Metal Goes Mainstream – Thoughts From the Desktop Metal Reseller Conference
Late last month I had the opportunity (along with others from Cimquest) to attend the annual Desktop Metal conference in Jacksonville Florida. Unfortunately, the sunshine state didn't live up to expectations with overcast skies, high winds, and temperatures in the low 50's. Everyone seemed to blame us northerners on dragging the arctic winds with us on our travels. However, despite the cool temperatures, we had a great time gaining a better understanding of the hot new technologies that Desktop Metal is going to and has brought to the market. Sitting through the presentations I had to reflect on the fact that this very young company (just over 4 years old) has and is revolutionizing the world of metal additive manufacturing and beyond (see Fiber below.) Ric Fulop's vision of mainstreaming metal 3D Printing and bringing about a new chapter in additive where the production of metal printed parts can reach a level of simplicity, volume, cost-effectiveness and repeatability never thought possible. In fact, it reminds me of what HP has done to make the production of additive plastic parts competitive to low volume injection molding. Since the first shipments of the office-friendly Studio printer back 2 years ago, the talented team as Desktop [...]
New Cimquest Office Opens in Florida
Cimquest officially opened their new office in Florida on January 23rd. It was well attended by local companies who had the opportunity to see the HP 5200 production system, the Desktop Metal Studio System, and take a tour of the Seaway Plastics facility. Attendees got to meet with the Cimquest expert staff and HP 3D Printing specialists while interacting with real 3D printed parts made from a range of engineering-grade materials. Rob Hassold, CEO of Cimquest attended the Grand Opening and said . . . "It was great to get to spend time with people that are interested in learning about what 3D Printing can do to help launch their business to the next level. I am excited about the next step for Cimquest, opening up a Florida facility and the opportunity to bring HP and Desktop Metal 3D Printing to Florida and the surrounding territory."
Cimquest and Nexa3D Announce Partnership
Cimquest, Inc and Nexa3D Announce Partnership to Enter the Eastern US 3D Printing Market Cimquest, a leading provider of 3D printers, and manufacturing and design products today, announced a partnership with Nexa3D, the maker of ultrafast stereolithography production 3D printers. After an extensive vetting process, this new agreement fills a gap in our product offering to provide a true mass production photocure printer. "When we chose to revamp our 3D printing product line almost two and a half years ago to address the shift in the market from prototyping to production, we knew it was going to take time to identify and test technology that could lead Cimquest and our customers into the next decade,” said Cimquest CEO Rob Hassold. “With the growing success we are having with the HP multi-jet-fusion printers, we knew it was time for us to complement and expand our portfolio with a true mass production photocure printer,” continued Rob. We are excited that after an extensive evaluation of all available options, we concluded that Nexa3D’s new exciting technology is the right solution for our customers." Nexa3D plans to deliver a significant upgrade for tens of thousands of older legacy stereolithography printer users with their flagship printer, the NXE400. [...]
3D Printing for Auto Racing Industry
In Motorsports, engineering teams are always under the gun to improve designs and enhance racing performance. To win races consistently teams must find innovative ways to reduce weight while maintaining the strength necessary to withstand extreme conditions. These conditions include high temperatures, along with the harshness and vibration that come with racing. Triple Eight Race Engineering turned to HP Multi Jet Fusion to print components and tooling for parts. In this first example, they sought out to improve the driver ergonomics of a racecar steering wheel. A racing wheel is an assembly consisting of an armature and grip, the hub and quick-release mechanics, and various switchgear and lights. The champion on this team wanted a grip made from silicone polymer since modern racing gloves feature grips that work well with this material. Making a silicon grip typically requires an aluminum mold made from CNC machining or a mold printed on common FFF technologies. But CNC machining did not meet the budget and time constraints and their existing 3D printer required costly post-processing. Additionally, the project required multiple iterations, which would only boost costs under traditional methods. Using HP 3D Printing, they were able to print a two-part mold to form a soft polyethylene [...]
Welcome Our Latest New Employees
We are continuing to grow our Cimquest team and have hired quite a few new employees. Please help us to welcome the following new hires. Jim Harrison has worked as an Additive Manufacturing (AM) engineer for 30+ years, in aerospace, medical device and consumer products. He started his career in AM in 1988 as part of the SLA-1 Beta Program at Pratt & Whitney, military engines. Jim will be our senior account executive in the Southeast, representing HP Multijet Fusion 3D Printing. If you need help in the Southeast please don’t hesitate to contact Jim at jharrison@cimquest-inc.com. Another recent hire that we would like to introduce is Dustin Krienke. Dustin is from Mountainside, NJ and graduated in 2018 from Rowan University. He joined the Cimquest team in Oct 2019 as the training coordinator. He previously worked with a staffing company as a business development manager. If you're ever at the beach you might see him out in the waves. Please also welcome Tyler McCormack. Tyler recently graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology as a mechanical engineer, where he was introduced to 3D printing and Cimquest services. His internship took place at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey [...]
Top 2-Minute Tuesdays Videos of 2019
Did you know that we produce and share one video every week as part of our 2-Minute Tuesdays Video Series? This popular video series is now in its eighth season and it focuses on various topics in the manufacturing industry including Mastercam, a variety of 3D Printers, CAD, Reverse Engineering & Inspection solutions, as well as Customer Spotlights, Tips & Tricks, What’s New, and much more. You can sign up to receive these videos in your inbox every week via the button at the bottom of this article. It's always fun to look back and see which videos were the most popular of the year. In 2019 the two most-watched videos were "Solid Hole Function in Mastercam 2019" and "HP for Machinery & Production Lines." Click on the images below if you would like to watch the videos. More information about 2-Minute Tuesday, including a link to sign up, is just below. Sign up