Jun 18, 2018

“Desktop 3D Printer Offers Speed, Precision, Ability to Work in Metal” Featured on D2PMagazine.com Airwolf 3D calls its newly released EVO a rugged ‘additive manufacturing center’ that is powered by an automotive-grade microcontroller FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.—Airwolf 3D recently released EVO, its 5th generation 3D printer that is said to be so advanced that Airwolf calls it a desktop “Additive Manufacturing Center,” or AMC. “The EVO is completely new and it’s unlike anything out there,” said Airwolf 3D Co-Founder and CEO Erick Wolf, in a company release. “We took the technology that we perfected with our prosumer line of 3D printers and leveraged it to develop a machine that’s light years beyond anything else on the market. The EVO is faster, stronger, and more accurate than any desktop 3D printer—it delivers a premium 3D manufacturing experience at less than half the cost of machines that offer equivalent performance. Plus, it’s packed with new technology that dramatically changes the way we manufacture, including the ability to work in metals. The EVO far surpasses the capabilities of a traditional desktop 3D printer. It’s a true desktop Additive Manufacturing Center.” The EVO possesses Airwolf 3D’s signature suite of features—auto-leveling, large build size, high-temperature multi-material printing, and compatibility with water-soluble Hydrofill support material—but in an ultra-ruggedized unit that includes cutting-edge features available only from Airwolf 3D. Most notable among these is the industry-first PartSave™. Nicknamed “Zombie Mode,” PartSave solves one of the most frustrating problems with 3D printing. There are few things more disheartening than 3D printing a part for hours, only to have it fail completely if the printer stops because of a power outage or unplugging the machine. With PartSave, once power is restored, the machine resumes where it left off, enabling the part to finish. Another industry-first feature, the company said, is FailSafe™. If you run out of filament or experience a jam, FailSafe™ has you covered. Just place the print head at the height you left off and FailSafe will do the rest, restoring your print and completing the job with time to spare, according to Airwolf. The EVO also ships with a full-color 7–inch Matrix touchscreen display, new Tri-Heat™ Enclosed Build Environment, an oversized...

May 24, 2018

“Direct Metal Printing Is Key to Bringing First-of-its-Kind Faucet to Market” Featured on D2PMagazine.com ROCK HILL, S.C.—Kallista, a designer and provider of luxury kitchen and bath products, unveiled its Grid™ sink faucet at KBIS 2018 earlier this year. 3D Systems’ Direct Metal Printing technology was instrumental in bringing the first-of-its-kind sink faucet—produced by 3rd Dimension using 3D Systems’ 3D printing materials and technology—to market. According to a release from 3D Systems (www.3dsystems.com), its technologies enabled Kallista to “design without limitations” in its efforts to bring the product to market. Kallista’s design team embarked on a journey to create a faucet in a unique geometry. In deciding to produce the spout via 3D printing, the designers were able to design without limitations to create an open form and discrete interior channels that allow water to flow easily through the base. “Designers usually need to consider a manufacturing process, and they have to design around that process,” said Bill McKeone, design studio manager at Kallista, in a statement. ”By choosing to produce this faucet via 3D printing, we opened ourselves to limitless design possibilities. 3D Systems’ breadth of materials and technologies allowed us the freedom to create a unique, functional faucet which would not have been possible with a traditional manufacturing process.” The faucets were produced by metal 3D printing specialist, 3rd Dimension, a production metal manufacturer specializing in 3D direct metal printing based in Indianapolis. 3rd Dimension (print3d4u.com) employed 3D Systems’ ProX® DMP 320 high-performance metal additive manufacturing system. To avoid rust and corrosion, the faucets are printed with 3D Systems’ LaserForm® 316L, a high quality stainless steel 316 powder material. “In order to realize the best product, you have to start with the best tools,” said Bob Markley, president, 3rd Dimension, in the release. “The strength of the 3D Systems technology and materials, coupled with the expertise of our engineers and machinists, allowed us to rapidly produce and deliver these high end faucets for Kallista.” As this was the first additively manufactured product for Kallista, the team at 3rd Dimension led them through a program to develop the as-designed concept for the 3D printing process. Developing the design for additive manufacturing meant that Kallista was able to avoid the...

