties than Studio System 1 parts. The user-friendly hardware of the Studio System 2 [...]
How to Use Mastercam Reflow UV Tools
This blog post will explain how to use the new Mastercam 2021 Reflow UV tool. The Reflow UV tool allows you to fully redefine the flow of a single surface by specifying a rotation angle or using boundary curves. Let’s take a look at how we can use this powerful new surface tool to improve tool motion and eliminate unnecessary retract moves in our UV-driven surface toolpaths. We created a flowline toolpath on each of the three example surfaces shown above. We had some room for improvement in the tool motion on all three surfaces. First, we launched the Reflow UV tool to see how changing the surface flow impacted our tool motion. We started by setting the reflow option rotation angle and selecting the first surface. As you can see it displays the UV lines of the surface with a rotation compass. For this surface, we wanted the UV directions to be parallel to the longest side of the surface to maximize tool contact time and limit the number of direction reversals for a more efficient toolpath. To do this, simply grab the compass arrow and select the midpoint of the short side to rotate the UV direction. We always want to [...]
New Photopolymers 3D Printing Materials Available for Nexa3D
Building on momentum from previous collaborations, Henkel and Nexa3D continue to drive solutions for functional 3D printed parts with the release of three new photopolymers. Leveraging the expanding portfolio of high-performance resins and Nexa3D’s productivity advantages using the NXE400 printer, both companies are enabling access to a wider range of durable prototypes, production tools, and end-use parts. This new digital workflow unlocks greater design freedom, supply chain resiliency, and rapid implementation that traditional manufacturing methods cannot compete with. “We believe that our rapidly expanding collaboration with LOCTITE, now spanning six materials, coupled with our demonstrated 20X productivity gains achieved by our ultrafast NXE400 3Dprinter and up to 85% lower total cost of ownership, delivers higher productivity, better-extended life functionality, and exceptional economics.” — Kevin McAlea, Chief Operating Officer, Nexa3D. xPP405 Black and xPP405 Clear A tough semi-rigid material with high-strength engineering plastic delivering good impact resistance with performance similar to unfilled propylene. Suitable for applications such as large housings, sheet metal forming dies, and see-through element. xPEEK147 Black Tough materials with excellent surface finish, strong dimensional stability, and temperature resistance up to 230°C. Suitable for applications, such as tooling, molding applications, automotive under-hood, and a variety of end-use parts. For more information on [...]
Partial Hand Solutions Create Pediatric Prosthetics with Fuse 1 3D Printer
Advanced prosthetics manufacturer Partial Hand Solutions (PHS) has leveraged Formlabs’ new Form 1 3D printer to optimize its artificial limb manufacturing process. Instead of outsourcing the production of its pediatric M-Finger and Elbow implants to an injection molding firm, PHS now uses the Form 1 to create patient-specific prosthetics in-house. By switching to Formlabs’ recently-launched system, the company has managed to 3D print more durable nylon parts cost-effectively while cutting their lead times down from two weeks to just a couple of days. “Waiting two days for a full build platform of printers blows away the weeks I used to wait for my injection molding parts to arrive,” said Matthew Mikosz, Founder of Partial Hand Solutions. “Using the Fuse 1 has expanded my horizons. Now I’m thinking about how I can improve my work and create better patient outcomes.” Partial Hand Solutions’ new 3D printer setup (pictured) has allowed it to produce patient-specific prosthetics for the first time. Photo via Partial Hand Solutions Partial Hand’s SLS Problem Since 2007, PHS has worked to push amputee technology boundaries and create prosthetics with new functionality for those with partial hand amputations. Given that many of the firm’s clients are either active soldiers or [...]
Creating Mastercam Custom Tool Databases
This article will cover how to create custom tool databases for use in Mastercam Mill part files. An efficient method of programming in Mastercam is to create custom tool libraries. For specific machines or based on common materials being used in the shop, Feeds and Speeds can be preprogrammed in the library based on the materials as well as the capabilities of the machine. One of the simplest methods for creating a custom tool database is to start with a programmed Mastercam part file. Preferred feeds and speeds can be saved to specific tools within the part file by using the tool edit function. Open the Finalize Properties page in the tool edit utility, then update the desired feedrate. The new feeds and speeds can be updated in the current part by file by right clicking on the tool and selecting reinitialize. With the speeds and feeds for the first part having been verified we can create the custom tool database using the tools in the current part file. Open the internal Tool Manager from the toolpaths tab. The tools in the upper field of the Tool Manager are the tools currently loaded in the Mastercam part file, the tools in the lower [...]