The Big Picture - June/July 2013 - (Page 12)
inside output
inside output
3D Printing: Putting the
‘Additive’ in Manufacturing
By Craig Miller
Y
ou’re likely familiar with the basic concept of 3D printing, aka additive manufacturing. In short: It’s the
creation of a three-dimensional object from a digital model;
the object is formed by adding successive layers of material
(plastic fi laments) in different designs to form virtually any
shape. With this process, you can build just about any type
of object. Yes, these “printed” objects are often being used
as production prototypes, but you can also create finished,
one-off objects.
Although this technology seems to have burst onto
public awareness just a few months ago, 3D printing has
actually been quietly evolving for about three decades. I’ve
been fascinated with the concept of 3D printing for a long
time, and I’ve worked with some low-end hobbyist kits in
the past. This January, I finally bit the bullet: I ordered a
factory-built 3D printer, and our company has been printing plastic parts and objects for a few months now.
What caused me to take a bite of the 3D pie? It was the
emergence of the first “prosumer” 3D printers. Until recently,
only two categories of printers were available: hobbyist models that sold for a few hundred to just over a thousand dollars;
and, at the top of the range, professional machines selling for
tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But there
was nothing in-between. Finally, though, a few manufacturers began building machines in the $2000 to $5000 range
– allowing our company to join in on the 3D revolution.
Peeling back the layers
Let me walk you through the various factors that come into
play when it comes to the process of additive manufacturing and its various components and tools.
CRAIG MILLER is a principal shareholder in
Las Vegas-based Pictographics, (pictographics.net) where he is also director of military
and law-enforcement projects, the company’s defense-contracting division.
12
THE BIG PICTURE JUNE/JULY 2013
Build envelope: Most of the hobbyist 3D printers are
incapable of building an object beyond five or six inches in
any dimension; but we felt that we needed something that
could create on a larger scale. So we considered two different prosumer machines: the MakerBot Replicator 2, with
a build envelope of 11.22 x 6 x 6.12 inches, and the Cubify
CubeX, with a build envelope of 10.82 x 10.43 x 9.49 inches
(basically the size of a basketball). We ended up choosing
the CubeX because of its bigger build envelope and because
the other machine can only work with one type of build
material (more on this later).
Resolution: Of the two machines we considered, the
Replicator 2 can print to a layer height of 100 microns. The
CubeX can only go as fine as 125 microns, but it has options
for 250- and 500-micron-layer heights. Layer thickness
determines how smooth and finished a final piece looks for
3D printing; too low a resolution and the thing looks like
it’s made from a stack of angel-hair pasta. So, visually, the
higher resolution (lower number) is better, but the lower
resolutions will result in more speed.
Speed: We recently built one part that took about 20
hours to finish at the highest resolution of 125 microns; it
measured 9-inches tall by about 3-inches square. The same
piece took four hours at 500 microns. Since the goal of
building the part was for fit and functionality – cosmetics
played no role – the lower resolution was just fine. We also
printed a prototype of a small lens for use in LED lights,
and we were able to create it in less than 30 minutes; this
was a prototype to test for size and fit before it went to the
plastics company for final manufacturing.
Build material: With additive manufacturing, you’re taking spools of plastic fi lament and running them through
a heated extruder, which make the solid plastic fi lament
a viscous molten liquid. The extruder is on an X-Y-Z axis
and it extrudes the plastic in a pattern reminiscent of cake
decorating. The plastic cools and hardens and, voilà, you’ve
created a plastic object.
Our machine is limited to two common plastics: ABS
and PLA (some machines cannot handle both plastics,
while very high-end machines can print to 10 different >40
http://www.pictographics.net
http://www.pictographics.net
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - June/July 2013
The Big Picture - June/July 2013
Contents
InSight
Up Front
Inside Output
Flatbeds & Hybrids 2013 Report
Establishing a ‘Green’ Identity
Give Your Shop an Edge with Cutters & Routers
Technology Spotlight: ISA Expo
Explorer
The Big Picture - June/July 2013
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