May 16, 2018

By Mark Shortt, Design-2-Part Magazine Adaptive Corporation, Inc. strives to enable innovation by applying technology to streamline business processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies throughout the product development lifecycle. Adaptive is a reseller of Markforged 3D Printers, like the Onyx Seriesand Metal X, which are used to make carbon fiber composite and metal printed parts, respectively. Frank Thomas, a metrology and additive manufacturing specialist for Adaptive, has worked with a variety of manufacturing companies in the areas of engineering, metrology, and additive manufacturing, as both an implementation consultant and product specialist. Over the past 10 years, he has focused on connecting engineering and manufacturing, specifically around quality, and now additive manufacturing.  His goal is to help companies better connect the “virtual” to the “physical,” thereby improving their time to market and reducing cost. Thomas said that until fairly recently, additive manufacturing was used most often as a tool to create parts that you could hand to somebody so that they could see it, touch it, and provide some input as to what might need to be changed or modified. But that’s changed in recent years as new materials have been developed that enable printers to make stronger, more durable parts. “Metal printing has always been there, but that has an economic value proposition that’s a bit challenging for it,” he said in an interview. “The ABS and nylon and other plastic 3D printers, up until the last couple of years, weren’t necessarily dimensionally accurate, and then they had challenges creating a part that’s functional. That’s what I think is different about the market today, compared to just, really, a couple of years ago.” Adaptive markets 3D printers that feature dimensional accuracy and the ability to yield a part that is functional, depending on the application. Thomas said that he’s also seeing a lot of interest in metal 3D printing. “Where metal 3D printing comes from is the argon laser based systems,” he told D2P. “The companies that have had applications or use cases for them have made the investments, and they’ve been huge investments. They probably start at half a million dollars and go up, and that doesn’t even count the facility that’s required to be able to...

Apr 30, 2018

April 26, 2018 – If trade show attendance is an indicator of the health of manufacturing in the United States, then the industry is off to a great start in 2018. Design-2-Part (D2P) Shows, a series of eleven annual design and contract manufacturing trade shows across the U.S., has set attendance records in each of the three shows held so far in 2018. Two of the shows, in Grapevine, Texas and Secaucus, NJ, recorded all-time record highs for D2P shows in those cities. The third show in Atlanta, Georgia posted its highest attendance since 1995. “We are obviously thrilled with the attendance and the start that our shows have had for 2018,” said Jerry Schmidt, President of Design-2-Part Shows. “But we are also encouraged by what this could indicate for America’s manufacturing industry and the U.S. economy as a whole. What’s really encouraging about this “snap shot” is the spread of regions that have all responded: the Southwest, the Southeast, and the Northeast.” Design-2-Part Shows provide U.S. manufacturers an efficient opportunity to meet local and national job shops and contract manufacturers face-to-face to source custom parts, components, services, and design. Exhibiting companies showcase their design-through-manufacturing services featuring more than 300 product categories for the metal, plastics, rubber and electronics industries. D2P Shows exclusively feature exhibiting job shops and contract manufacturers with manufacturing operations in the United States. Companies that do not have facilities in the U.S. are not permitted to exhibit. D2P will continue its 2018 spring schedule with shows in Schaumburg, Illinois, Santa Clara, California, and Minneapolis, MN. For information on exhibiting or attending any Design-2-Part Show, visit...

Apr 19, 2018

“Butler Technologies Plays Key Role in Printed Heater Technology for U.S. Olympic Team” By Mark Shortt, Design-2-Part Magazine Butler Technologies, Inc., a specialist in user interface design and printed electronics, has made great strides during its 28-year history. Founded in 1990 by William Darney (now deceased), and Nadine Tripodi, Butler began as a brokerage firm that represented board manufacturers and screen printing companies, before venturing into manufacturing in 1993. Although the company has expanded and enhanced its offerings through the years, it never lost its original core manufacturing focus as a precision printer. “That’s what we started as, and that’s where our true passion lies, in printing, and especially in conductive inks,” said Butler Technologies President Nadine Tripodi, in a phone interview with D2P in February. “We are, in most cases, a contract printer, and on top of that, a solutions provider for those of our customers who aren’t really sure what they want or what the best approach to a print solution might be, especially in user interfaces and different types of graphic overlays.” Today, Butler is heavily focused on printed electronics, a growth market that has the company designing and manufacturing a range of wearable electronics, capacitive touch circuits, and flexible printed heaters, among other products. The company supports its customers’ product design and development goals through the efforts of an approximately 10-member engineering design team that continues to grow. “That’s one place that in the past couple of years, we’ve really added more people, and they’re good—they really are,” Tripodi said. She credited Butler’s head engineer, Mike Wagner, as being instrumental in the company’s ability to offer leading-edge printed electronics. “He is the one who really has a penchant for this and has helped tremendously in getting us more ingrained in the printed electronics world.” Butler’s engineering team offers expertise in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and project management. Its electrical engineers can work with customers to design and integrate custom printed electronics that meet specific size, shape, and functional requirements of a given project, the company said on its website. Sometimes, customers come to Butler with a drawing showing exactly what they need, and don’t make any modifications or alterations to it. But...