Design Product News e-Letter




Welcome ! Seminar reveals how more and more designers can embrace rapid prototyping technologies Just about everyone in manufacturing and product design has embraced CAD. The reasons are almost self-apparent: drawings can be edited; simulations and finite element analysis can prove out design concepts; and equally importantly, design iterations can be easily visualized by the various stakeholders such as customers, sales staff, maintenance personnel, purchasing and manufacturing engineers. But what if you could place several physical prototypes in front of a customer to choose from or be assured that your tooling wouldn't have to be "fixed" after it hits the shop floor? That's the power and flexibility of rapid prototyping technologies described at the recent Toronto stop of the four-city Pivot Points Seminar series organized by Stratasys Inc. (stratasys.com). There are so many ways to exploit RP technology: online services that allow you to upload a CAD file for an instant quote and part delivery in a couple of days; local service bureaus that will consult with you on your part needs and generate the prototype for you; and, you can purchase your own machine starting at less than $30,000 (amazing when you consider they cost half a million dollars only ten years ago). The devil is in the details when it comes to rapid prototyping, too. "Not every part needs a Class A surface," Patrick Robb of Stratasys told the seminar. "You have to think what the purpose of the part is." He added that hollow or sparse fill techniques can keep weight down in RP parts without compromising structural integrity. Mike Edwards, Editor, DPN Magazine medwards@clbmedia.ca Past e-LETTERs: go to dpncanada.com, then click Archives	USEFUL SITES Belt conveyors. QC Industries has announced a 3D CAD tool for specifying low profile belt conveyors (qcindustries.com/cad/). STP and DXF file formats are available for download. Aluminum extrusions. Website of the Aluminum Extruders Council (aec.org) is divided into four main categories: Find an Extruder, Technical Information, Extrusion Applications and Extrusion Basics. Injection molding. Rapid injection molding service for prototype and short-run production that provides parts in as little as three days is available from Protomold (protomold.com/parts). Air filters. 3D CAD air filter models for medical equipment designers have been posted by Universal Air Filter Co. (uaf.com). The company also offers a prototyping service. _________________________________________ DPN EXCLUSIVES Large format printers. Océ has introduced the Océ CS2044 and Océ CS2024 large format color print systems with printing widths of 44 and 24 in. Rapid prototyping systems. Stratasys has introduced the Eden350 and 350V PolyJet rapid prototyping systems. Both offer an X, Y and Z resolution of 600 x 600 x 1600 dpi. The systems have a build envelope of 13.8 x 13.8 x 7.9 in. Enclosed belt drives. Interroll Corp. has developed a series of belt drives, ranging from 80 to 216 mm, designed to improve work environment efficiency and safety in material handling applications. Rotary encoder. Explosion-proof version of the Heidenhain ROD 420 rotary encoder has a standard housing diameter of 58 mm features an overall length of 83 mm.

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SPONSOR MESSAGE: MFG.com Parts Sourcing for Professionals & Engineers Source the right suppliers to produce your parts and assemblies on time and within budget. MfgQuote will instantly match you to qualified suppliers, worldwide. It's the fastest way to go from drawings to finished parts. Visit: www.mfg.com	Click on cover below for the online May 2006 DPN . Featuring: • Audi-VW diesel innovations • Acrylics meet medical needs • Reviews of Inventor, AutoCAD 2007 • Photogrammetric vehicle inspection • Edmonton high schools get fluid power • Quality Manual madness
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