Machine Shop Automation with Cimco NC Base
Cimco's NC Base is the next step in machine shop automation to complement the powerful DNC Max software. NC Base is a CNC program management tool that enables you to manage your part programs as well as any associated documents related to a particular program. NC Base provides a highly integrated part program search tool that enables complex queries to ensure the correct documents and correct part program version or revision are selected for production. Shop personnel can no longer accidentally grab the wrong shop documentation or worse, the wrong part program as all related data is stored and linked together in this powerful database-driven tool. A SQL relational database is the underlying backbone of NC Base, although a user doesn't need to have any database programming experience to master NC Base. The user interface integrates NC Base into the very popular Cimco Editor seamlessly. So all of the NC Base functionality is accessed through perhaps the most common G-Code Editor in our industry today, and the end user setup is simply checkboxes and dropbox selections. NC Base enables you to send part programs to the shop floor, along with any necessary and related documentation, such as tool lists, pictures or even videos [...]
RIZE 3D Printing for Production Tooling
In today's global marketplace, manufacturers are under great pressure to speed up production and increase efficiencies. To accomplish this, they must develop innovative prototypes and manufacture small-batch spare parts, all while cutting costs and adhering to strict plant safety standards. Inventory management is also an important component, as this can drastically drive down costs. With RIZE 3D Printing, companies can produce custom tooling, fixtures & jigs, and replacement parts all on-demand. In our first case, PSMI had the challenge of making replacement parts when the original manufacturer was out of business. Small batch parts were too costly to outsource and complex parts can't be made easily with traditional methods. Using 3D scanning and RIZE, they were able to reverse engineer legacy parts and then 3D print them. Some of their parts include tool holders, silicone molds, pulleys, and even work holdings. In the next case, HMS Industries needed fixtures for CMM Inspections. While aluminum fixtures were always effective, they needed a faster & more affordable way to build them. Using Rize's proprietary, industrial-grade thermoplastic called Rizium One, they were able to print complex geometries and use marking ink to 'tattoo' the parts with instructional text. This resulted in a cost savings of $1,000 [...]
New 3D Scanning Products and Services
Cimquest now offers new 3D scanning products and services from Shining 3D and Variscan. We made this exciting reveal at ADS 2019 and you can watch the recap video below. Read on for more details of these two new products. Variscan Based on white light fringe pattern projection, the Variscan scanner models are our industrial, high accuracy, easy to use solution for those seeking to employ the power of 3D scanning for their applications. With a bright high-resolution light source, these scanners offer true value for the novice or the advanced user for almost any application. *Accurate up to +/- 0.0001" in a controlled environment Shining3D is specialized in providing a comprehensive solution for 3D digitizing technology. These ultra-portable handheld scanners provide flexible and convenient scanning, with high accuracy and stability. They are applicable to a wide range of operating environments and a variety of measured objects. *Accurate up to +/- 0.001" Watch the new scanning product in action by clicking the button below. More Info
HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Shorten Time to Market – Part 4
Scaling to Production in Rapid Prototyping This is the final segment in our Rapid Prototyping series and here we will talk about scaling to production. When creating a new product, there are often two sets of designs: One set is for 3D printing prototypes while the other is for producing the part. However, most designers only think in terms of the latter. “When you’re developing a product, at each moment of the design, it is a final part,” said Gabriel Boutin, CEO of Syncro Innovation, an industrial design firm in Quebec, Canada, and the founder of Kupol, a new company that designs and produces bike helmets. Kupol designed some of its earliest prototypes of bike helmets using HP Multi Jet Fusion technology, and now it has ramped up to produce them on an HP Jet Fusion 4200 Printer in partnership with Sculpteo, a 3D printing service bureau that owns the machine. Boutin explained that not only has HP 3D Printing saved him time to market, but it also has allowed him to be more creative. “When you don’t have to think in two different ways—for prototyping and production—and can just focus on one thing, you can allow for more creativity,” Boutin said. “With [...]
Sand Casting
This article is a reprint from the Formlabs blog. In the last segment of this casting basics, we will discuss sand casting. In the sand casting process, a foundry worker fills containers known as mold boxes or flasks with a mixture of sand and binder, then packs sand around the pattern. The pattern is removed to leave a negative impression of the pattern behind, and molten metal is poured into the cavity. An open-faced mold may be used for parts with features on a single side. Parts with features on multiple surfaces require closed cavity molds, with upper and lower mold boxes, referred to as cope and drag. Grey Resin printed pattern and finished aluminum casting from an open-faced sand mold. In a closed mold, metal travels through a gating system before reaching the part cavity. This gating system is carefully designed to minimize structural and aesthetic imperfections resulting from improper metal flow. Closed cavity sand molds sometimes make use of suspended cores to create internal cavities in the finished castings, as in the case of engine blocks or pump housings. We hope you enjoyed our 4-part series on casting.
HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Shortens Time to Market – Part 3
Last week we discussed the “value of functional prototypes” in rapid prototyping and today we are going to continue with a discussion about the color capabilities of the HP Jet Fusion technology. Color Capabilities of HP Jet Fusion Technology There are many ways to improve the value of a prototype, but one that is often overlooked is the addition of color. With the HP Jet Fusion 580/380 Color 3D Printers, it is now possible to print fully functional, color 3D parts. Adding color to prototypes is one way to test final part colors, but there are other ways to use color in prototypes. “One application we see is in aerospace,” said Ken Burns, the Technical Sales Director for Forecast 3D, a custom manufacturing and 3D printing service bureau. “Color can be used to differentiate the functional and the placeholder parts in an assembly. Red would be a great indicator for this since it draws attention.” Color also can be used to easily label or differentiate segments of a prototype, for example, in a part where fluids flow through different channels. Even simple text labels like a prototype revision number or the name of the designer who created the part can be incredibly valuable [...]