Photopolymer jetting (or PolyJet) builds prototypes by jetting liquid photopolymer resin from ink-jet style heads. The resin is sprayed from the moving heads, […]
FDM liquefies solid thermoplastic and extrudes it through nozzles not much thicker than a human hair. Each layer of plastic fuses to the previous one and is immediately solidified. […]
Whatever the item a company intends to produce, creating a prototype is crucial to the design process. Moldmakers would be wise to stay on top of technology developments and consider their use to improve the service they provide. Following are four reasons why prototyping is important. […]
Robotic automation is one of the solutions that can improve efficiency of manufacturing. As production requirements increase, robots can be used to efficiently tend existing machines for medium and large lifetime production volumes. […]
Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) is a term often used, but its true meaning and value may have been lost. DFMA is a set of core values combined with a systematic approach for reducing design complexity and cost. These core values include optimizing all areas of the manufacturing process: fabrication, assembly, test, procurement, shipping, [...]
The closer integration of the two technologies offers obvious advantages to smaller manufacturers of simpler parts, where the product designer will often also be the machine tool programmer. Having a common interface for the CAD and CAM software makes learning the two programs easier, while automatic updating of the toolpaths if the design changes will [...]
It is somewhat ironic that software companies are promoting closer integration when an increasing number of toolmakers are separating design and manufacture by putting responsibility for CAM onto the shop floor. This approach gives a number of potential advantages. […]
Traditional techniques for making a mold require several time-consuming steps that can reduce how flexible and diversified a company can be. If the moldmaking process could be accelerated, moldmakers could build more tools for different products or variations of products in a fraction of the time. In these tough economic times, diversification can mean the [...]
For many organizations, one of the most difficult aspects of implementing new cleaning technology is justifying the purchase—particularly in difficult economic times. Cleaning by hand is inexpensive as scouring pads and cleaning solutions are cheap and companies can frequently hire minimum-wage laborers to do the work. In some cases, the prevalent attitude may be “We [...]
Non-contact 3-D laser scanning captures everything on the surface of the objects, including free-form shapes and fine details. The technology works by projecting a line of laser light onto a surface while cameras continuously triangulate the changing distance and profile of the laser line as it sweeps along. The laser line passes back and forth [...]