Rapid Rewards in RM Tech Mastery

By Pamela J. Waterman

This image of the Stratasys large-format production 900MC FDMsystem, shows examples ofthe 32 parts of themachinemade with FDMtechnology. (Image courtesy Stratasys)

Rapid manufacturing (RM) has experienceda sturdy, deliberate progressionof improvements this past yearcompared to the somewhat heady “let’s try this, this, and this” approach ofthe past 10. It’s a good sign when companieshave mastered their basic technologiesand reached the point where they canfine-tune their R&D-based or first-generationresults. However, today’s RM industry is anything but staid or dull.

  More finely controlled build parameters,greater variety in materials, and overallefficiencies continue to improve, expandingthe end uses into just about everyapplication area you can imagine: medical,dental, jewelry, tooling, consumer applications,and more.

  DE takes a look at some of the achievementsin RM since last June, and offers aglossary reflecting many of the currenttechnologies in this field (see Table 1).

Finer Features, Ne RM Materials
Objet announced it was the first rapid prototyping(RP) company to win the manufacturingindustry’s EuroMold 2007 InnovationAward for its Connex500 3Dprinting system. What’s clever about theConnex500 is its ability to build using two photopolymer materials at the same time.

This model was made in a single continuousbuild on Objet’s Connex500 3D printingsystem. The system’s Digital Materials on theFly approach creates sections with varyingmechanical properties by creating multiplecomposite blends of Tango Black and VeroWhite materials. (Image courtesy Objet Geometries)

Per the Objet website, “The dual-jetprocess can combine materials in severalways, enabling the simultaneous use oftwo different rigid materials, two flexiblematerials, one of each type, any combinationwith transparent material, or two jetsof the same material.”

Even more interesting, the Connex500also fabricates parts made from (currently)21 truly blended-composite DigitalMaterials and produced by simultaneously jetting two different Objet materials.

This capability creates preset combinationsthat display different Shore A mechanical(hardness) properties, all in onephysical part. More combinations are inthe works.

The dental industry is turning out tobe a hot application area, for both directand indirect manufacturing. 3D Systemshas been so active in this area it’s a challengeto keep up with its new systemsand material offerings. The ProJet DP(dental professional) 3000 3-D ProductionSystem, based on the company’s Multi-Jet Modeling technology, manufacturesprecision wax-ups using 3D System’s Visi-Jet DP 200 dental material. The wax-upmolds offer a smooth surface finish forcasting or pressing crowns, bridges, and other dental parts.

Other versions of the ProJet 3000 createinvestment-casting models for suchfine parts as jewelry using a full line ofVisiJet materials. 3D Systems also announcedits V-Flash HA production systemfor rapid manufacturing of hearingaid shells and molds. The V-Flash system is based on the company’s new FilmTransfer Imaging (FTI) technology.

ExOne’s Imagen Rx-D 3D printing systemfor the dental industry uses direct metalfabrication to create the substructure forsuch parts as crowns and bridges using gold,gold alloys, palladium, and platinum. Asample dental coping made on ExOneImagen Rx-D systemis seen above right. (Images courtesy ExOne Imagen)

Envisiontec’s Perfactory systems buildparts using image-projection technologybased on Digital Light Processing fromTexas Instruments. The technology providesfine detail for jewelry and dental industrymanufacturing, and now usesthe new EnvisiontecWIC300 line of wax basedmaterials for porosity-free casting.

  ARolandAdvanced Solutions Division(ASD) JWX-10 wax milling machine recentlyserved as the “rapid” part of a newjewelry pattern system demonstrated byDelft Spline Systems. The driving softwareis called 123WaxRing, and is part of Delft’s Desk Proto line of CAM software.

  Using pre-shaped wax disks, a special fixture,and the smart software, it turns jewelrypattern-making into a pushbutton operationfor designers.

  Solidscape, a long-time supplier to finejewelry manufacturers and dental laboratories,recently announced its newT76 system thattargets both fields.

  According to David Bothwell, presidentand CEO of Solidscape, “The system incorporatesthe automatic functions of thepopular R66 system used by custom retailand studio jewelers, but with a duty cycleand speed of Solidscape’s widely used T66Benchtop 2.” The company’s droplet-basedthermoplastic casting patterns are now easierto create thanks to a touch screen interface and 232mm2 build area.

ArcamCAD-to-Metal production of a skull repair-plate was custom-designed based on CT-scan data and manufactured with both a solid core and porous surface to promote bone in growth. It was built with ArcamEBM direct metal manufacturing technology from biocompatible materials like titanium alloys.(Image courtesy Arcam)

Real-World Plastics
EOS demonstrated the increasing popularityof RM with record sales in 2007,showing growth with its metal, sand, andplastic-sintering systems for tooling, dental,and medical applications. The companyintroduced the compact Formiga P100 (plastics) system, featuring a moreuser-friendly touch screen input. It is suitablefor the production of a series of smallparts and individualized products withcomplex geometries, and is even making some sintered parts for its own machines.

  Stratasys came out with the FDM900mcsystem, the first system built specificallyfor direct digital manufacturing. Aimedat eliminating tooling, the new platformuses ball-screw technology (compared toa belt) for driving the head gantry, whichhas improved predictability and repeatability.

  The build envelope measures an impressive3 ft x 2 ft x 3 ft.

  Equally impressive is the fact that 32plastic parts for the FDM900mc are themselvesproduced on Stratasys systems, includingexterior parts, interior parts, andfield service tools.

