ANSYS offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing (AM) that allows you to transition your R&D efforts for metal additive manufacturing into a successful manufacturing operation. This best-in-class solution for additive manufacturing enables simulation at every step in your AM process. It will help you optimize material configurations and machine and parts setup before you begin to print. As a result, you’ll greatly reduce — and potentially eliminate — the physical process of trial-and- error testing.
ANSYS additive solutions continue to evolve at a rapid pace. A variety of new enhancements and features come as part of ANSYS 2020 R1, including the ability to work with EOS printers, using the inherent strain approach in ANSYS Workbench Additive, and new materials in ANSYS Additive Print and Science.
Join PADT’s Lead Mechanical Engineer Doug Oatis for an exploration of the ANSYS tools that help to optimize additive manufacturing, and what new capabilities are available for them when upgrading to ANSYS 2020 R1. This presentation includes updates regarding:
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Where are you on your New Year’s resolutions? They often
include words such as “simplify,” “organize” and “streamline.” They can be timely
reminders to rethink how you do things in both your personal and professional
lives, so why not rethink the software you use in 3D Printing?
Preparing a CAD solid model or an STL file to print on a 3D
printer requires using set-up software that is typically unique to each
printer’s manufacturer. For Flashforge equipment, you use FlashPrint, for
Makerbot systems you use MakerBot Print, for Formlabs printers you use PreForm,
and so on.
GrabCAD Print software for setting up STL or CAD files to print on Stratasys 3D printers (main screen). Image courtesy PADT.
For printers from industrial 3D printing company Stratasys, the go-to software is GrabCAD Print (along with GrabCAD Print
Mobile), developed for setting up both fused deposition modeling (FDM) and PolyJet technologies in
new and efficient ways. Often just called GrabCAD, this versatile software
package lets you organize and control prints assigned to one of more than 30
printer models, so the steps you learn for one printer transfer directly over
to working with other models.
If you’ve previously used Stratasys Catalyst (on Dimension
and uPrint printers), you’ll find similarities with GrabCAD, as well as some enhanced
functionality. If you’re accustomed to the fine details of Stratasys Insight,
you’ll see that GrabCAD provides similar capabilities in a streamlined
interface, plus powerful new features made possible only by the direct import
of native CAD files. Additionally, you
can access Insight within GrabCAD, combining the best of both traditional and
next-generation possibilities.
Simple by Default, Powerful by Choice
GrabCAD lets users select simplified default settings throughout,
with more sophisticated options available at every turn. Here are the general
steps for print-file preparation, done on your desktop, laptop or mobile device:
1 – Add Models: Click-and-drag files or open them from
File Explorer. All standard CAD formats are supported, including SolidWorks, Autodesk,
Siemens and PTC, as well as STL. You can also bring in assemblies of parts and multi-body
models, choosing whether to print them assembled or not. (Later we’ll also talk
about what you can do with a CAD file that you can’t do with an STL.)
2 – Select Printer: Choose from a drop-down menu to
find whatever printer(s) is networked to your computer. You can also experiment
using templates for printers you don’t yet own, in order to compare build
volumes and print times.
3 – Orient/Rotate/Scale Model: Icons along the right
panel guide you through placing your model or models on the build platform,
letting you rotate them around each axis, choose a face to orient as desired,
and scale the part up or down. You can also right-click to copy and paste
multiple models, then edit each one separately, move them around, and delete
them as desired.
4 – Tray Settings: This icon leads to the menu with
choices such as available materials, slice height options, build style (normal
or draft), and more; always targeted to the selected printer. These choices
apply to all the parts on the tray or build sheet.
5 – Model Settings: Here’s where you choose infill
style, infill density (via slider bar), infill angle, and body thickness (also
known as shell thickness) per part. Each part can have different choices.
6 – Support Settings: These all have defaults, so you
don’t even have to consider them if you don’t have special needs (but it’s
where, for example, you would change the self-supporting angle).
7 – Show Slice Preview: Clicking this icon slices the
model and gives you the choice to view layers/tool paths individually, watch a
video animation, or even set a Z-height pause if you plan on changing filament
color or adding embedded hardware.
