Robotic End-of-Arm Tooling in Ultem 1010

These cylindrical pieces were designed to work as part of an end-of-arm tool for a robotic arm. We printed them in Ultem 1010 because we wanted to be sure that they would be strong enough to withstand the repetitive motion of the robot’s work path.

Robots are used in all industries for increased productivity, and customized end-of-arm tools make sure that your automation is specific to your needs. 3D printing with Ultem 1010 is a great choice because it can be certified for food-contact and bio-compatibility.

We printed these tools with different edge heights so that the caps go from a flat surface to a more conical point. The option to have interchangeable tools gives the capability to have a range of finished products that can have build variations while maintaining quality consistency.

Can your project benefit from interchangeable custom parts? What other applications should we integrate with 3D printing? Send us your questions and ideas.

The Advantages of using ABS in 3D Printing

What’s ABS and what can it do?

ABS is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a thermoplastic material that is easily sculpted and molded when superheated, allowing to form different shapes in accordance with the computer-assisted design. As it cools down, it conforms to the shape of the object being printed. ABS is a strong and sturdy material and ideal for professional applications, such as plastic car parts.

There are variants of ABS that make it ideal material for particular types of need.

The ABS-ESDTM has anti-static properties that prevents outside elements to stick to the object being printed, like powder, dust, and other fine particles. This property enables cleaner and smoother surfaces of the object or model and good for the assembly of electronic components, and also for casings and packaging.

The ABS M30, compared to the standard ABS, has greater tensile strength and stronger layer bonding, making for more realistic and durable parts of manufacturing tools and end-use parts for automotive and aviation industries. On the other hand, the ABS M30i is high- strength and suitable for medical, pharmaceutical and food packaging uses, being biocompatible and easily sterilized.

The ABSplusTM-P430 is the durable, true production-grade thermoplastic used for prototyping and building 3D models in an office setting. For industrial use, the PC ABS combines the properties of both materials – the superior strength and heat resistance of polycarbonate and ABS flexibility. It is ideal for automotive, electronics, and telecommunication utility.

Trusting ABS for 3D Printing in Seattle

The choice of any of these ABS variants for their most suitable use in 3D printing makes for superior quality models or prototypes here at our Seattle company. 3D Composites puts a high premium on product quality and customer satisfaction.

Quality Inspection Blocks

We printed some blocks that are making quality inspection a breeze.

We have hundreds of small parts that have been printed and need to be quality checked. These blocks are individually sized to cover a particular quality check point. They have been super useful for helping us ensure that each part in this large production run is conforming to the correct specifications.

To learn more about our practices visit our quality page.

quality-block

New 3D Printer For The Design and Fashion Industry

Designing Without Limits

There’s a new 3D printer specifically developed to meet the 3D printing needs of the high end design and fashion industry. The new printer is a polyjet technology by Stratasys, a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions to address the needs of manufacturers of premium textiles and clothing, including bags, shoes, and accessories. It’s called the Stratasys J850™ TechStyle™ 3D printer.

It is Startasys’s goal to offer fashion brands the option to differentiate their methods and practices via access to the versatility and productivity of their solution which includes their unique printer, workflow software and materials. As fashion manufacturers have their individual needs, design creativity, and goals, the TechStyle 3D printer solution opens up to them unlimited possibilities for customization of 3D printed fabrics and creative applications, including limited editions and digital automation. Best of all, the printer’s efficiency also reduces time-to-market factor.

Stratasys has also joined forces with some of the top fashion houses that tend towards excellence for evolving fashion technology, such as D-house in Milan. D-house is a top innovation center that uses 3D printing applications from design concept through production.

Startasys’s J850 TechStyle 3D printer is designed to print directly on a variety of fabrics and garments, including denim, cotton, polyester, linen and leather. It can handle work volumes from single pieces to the tens of thousands. It is also compatible with a variety of materials. Stratasys VeroVivid™ resin material allows printing on textiles in over 600,000 unique colors, with multiple shore values, simulating different textures and finishes.

This coming Milan Design Week from June 6 -12, 2022, the J850 TechStyle 3D printer will be on display. Likewise, the SSYS 2Y22 collection, an array of new works by seven top design teams will also be showcased, such as high-end dresses and suits, daywear, lighting, luxury packaging, handbags, accessories and shoes.

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Towards More Innovations

When you are looking for more design flexibility, faster time to market, and low cost, come to 3D Composites for your ideas and plans.

Not Just Another 3D Printed Bike: It’s A Sustainable Bike

Looking At The Bike Of The Future

It started when the German magazine, Bike, posted a singular, central question: can a sustainable bike be possible? This is in hopes of supporting their “Ride Green” project.

In response to that, Canyon, a market-leading bicycle manufacturer, also born in Germany, came about with an interesting solution: creating a bike using additive manufacturing. There are many initiatives developing in recent times, though, where bike and equipment manufacturers are relying on 3D technologies to build custom-made, high-performance and more sustainable solutions.

Canyon’s prototype mountain bike, showcased for the first time only recently this year at the London Bike Show, had a frame created using a laser powder bed fusion solution, which printed the bike component in three parts. It was a more environmentally friendly bicycle, minimizing the amount of materials needed as well as promoting local production.

The design of the bike frame comes with a lattice structure. This allows using the most minimal amount of material while still maintaining high performance. The company opted for the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) method which uses a laser to additively manufacture a metal part layer by layer. The option offers a geometric complexity not easily achieved using conventional manufacturing, at the same time reducing the final weight and the number of components to be assembled. Hence, production times are shorter and custom parts are very resistant. However, metal 3D printers and metal powders are very expensive and do not allow the manufacture of very large parts.

Canyon’s prototype bike was printed by the 3D printing service, Materialise. Each of the frame’s three parts required 6 hours of printing and the weight of the frame and fork is only 4 pounds. Several other brands provided the other components; each one was made with recyclable material. The company has no plans to market this mountain bike any time soon, but it’s still exploring other brands’ designing methods. Nonetheless, all concerned are looking into more sustainable approaches.

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Towards More Environment-Friendly Options

If you are looking to make your ideas into real life with 3D printing, contact 3D Composites today!