Product category:
Rapid Prototyping
News Release from: DSM Somos | Subject: Somos 9100 resin
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 December 2000
Resin used to prototype cordless phone
at Siemens
In April of 1999, 10 days after ATI started offering DSM Somos 9100, Siemens Communication Devices ordered its first prototype made from the ProtoFunctional polypropylene resin
In April of 1999, 10 days after Kentucky-based Accelerated Technologies, (ATI) started offering DSM Somos 9100, Siemens Communication Devices ordered its first prototype made from the ProtoFunctional polypropylene resin Since that time, notes Todd Grimm, ATI's Director of Marketing, 81.8% of Siemens' prototypes for phones and related hardware have been in 9100 by request
(The balance of parts, Grimm adds, were constructed in other members of the DSM family of resins, including DSM Somos 8100-the ProtoFunctionalT polyethylene-when the additional flexibility of the material was required.) Most recently, 9100 was used to prototype Siemens' 2.4gHz cordless phone product line.
"The 9100 prototypes withstand the rigors of our testing and design evaluation better than any other material we have used," explains Wayne McKinnon, Hardware Engineer at Siemens, noting that he has even performed secondary machining on their 9100 prototypes.
"They also allow us to have important 'movement' such as snap fits and other flexing motion.
When it comes to rapid prototyping, the properties of 9100 are the closest to those of production materials," he adds.
ATI was one of four original beta sites for Somos 9100 and shipped its first 9100 prototype in late March 1999.
Since that time, they have developed and delivered 6,480 Somos 9100 prototypes.
"The demand for the 9100 material has grown tremendously," says Grimm, adding that ATI just converted a fourth SLA 500 stereolithography machine to 9100 to handle the demand.
"Somos 9100 is a great, cost-effective solution for our clients and accounts for nearly half of all of our stereolithography business." Grimm indicates that customer requests for 9100 prototypes are for a wide range of applications including instrument panel components for automobiles, scale models of a new missile for wind tunnel testing and a pleasure craft (boat) for design evaluation, and vacuum cleaner components.
A wide variety of kitchen appliance parts such as oven bezels and knobs, and dishwasher spray arms and baskets used in functional, hot water testing have also been fabricated.
DSM Somos 9100 series' tensile strength, elongation at yield and Young's modulus mimic those of polypropylene and accelerates the design process by creating stereolithography parts that function comparable to polypropylene parts in hours.
The Somos 9100 series differentiates itself from other stereolithography materials on the market by offering enough durability to allow functional prototyping, but also the rigidity and robustness required to survive the room temperature vulcanization (RTV) tooling process.
With offices in Austin, TX and Hebron, KY, Accelerated Technologies, (ATI), founded in 1993, is considered one of the largest rapid prototyping (RP) service bureaus in the world, operating 16 rapid prototyping systems.
ATI/Austin is equipped with nine selective laser sintering Systems (SLS) and four stereolithography (SLA) systems.
ATI/Hebron runs three stereolithography (SLA) systems and houses the company's RTV molding operations.
ATI has provided rapid prototyping services to over 1100 companies worldwide that span a wide range of industries including consumer products, aerospace, automotive, computers and electronics, investment casting foundries and medical devices. Request a free brochure from DSM Somos ...
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