The goal is faster manufacturing. The process of rapid prototyping starts with using computer-aided design (CAD) to create a digital model of an object. This model is not just a 3D drawing, it's a virtual representation of the entire piece, rendered in 3D space on your computer.
Rapid prototyping is the use of 3D printing to quickly put together a part, model, or assembly. Rapid prototyping can be used in many fields and can significantly reduce the manufacturing process. There are differences between a high fidelity prototype, which is a design that closely matches the finished product; and a low fidelity prototype is one that has a marked difference from the finished product.
How Effective is Rapid Prototyping?
Rapid Prototyping is most often utilized in layered additive manufacturing. That being said, rapid prototyping can be used for high-speed machining, casting, and extruding. The process of rapid prototyping was first utilized in the 1980s and has been integrated into manufacturing in the decades afterward. It has been a proven process that is more cost-effective, faster, and more accurate than other traditional methods of manufacturing.
The two types of rapid prototyping include:
Subtractive: This process includes a block of material that is carved in order to produce the desired shape. This is achieved by milling, grinding, or turning.
Compressive: A semi-solid or liquid material is forced into the desired shape before being solidified.
What Are The Advantages Of Using Rapid Prototyping?
As mentioned earlier, Rapid Prototyping requires less staff on hand to operate machinery. It costs less money than traditional ways of manufacturing. Rapid prototyping will also allow for a more accurate picture of what the final product would look like. Aiding in the manufacturing process and ensuring that things are done more efficiently than they may have been done without rapid prototyping.
What are the different types of rapid prototyping that are being implemented today?
Stereolithography (SLA)/Vat Photopolymerization
Fast and affordable, this method was the first successful method involving 3D printing. This method uses a bath of photosensitive liquid which is solidified by each layer, using a computer-controlled UV light.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
SLS is used for both metal and plastic prototyping and uses a powder bed in order to build a prototype one layer at a time. While using a laser to heat and sinter the powdered material, the strength of the parts does not stand up to the strength of the SLA. The surface of the finished product is typically rough and often requires secondary work to complete it.
Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) or Material Jetting
Incredibly inexpensive, FDM is an easy process and can be found in most non-industrial desktop 3D printers. The process of FDM uses a spool of thermoplastic filament. In general, the early results can have a poor resolution, but the process is being improved on. And considering it is the most inexpensive process, it is perfect for companies just starting off.
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)/ Sheet Lamination
Another inexpensive process, it is less sophisticated than SLM or SLS. However, it does not require specially controlled conditions. LOM works by building up a series of thin laminates that have been accurately cut with laser beams. Each layer is created and layered on top of one another, being bonded together; until the part is complete.
Binder Jetting
Using a powder bed to spray micro-fine droplets to bind powder particles together, this technique may not produce products are strong as those created by using the SLS, but it does allow more than one part to be made at one time.
Rapid Prototyping Costs Vary, But Still a Better Option
For most or all fields, rapid prototyping is a beneficial process to speed up manufacturing and allow companies to have a quicker turnaround. It allows them to get a better picture of what their final product is. Interested in rapid prototyping? Request a quote today!
Every holiday season, purchasing agents and design engineers everywhere feel pressure to complete capital projects before they can celebrate the New Year. Who wants to forfeit hard-earned budget allocations because time constraints prevent delivery before the 2018 count down? Make your holidays happy instead.
Thanks to Additive Manufacturing (3D printing), year-end projects can be completed in days, not months. Services include:
Additive Manufacturing benefits:
One of the most enjoyable aspects of working with entrepreneurs is seeing them – and their projects – come to fruition, orin Lizz Hampton’s case – to nutrition! Lizz is one of our favorite success stories, especially given that she is among RapidMade’s first customers, dating back to its first year in business.
Lizz came to us with a product idea that would make it easier for people to make fresh nut milk at home. The product concept itself was very simple, however the design requirements were very complex.
Over the course of the past 4 years, we have worked with Lizz to simplify this revolutionary product through hundreds of prototype iterations, helping her streamline from more than 15 complex parts down to 4 simple parts and then supporting her pivot away from a device into a reusable, mess-free nut milk bag.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get this far without Micah and his team at RapidMade. Not only did they help me develop a better product, they provided essential insight into how it would need to be manufactured, important engineering considerations and top quality parts for my prototypes. Above all else, they have been there to support me on my journey and believe in the product I am creating, which is invaluable to me as a young maker/designer. ”
As of October 17th, Lizz’s reusable, mess-free nut milk bag is available for pre-order on Indiegogo. We are helping her spread the word about her launch because we believe in supporting our customers and doing our part to help them succeed. If you are interested in supporting Lizz and helping her get her product manufactured, please click this link
You can also check out her website, which is full of funny videos.
