Product category:
Rapid Prototyping
News Release from: Unimatic Engineers | Subject: Solidscape 3D printers
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 24 February 2005
Rapid prototyping turns the tide
Solidscape three dimensional printers create accurate models rapidly by building up layer on layer of wax-like material.
With so many UK engineering jobs under threat of transfer to a low wage economy, Unimatic Engineers is attempting to turn the tide by launching high speed model makers for prototyping and product development These machines are three dimensional printers that create accurate models rapidly by building up layer on layer of wax-like material
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 26 Apr 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Developed by Solidscape in America, they can be used by manufacturers of jewellery, medical equipment, dental technicians, in automotive and aerospace production, electronics, consumer goods such as mobile phones, and many other diverse sectors.
They can accept CAD drawings from any software, preferably in STL format, but also in SLC and DXF.
"Applications are numerous", says Ian Bryon of Unimatic, who explains: "When designing fast moving consumer goods like phones, it will take a couple of months before you get the result you want".
"With the printer you can get to exactly the result you are looking for in a few days".
"That saves time to market and makes production cheaper, critically important factors in such industries".
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Key to the success of Solidscape is Drop-on-Demand-Jet technology which inherently lends itself to producing intricate, fine grained geometries with a smooth surface finish.
A dual material construction process allows high fidelity, free-form, solid model geometries to be deposited in a layered manner while a second material is deposited for non-intrusive support of all overhangs and cavities.
Hence, model features can be fabricated with dimensions as small as 254um and layer thickness from 12.7um.
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Layer thickness and smoothness are maintained by horizontal milling conducted after each layer deposition; the fine layer thickness enables the machines to avoid "stair stepping" finish in the final pattern surface.
After a part has been printed, the non-intrusive support material is selectively dissolved away from the completed model to yield a high fidelity pattern that accurately represents the CAD model.
No further post processing, sanding or shaping is needed.
Solidscape's T66 and T612 machines consist of a precision servo-driven x-y plotter carriage mounted on a solid framework to achieve stability and dimensional accuracy.
A dual drop-on-demand jet (Dodjet) delivery subsystem, mounted on the plotter carriage, traverses over a precision elevator table on which the layered model is constructed.
A temperature controlled material reservoir and heated delivery system ensure that the solid-to-liquid build and support materials are kept at the proper temperature for jetting.
A jet check and purge station are provided for automatic validation and self checking that allows for automatic data logging of the build activity as well as for power fail-restart capability.
A graphical user interface (GUI) program called ModelWorks allows the user to interpret the CAD file and optimise the model for the best construction.
ModelWorks then automatically slices and generates the appropriate support file that is converted to a binary control file to drive the machines.
A time-to-build estimate is also computed.
The control electronics drive the precision plotter, jets, milling cutter and build table elevation as a function of the binary file.
Because the jetting of material is a digitally controlled "drop-on-demand" function, these droplets are synchronised to the carriage rate of travel so a continuous and uniform height wall can be built.
The degree of droplet overlap and spacing is accurately controlled by the binary build program.
on completion of the wall structure, the remaining interior portion of the part is filled by a rapid area fill pattern.
Alternate layers are typically laid down in an orthogonal fashion to achieve a tightly knit crosshatched pattern for added strength.
After the build material deposition, the secondary support material is deposited on the same layer in the same manner.
The nonintrusive wax support material is dissolved away, leaving a finished pattern, model or part.
Solidscape machines provide the only methodology sufficiently accurate to enable the models to be used directly for the casting process.
Lost wax casting using Solidscape wax models results in high quality casts with excellent surface finish characteristics.
Furthermore, the Solidscape models do not require the casting process to be changed to accommodate special requirements - the casting house can use standard operating procedures.
The machine is designed to work with computer-aided design (CAD) file output formats and offers many useful features such as CAD file interpretation, verification, model viewing, orientation, scaling, and placement; menu driven setup procedures.
Tools within ModelWorks translate files from CAD systems into the machine control format, and provide simplified configuration file set-up; automatic slicing and support generation; time-to-build estimator, and automated system calibration.
Ian Bryon sums up: "Manufacturing in today's global village means you have to be competitive every step of the way".
"Gone are the days when engineers could beaver away for months on end in a back room to produce a model or prototype and then leave someone else to worry about turning it into a commercial proposition".
"In the low wage economies, you can afford to pile people into your development departments and thus achieve rapid prototyping".
"Solidscape lets European companies take a more organised approach and be competitive to world class standards". Request a free brochure from Unimatic Engineers ...
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