Differences in Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing

14/01/2008

Differences in Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing
By Rita Stange, ConnectPress

Dimension 3D Printing

What is the difference between rapid prototyping and 3D printing? How about the price of machines to start.

ConnectPress interviewed Dimension 3D Printing Vice President Jon Cobb who shed light on the differences between 3D printing and rapid prototyping, trends in 3D printing, Dimension 3D Printing’s offerings and more.

Cobb said that 3D printers typically run between $15,000-40,000 where rapid prototyping machines run as high as $90,000. 3D printers allow for quicker iterations or printing and are intended to be used early in the design process by the designer or engineer. Rapid prototyping is usually used later in the process by the manufacturing engineer to move the design into the manufacturing area, for short runs, said Cobb. Rapid prototypes produced by rapid prototyping machines have a higher tolerance and better surfacing than 3D printing prototypes, he added. 3D printers tend to be easier to operate and can be used in an office setting. Another difference Cobb mentioned is the time frame. With the printer in the office designers can access quicker than outsourcing which could take a minimum of two days. Some examples, pictured in this article, of Dimension 3D printers printing times are one hour for the wrench, four hours and fifteen minutes for the trailer hitch and nut and nine hours for the rhino.

Outsourcing is more common in rapid prototyping than in 3D printing. At Dimension 3D Printing they are seeing an increase in in-house printing because of the lower prices of 3D Printers. Cobb said customers are using 3D printing to help the company get products to market as fast as possible. Other drivers include security reasons—keeping designs local. Speed is also a factor for getting the prototype to others within the organization.

3D printing consumers are usually looking at five things when seeking a 3D printer: Price, reliability, ease of use, non-hazardous for an office environment and output. Durability and accuracy are major factors, Cobb elaborated—making sure the output is as close to the real part as possible.

According to Cobb the goal of 3D printing is to get the perfect design by getting from the virtual world to the prototype. Having the printer right there in the office is instant gratification, he said.

To meet these goals Dimension 3D Printing has five different printers that range in speed, size and quality and start around $19,000. The printers use the fused deposition modeling process (FDM). As defined by Cobb, the process works by feeding a filament (think weed eater string) into a nozzle called a liquefier. As the material is driven from a spool (cassette) it forces a fine thread (about the width of a human hair) out through the liquefier tip, deposited to form the model. The layers are fused together instantaneously.

The benefits of the FDM process is that the ABS material used in the Dimension 3D printers prints models that allow engineers and designers that can be tested for real-life functionality. Unlike resin based material that is not durable and produces models for viewing purposes only, added Cobb. Plus, with the FDM process the model can be removed from the system immediately. “Because there is no post processing as required in other 3D printers the Dimension 3D printer can reside in the office next to the designer,” he said. “Models are printed, removed from the system and utilized just like a piece of paper from a laser printer. Other 3D printer technologies actually print faster but because they are plagued with time-consuming, post-processing the time to get a useable model is longer than receiving a useable model from Dimension.”

Today, 3D printers are getting adopted at a higher rate and prices are going down. In 2002 3D printers went for around $30,000-50,000 and are now available for $15,000-40,000. There is also much more awareness from the user community. Cobb said another interesting thing the company has seen is an increase in sales to Junior High Schools and universities where students are getting a higher degree of understanding.

The Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) industry has also seen a significant growth in utilizing 3D printing and rapid prototyping, according to Cobb. He said 3D printing is not as seamless for the AEC industry as it is for the mechanical engineering industry, but that some third-party companies are introducing products, such as the Belgium-based company Materialise and Brock & Rooney. Plus, one of Dimension 3D Printing’s customers, Mitekgruppen, a Swedish design firm, created a 157-square-foot replica 3D model of the city of Stockholm with a Dimension 3D printer and Google Earth. (See http://www10.aeccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_weekly.php?articleid=375003)

Regarding the future of 3D printing, Cobb stated, “I believe the future is very bright for 3D printing and the use of 3D printing will continue to grow substantially.” Dimension 3D Printing shipped 305 systems in their first year in 2002. This year the company will have shipped over 2000 systems. Cobb referred to the Wohlers Report 2007 stating how Dimension 3D Printing shipped 1559 systems in 2007, utilizing the FDM process. Z Corporation, using an ink jet technology was second with 777 systems sold. Objet, also ink jet, was third with 316 sales. Invisiontec, using a light fusing process, was fourth with 246 systems sold. There were another 110 systems sold using a variety of other technologies.

Cobb said Dimension 3D Printing thinks that there are five key factors that will fuel the market next year and going forward; the first is price—the company’s first system was priced at $30,000; today a system with more capability is priced at $19,000; the second factor is materials; ABS is the number one plastic material for production, according to Cobb; other plastics, such as polycarbonate (PC) and ABS/PC blends may be used in the future in addition to metals, aluminum, titanium and steel; third, is ease of use; Cobb commented how with systems becoming more common users demand that the systems be simple push button operation, producing a model from any 3D solid software and how models must be ready to use directly from the machine; the fourth is reliability; “dimension 3D Printing has been on the market now for six years and we are known to produce a very reliable product; entrants into the market have had some difficulty with reliability and customer service, and as a result have failed;” the last factor is awareness.

“I believe this is the biggest opportunity now and in the future. We have thousands of customers who rely on the Dimension to get their product out the door faster, better, cheaper. I continue to be amazed at the lack of 3D printer awareness. Often times people are aware of the 3D printing term but too frequently are amazed when they see the models and learn the low price of the systems.”

To learn more about Dimension 3D Printing visit www.dimensionprinting.com.

Fuente: www.catiacommunity.com

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