If you are not a nut milk drinker, we’re sure you know someone who is and would love this product! If you are not able to support her campaign financially, please share with your network so she can build her dream company.
At RapidMade, we believe in helping our customers achieve their goals, whether it’s developing or producing a product for commercial use, creating a prototype for an entrepreneurial project or making displays for retail spaces, we are dedicated to helping our customers succeed with superior products.
In honor of National Manufacturing Day 2017, RapidMade demonstrates commitment to continuously invest in technology, training and increase our knowledge of advanced manufacturing techniques.
October 5, 2017: RapidMade announced today it is offering services based on HP’s award- winning Multi Jet Fusion technology. Based in Portland, Oregon, RapidMade offers customers expertise on materials, engineering and manufacturing processes including advanced technologies like 3D printing. On the heels of its move into a larger facility to increase capacity for larger clients, the company is delivering on its promise to expand its capabilities and invest in new technology such as HP’s Jet Fusion 3D 4200 printing solution.
“With National Manufacturing Day coming up on Friday, October 6, it is worth reflecting on our goal when we founded RapidMade in 2011,” said Renee Eaton, RapidMade CEO. “We felt there was an opportunity to capitalize on the growing additive manufacturing market, sustainably localize manufacturing and do our part to employ and educate a new generation of manufacturing professionals. The addition of transformational technologies such as HP’s Multi Jet Fusion is at the forefront of our mission.”
“We share HP’s vision for the digital transformation of manufacturing, and as we look to help our clients compete in the digital age, we are so excited about the capabilities of HP Multi Jet Fusion,” added Eaton. “Whether our customers are looking for design support, prototyping or more complex projects, the quality, speed and cost savings enabled by the Jet Fusion 3D 4200 solution will deliver.”
The HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 solution lowers the barriers of entry to additive manufacturing by providing faster build speeds, high-quality functional parts, and breakthrough economics. The HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 machine operates through a unique Multi-Agent printing process, offering dimensional accuracy, fine aesthetics, and superior mechanical properties. Parts can currently be printed in High Reusability PA 12. Additional materials will be available as the largest chemical companies in the world develop certified materials for HP’s Open Materials Platform, providing customers with an ever-growing portfolio of materials for different applications.
About RapidMade
Based in Portland, Oregon, RapidMade’s knowledge of materials, engineering and manufacturing processes extends to both traditional and advanced technologies. We like to design and build things, and we like to work with clients who feel the same way. We believe that our customers’ competitive advantage stems from their ability to create, produce and market better products. That’s why we focus on applying the latest materials, manufacturing and engineering technologies to the process of developing, prototyping, manufacturing, and marketing products. And we use this knowledge to help our clients apply the right solutions to their business needs. If you are looking to create a new product, improve an existing one, find a new manufacturing solution or want a partner who can help you take advantage of the latest digital and additive technologies then we can provide you with a range of services from a simple part or prototype to a complete analysis of your product or processing needs. It is this focus and passion, together with our ability to provide these services in a unique and cost effective way, that makes us different.
Contact RapidMade to learn more:
To request a quote, submit a Quick Quote, or email RapidMade at info@rapidmade.com.
Congratulations to Innovarai and Madorra Medical who are among Portland Business Journal's 2017 Small Business & Innovation awardees! Their achievements will be recognized and their products showcased on November 1st from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Portland Hilton Hotel.
Rapid prototyping and low-volume production, made possible through 3D printing (additive manufacturing), are lowering the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and start ups. These advanced manufacturing technologies lower costs, reduce lead times, and optimize designs, making product launches more affordable and timely.
RapidMade Accelerates Pace and Elevates Quality of Product Launch
Injection Molding Case Study
3D Printing, or Rapid Prototyping as it is also known, is a much faster and cost effective solution for testing and perfecting digital designs. Its ability to fabricate parts overnight without any direct labor, programming or tooling means 3D printing technologies carry many advantages over traditional technologies like injection molding for short turns and small-batch production.
Sometimes 3D printing only goes so far when developing and manufacturing products in their early stages. In those instances, Rapid Injection Molding can take products to the finish line.