  Also new in the past year from Stratasysis the FDM360mc, a lower-cost systemwith the same accuracy, repeatability, andmaterial specs of more expensive FDM systems,but with a lower build rate and fewerfeatures. The FDM 360mc is the resultof technology innovation and manufacturing-process improvements in the extrusionhead gantry, now straighter and stiffer.

  Dimension 3D, a division of Stratasys,sells systems that produce ABS working parts, tooling parts, and masters for vacuum
forming.

  Focus on metals
Though many RM metal parts still needthe post processing offered by conventionalmethods, more and more equipment isshowing up as complementary tools intraditional machine shops and specialtyproduction houses.

  ExOne markets RM systems based onMIT’s 3D Printing technology for direct metalpart production. The company’s Imagendental and medical systems use suchmaterials as powdered pure gold (an 87-percent gold alloy, palladium, and platinum)to directly create parts.At the sametime, ExOne’s ProMetal division sellsequipment that manufactures parts in stainless-steel/bronze alloys and pure bronze.

MCP Tooling Technologies offers theMCP Realizer that melts powdered metalswith an infrared laser. Its process, selectivelaser melting (SLM), can produce fullydense parts and handle such materialsas zinc, tool steel, titanium, and chromium-cobalt.MCP also supplies private-labelequipment that 3D Systems marketsas the DM100 and DM250 with two differentbuild sizes for a wide range of applications.

  The Swedish company Arcam marketsdirect-manufacturing systems that produceparts using electron-beam melting(EBM) technology on powdered metal.

  Last fall Arcam introduced a ProductivityBoost feature that increases reliability andreduces build time up to 30 percent. Thisfeature is offered standard on the ArcamA2 and is available as a combination hardware/software upgrade for the EBMS12.

  This past January, Arcam also made amajor change by assuming full responsibilityfor North American sales, terminatingits previous distribution agreementwith Stratasys.

“North America is Arcam’s largest marketand also the market with the highestlong-term potential,” said Arcam Presidentand CEO Magnus René. “After evaluatingour options we concluded that ourown operation in North America providesthe best overall value for our U.S. andCanadian customer base.” 

3D Systems has announced a joint developmentproject with TRIAL Corp. ofKanagawa, Japan, to develop specialtymaterials and composites for selectivelaser sintering (SLS) machines, addressingthe needs of the RMindustry. 3D Systemshas already developed an engineered,high-temperature nanocompositematerial,Accura Greystone plastic, for itsstereo lithography (SLA) systems. Applicationsinclude tooling, wind-tunnel testparts, and under-the-hood automotivecomponents.

POM’s Robotic DirectMetal Depositionsystem66R is a fiber-coupled diode-lasermachine integrated with a 6-axis industrialrobot. Eliminating the need for a CNCmachine, it brings the system to the part forrepairing massive tool components. (Image courtesy The POMGroup)

POM’s direct metal deposition technologyis applicable to manufacturing, remanufacturing,and reconfiguring, both forcreating new tooling and restoring edgeson such components as worn gas-turbineblades. Its systems use a diode laser to fusemetal powder delivered through a coaxialfeed, creating fully dense parts. Materialsinclude multiple metal blends and cermet,a composite material composed of ceramic(cer) and metallic (met) materials. The company’s newest systems are portable,robotically controlled DMD 44R and 66R,for rework of massive tools (more than 3meters on a side).

Another company that offers metal-repairoptions is Optomec, makers of theLaser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) systems.

  Its newest feature is a deep repairhead that extends the ability of the LENSsystem to reach into tight spaces and repairnon-line-of-sight areas on any component.

  Optomec also markets anM3DAerosolJet Deposition system that uses a 40-nozzleaerosol head to print electronic componentssuch as solar cells. The non contactsystem produces a solar cell every 2.5 to 3seconds, a rate that certainly deserves thelabel of RM.

Solidica is focusing its efforts on endproducts, rather than machine sales, usingits Ultrasonic Consolidation system to manufacture embedded sensor devices.

The technology is capable of embeddingreinforcing members such as boron andsilicon carbide fibers or stainless steelmeshes into metal matrices for improvedstructural performance.

  MOVING AHEAD
Yes, many challenges still exist in termsof process control, quality assurance, andmaterial development to bring RM to afuller role in the manufacturing world,but there are already many happy customers.

  Expect to see continued growthin this creative field.

More Information:
3D Systems
Rock Hill, SC

Arcam
Mölndal, Sweden

Delft Spline Systems
Utrecht, The Netherlands

Desktop Factory
Pasadena, CA

Digital Jewelry Design
Mims, FL

Dimension 3D Printing Group
Eden Prairie, MN

EOS GmbH
Krailling bei München, Germany

Envisiontec
Ferndale, MI

ExOne Prometal/Imagen
Irwin, PA

FigurePrints
Kirkland,WA

Freedom of Creation
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Kira America
Franksville,WI

LandPrint.com
Redmond,WA

Mcor Technologies
Ardee, County Louth, Ireland

MCP Tooling Technologies
Fairfield, CT

Objet Geometries, Inc.
Billerica, MA

Optomec
Albuquerque, NM

The POM Group
Auburn Hills, MI

Roland Advanced Solutions Division
Irvine, CA

Sintermask Technologies
Mölndal, Sweden

Solidica
Ann Arbor, MI

Solido3D.com
Yehud, Israel

Solidscape
Merrimack, NH

Stratasys
Eden Prairie, MN

Texas Instruments
Dallas, TX

Wohlers Associates
Ft. Collins, CO

ZCorporation
Burlington, MA

Contributing Editor Pamela J. Waterman is anelectrical engineer and freelance technical writerbased in Arizona. You can contact her about thisarticle by sending an e-mail message to [email protected].