PCS Revs up for 3D Printing, CNC Software and 3D Scanning Road Show

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been receiving a fair amount of mainstream media coverage lately, thanks to its adoption in industries such as fashion and medical tech. Usage of 3D printing by museums or the focus on AM for the U.S. manufacturing initiative hasn’t hurt either. At this point in the technology’s growth, really any publicity is good publicity (IP questions aside, perhaps).

Awareness doesn’t necessarily equate to understanding, however. It’s easy to find videos about 3D printing on the internet, but some people don’t really grasp the potential of a technology unless they see it in person and observe its capabilities. PCS Engineering is taking AM on the road to provide demonstrations with its 2012 road show.

Beginning on June 25, PCS will be hosting a series of seminars featuring 3D printing, 3D scanning and CNC software.

“The road show will display how leading manufacturers use CAD/CAM software, 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies to accelerate the product development process,” said PCS Engineering, Inc. CEO Michael Huggins. “It is intended for manufacturing professionals seeking to improve operations with greater efficiencies in terms of cost and time required to bring new products to market.”

Software and equipment on hand for the seminars includes:

• DP Technology — Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Software
• Epilog Lasers — CO2 Laser Engraving Systems — special feature: laser cutting demonstration
• GoMeasure3D — 3D Scanning, Inspection and Reverse Engineering 3D Measurement Reverse Engineering and Inspection Solutions — special feature: the Microscribe Portable CMM Measurement Arm demonstration
• Objet — 3D PolyJet Matrix technology and Digital Materials — special feature: Objet30 demonstration
• Siemens PLM ­— SolidEdge Software Modeling and Assembly Tools

This series of seminars sounds like a good way to introduce colleagues or management to the potential of AM, particularly for use in rapid prototyping. The events will begin at 10 a.m. and finish up at 3 p.m. Along with general information about the technology, attendees will see live demonstrations of 3D printing, 3D imaging and laser cutting and AM-related software.

A list of road show dates can be found here. Attendees interested in having a specific part created during the events should send a CAD model in .STL format to [email protected] at least one week in advance.

If you aren’t near the East Coast, but are still interested in this sort of demonstration, you can also keep an eye on the GE Garages (Rapid Ready coverage) website for dates in other parts of the U.S.

Below you’ll find a video that discusses the advantages offered by rapid prototyping.

Source: PCS Engineering