An American-made LED light bulb manufacturer engineered a version that was bigger and brighter than its competition. The company quickly learned that RapidMade's injection molding expertise could test, validate and even manufacture its light bulbs in ways that 3D Printing simply could not match.
RapidMade accelerates the typical injection molding process by providing a short cut between prototyping and production tooling. After the rapid prototyping client finalizes its product for injection molding, RapidMade creates a cheaper and better solution by making pre-final tooling out of aluminum. This option allows customers get to market sooner than other injection mold processes and helps gain customer feedback to improve products. Getting a product to market sooner generates more revenue to invest in further product development and long-term tooling.
Material
Since the customer didn't know what the final material of the bulb should be, cutting the mold and testing multiple materials, including different grades of ABS and Polycarbonate, helped pinpoint the final material and even helped estimate eventual mass manufacturing costs. Additionally, electronics products must go through rigorous UL testing to ensure consumer safety before the product can be sold in stores.
Color and clarity are other traits vital to the lighting industry. Because 3D printers must run manufacturing-grade material that is unadulterated, optimizing these characteristics can be difficult. With injection molding, however, one can custom blend different clear and opaque pigments with clear plastic to prototype different levels of clarity and color. So the company could test very specific color profiles to perfect its formula in the final product.
Finish
Finish is extremely important when working with lighting, as well as other consumer products. A matte finish diffuses light at a very different rate than a polished one. Due to the layered nature, inherent in the 3D printing process, even the highest detail machines will have some level of surface striation. Additionally, most filament or powder technologies will have a very rough finish beyond the layer lines. Achieving custom finishes requires polishing, sanding, and painting of each individual unit, making it is extremely labor intensive and expensive.
Alternatively, injection molding shoots molten plastic into a cavity which picks up the texture of that cavity. That means one only needs to finish a mold once to get repetitive shots of that finish. And molds can be polished and textured to prototype a variety of finishes before settling on the desired one.
Volume
A light bulb is a relatively low-cost consumer good. These goods are meant to be sold in large volume at low cost. Tooling to produce those volumes inexpensively enough can take months to make and require high upfront investment. Many businesses are interested in small and medium-batch options that are more cost effective and higher quality than 3D printing to excite investors, test markets and stoke demand.
The company secured a prototyping option with relatively little upfront investment that served as a bridge tool to get actual product out into the marketplace. Aside from the aforementioned quality concerns, this could not have been cost effectively achieved with 3D printing; one cannot sell a light bulb where the housings cost $38 to the manufacturer. Creating large volumes of parts on a 3D Printer can also take much longer than injection molding, making it harder to fill orders. Injection Molding can really provide exceptional value to early-stage manufacturers when producing runs of hundreds or thousands of parts for low cost very quickly.
RapidMade gets to work on many cool new product ideas. Given our love of dogs - we have a dog-friendly workplace, this project has been a favorite...
"OMDOG performance canine headgear started as a simple idea — to build a custom helmet for Charlie the Dog, who rides around Portland, Oregon in a cargo bicycle. When the decision was made to duplicate and improve the design, we contacted Rapid Made. They were responsive and excited about the project. They quickly 3D scanned our prototype, reverse engineered it, and made it easy for us to review and approve the CAD model before printing. Rapid Made helped us take an idea that started as a cardboard model made from a pizza box turn it into a viable product design. They're providing us with manufacturing options within our budget and well suited for our target market. We are extraordinarily grateful to have found Rapid Made!"
3D Printed Moon Beast and other characters. Image Credit: Inverse.com
Next week, our Portland neighbor, Laika, premiers its newest project, "Kubo and the Two Strings." The animated film features its first fully 3D printed puppet, the Moon Beast. According to 3D Printing Industry, the character's physical requirements - and 130 separate pieces - demanded a different approach...
“Comprised of a series of 3D-printed shells that bolt over a centralized gooseneck armature, the Moon Beast was a unique undertaking on the part of LAIKA’s Rapid Prototyping department. Ordinarily they look after just the faces and heads of the characters, while the puppet department handles the rest. For the Moon Beast, though, separating the body from the head wasn’t really an option.”
The film, which took 94 weeks and 70 rapid prototyping specialists to complete, shows in theaters on August 19.
RapidMade's founders were recently interviewed by U.S. News and World for an article explaining how 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has helped entrepreneurs innovate.
Here's an excerpt from the story which was published on line this week:
“Renee and Mark Eaton, with their son Micah Chaban, founded RapidMade, a 3-D printing, manufacturing and engineering company, based in Portland, Oregon, in 2011. About to graduate from the University of Oregon, Chaban told his parents he was contemplating job searching in Germany. Living in England at the time, the Eatons had read an article in “The Economist” on 3-D printing and the idea for RapidMade was born.
’We had both worked in manufacturing for years and were disheartened that so many kids were gravitating to lower-paying service jobs because high-tech manufacturing jobs either weren’t well known or readily available,’ Renee Eaton, chief executive officer of RapidMade, wrote in an email.
’During our careers, we had both been forced to close or downsize plants and relocate production, so we wanted very much to bring back manufacturing. We thought Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) was a great local and sustainable way to do that.’
She explained that entrepreneurs can develop and evaluate a design in little time with rapid prototyping and that by using 3-D printing to create tools, they can decrease lead times and cost. Most of RapidMade’s customers are new to 3-D printing, and the company’s engineers can help determine the best technology to create a product from a design, she wrote.”
Photo Credit: Shell/3Dprint.com
2D engineering drawings fail to capture the minds and hearts of lay people. I remember Nabisco engineers willingly sharing their blue prints with production employees to coax their input and buy in to equipment designs and line lay outs. These machines and lines can cost millions of dollars, so there's a real need to "get it right the first time." Invariably there would often be miscommunication and frustration when both parties thought they were getting what they needed only to discover when the equipment was delivered and the line was installed that they had missed the mark - sometimes quite literally. One time, the operator was on one side of the line and the controls were on the other!
Now, 3D printing and rapid prototyping allow stakeholders to physically see, touch and manipulate what is being proposed. They can more easily assess what will work and what won't, saving time, money and aggravation.
In one such situation, Shell Oil recently produced a prototype that allowed the firm to design and construct an elaborate buoy. As one executive explained
“that for the offshore crews in particular there are challenges due to the high cost of installation. Patterson also says that their crews in ‘the Americas’ have been exploring 3D printing for prototyping. Upon working in the Stones project in the Gulf of Mexico—about 200 miles southwest of New Orleans—engineers were faced with how to put together enormous blocks of syntactic foam into a buoy that would need to disconnect to an FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) vessel area at what is going to go down in history as the world’s deepest water installation at 2,900m of water.”
Can you imagine hauling something that large, expensive and complex out to sea only to discover it didn't work as engineered? This is a great example of why rapid prototyping was one of the earliest applications of 3D printing technology.
If you are interested in learning more about how rapid prototyping can improve your next project, please contact RapidMade.
Prototyping extrusions can be difficult and costly for a lot of reasons. Many engineers have traditionally approached the prototyping of these two products through two means: machining billet into a close net shape or producing tooling and extruding the prototypes. These processes have large drawbacks:
Wastes a lot material and machining/programming time making them very costly in low volumes.
Struggles to mill certain features common to extrusions like thin walls, deep draws without draft and sharp angles.
Is very time consuming. Getting iterations of machined parts will generally either take 3 to 6 weeks or rack up heavy expedite fees.
Requires long lead times. Creating tooling for exact extrusions generally takes up to 12 weeks to produce a run of prototypes.
Is extremely expensive for low-volume prototype runs, costing from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars for a tool that may only be used once.
Prototyping your extrusions with additive manufacturing alleviates all of the issues presented by traditional processes.
3D printed parts require no tooling at all. Only pay per part that you make.
Lead times can be as little as a business day for plastic and a week for metal extrusion prototypes.
3D printed prototypes can do all the features with which machining struggles, walls as thin as 0.020", zero draft draws as deep as 12 - 14" (or longer), and sharp angles with no radii.
RapidMade offers a wide range of material options from extremely fast, affordable and recyclable ABS plastic to metals like aluminum, stainless steel and titanium. Interested?Get a quick quote
Injection molds shouldn't take months to get...
RapidMade Advantages Include:
Come see RapidMade at PSU's Business Accelerator Company 11th Annual Showcase. We are officially graduating from the program tonight, Monday, May 18 at 5:15!
Here's the agenda:
Doors at 4pm
Pitch group 1: 4:30pm
Pitch Group 2 & Company Awards: 5:15pm
Pitch Group 3: 6:00pm
RapidMade is participating in the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. We are hoping to use the proceeds to buy another 3D printer... Please help us!
During its recent Windows 10 Conference, Microsoft showcased its HoloLens prototype. According to one attendee, PC Magazine's Dan Costa,
“HoloLens is (an) augmented-reality headset that allows you to mix the virtual world with the real world. Put on the headset and the glass screen can project a digital overlay on top of the physical world. It can be as simple as a Skype window or as complex as a 3D model of a jet engine.”
While I think the technology is phenomenal, HoloLens' ability to create 3D models using its companion 3D modeling program, HoloStudio, excites me the most. Costa witnessed a Microsoft engineer create a koala equipped with a rocket pack. And I mean witnessed; he could actually watch what the designer was seeing - and creating - on HDTVs stationed nearby. Reportedly, the engineer "walked around the hologram, grabbing tools from a holographic control panel, and then used a combination of voice and gestures to build and shape the koala."
And it didn't stop there... dozens of 3D prints designed using HoloStudio and then manufactured on a 3D printer were on display.
Other product capabilities include interactive holographic gaming and Skype - which allowed the other party to see and interface with what the caller was viewing - imagine Technical Support walking, not talking, you through a fix. The press corp even got a bonus "out-of-this world" experience when the HoloLens 'transported' them to Mars - where they were able to roam the landscape accompanied by a virtual tour guide.
Imagine the possibilities. Design could be truly interactive and collaborate. And dare I say possible for even the less tech savvy among us.
Wrench printed by SIS (Photo Credit: 3DPrint.com)
Many consider the affordable 3D printing of metal to be a breakthrough that would allow greater adoption of additive manufacturing for end-use parts. According to 3Dprint.com, researchers at the University of Southern California are working on a novel approach to that end: Selective Inhibition Sintering (SIS) which inhibits powder from melting, instead using it a mold:
"Using this new technique, a machine first lays down a layer of metal powder on a print bed. At this point a commercial piezoelectric printhead deposits a liquid solution which acts an an inhibitor, preventing the metal that it is sprayed upon from melting once it’s heated. The printhead, which is similar to that found in an inkjet printer, only sprays in an area which represents the boundary of the actual print. Where this solution is sprayed, the metal clumps together and hardens. Layer by layer, more metal powder is deposited, and more of the inhibiting agent is sprayed onto the print bed. The boundary of the object slowly is built up, with metal powder inside. It basically becomes a mold filled with pristine metal powder. When complete the entire print is then melted at a high temperature, leaving behind a solid object encased inside the inhibitor shell, which is then easily removed."
SIS is being touted as an affordable alternative to other metal printing processes because:
While not yet perfected - part shrinkage and inhibitor application problems have occurred - researchers are encouraged by their preliminary results.
Paper-printed orange (Image Credit: Mcor and Inside3DP.com
I once spent weeks in middle school art class attempting to paper mache a Christmas tree.. I wish I had had a cleaner, life-like outcome. Now imagine paper mache without the mess and fuss - a less known additive manufacturing technology, selective deposition lamination, involves gluing together colored office paper sheets to produce an object. Mcor Technologies sells its version, the IRIS paper-based 3D printer which is seen as an eco-friendly alternative to other materials. And more colorful. Inside3DP.com reported, "Because the printer’s ‘ink’ is paper, it can be printed in every color imaginable using Mcor’s International Colour Consortium of over 1 million color shades. This gives the IRIS a major lead over standard desktop 3D printers that print in plastic filament which usually comes in a very limited selection of colors."
And as the above image shows, the results are pretty realistic. In fact, one Mcor sales manager was reportedly ordered by airport security to check his paper-printed hammer prototype because it was too close for comfort.
Unfortunately for me, not only did the technology come too late, I suspect my art teacher would have failed me for "copying."
Inconel 625, a nickel-based alloy is said to be the first single metal alloy for 3D printing industrial applications at greater than 99 per cent density according to ExOne which creates the metal using its binder jetting technology.
Inconel 625 is commonly used for components in the aerospace, chemical and energy sectors, with applications including gas turbine blades, filtration and separation, heat exchanger and moulding processes. The metal is considered desirable thanks to its oxidation and corrosion-resistant qualities and its ability to retain its strength in extreme environments.
The alloy, which was developed by ExMAL, ExOne's R&D arm, is scheduled to be released sometime in June. This introduction supports ExOne's strategy of qualifying at least two new industrial materials each year. Of particular interest, it has reportedly seen promising results in its attempts to develop a titanium-based material.