8 – Print: You’re ready to hit the Print button,
sending the prepared file to the printer’s queue.
Scheduling Your Print, and Tracking Print Progress
A clock-like icon on the left-side GrabCAD panel (the second
one down, or third if you’ve activated Advanced FDM features) switches the view
to the Scheduler. In this mode, you can see a day/time tracking bar for every
printer on the network. All prints are queued in the order sent, and the
visuals make it easy to see when one will finish and another start (assuming
human intervention for machine set-up and part removal, of course).
Scheduling panel in GrabCAD Print, showing status of files printing on multiple 3D printers. Image courtesy PADT.
If you click on the bar representing a part being built, a
new panel slides in from the right with detailed information about material
type, support type, start time, expected finish time and total material used
(cubic inches or grams). For printers with an on-board camera, you can even get
an updated snapshot of the part as it’s building in the chamber.
Below the Scheduler icon is the History button. This is a
great tool for creating weekly, monthly or yearly reports of printer run-time
and material consumption, again for each printer on the network. Within a given
build, you’ll even see the files names of the individual parts within that job.
Separately, if you’re not operating the software offline (an
option that some companies require), you can enable GrabCAD Print Reports. This
function generates detailed graphs and summaries covering printer utilization
and overall material use across multiple printers and time periods – very
powerful information for groups that need to track efficiencies and
expenditures.
And That’s Just the Beginning
Once you decide to experiment with these settings, you begin to see the power of GrabCAD Print for FDM systems. We haven’t even touched on the automated repairs for STL files, PolyJet’s possibilities for colors, transparency and blended materials, or the options for setting up a CAD model so that sub-sections print with different properties.
For example, you’ll see how planning ahead allows you to bring in a multi-body CAD model and have GrabCAD identify and reinforce some areas at full density, while changing the infill pattern, layout, and density in other regions. GrabCAD recognizes actual CAD bodies and faces, letting you make build-modifications that previously would have required layer-by-layer slice editing, or couldn’t have been done at all.
Stay tuned for our next blog post, GrabCAD Print Software, Part Two: Simplify Set-ups, Save Time, and Do
Cool Stuff You Hadn’t Even Considered, and reach out to us to learn more
about downloading and using GrabCAD Print.
PADT Inc.
is a globally recognized provider of Numerical Simulation, Product Development
and 3D Printing products and services. For more information on Stratasys
printers and materials, contact us at info@padtinc.com.
It took a while for books about Additive Manufacturing to catch up with the industry; now there are at least several dozen from which to choose.
Much as we
all love and use websites, YouTube videos and blog posts (you’re reading this
one, right?), there are still times when there’s nothing like a book, even if
you read it on your phone or dedicated device. Books provide data, perspective
and pointers to other resources, in a convenient, all-in-one format. You can
dive deeply into a subject or get a fascinating overview of topics you may
never have known were connected.
For the
AM-lover on your holiday shopping list, consider one of the following titles:
by Ian Gibson (Author), David Rosen
(Author), Brent Stucker (Author) | Nov. 2014
NOTE: this was the first book written about
the field that I could find, with its first edition in 2009. (If you know of
one pre-2009, I’d be interested to hear about it.) SME uses this book as the
reference guide for its Certification exams for AM Fundamentals and AM
Technicians.
Other books
definitely exist that have more of a hobbyist focus. This list comes from my
own research and opinions and is not intended to slight any other titles. I’d be
interested in expanding the list if you know of other titles with an industrial
AM slant.
The
Grant Will Fund Research for Combining Cellular Patterns Inspired by Nature
with Simulation and 3D Printing to Make Stronger and Lighter Structures for Space
Exploration
What do we like more here at PADT than combining simulation, design, and 3D Printing? Combining those three things for spaceflight applications.
That is what our 16th STTR/SBIR win is all about. Based upon our success with the shorter, first phase of this project, NASA has awarded PADT, ASU, and KSU the second phase of this R&D Project.
The team will work to take bio-inspired lattice shapes and develop tools to incorporate those shapes into the design of structure used in spacecraft. We will also create tools to optimize the distribution of the lattice structure, produce material properties, and verify the simulation results with rigorous testing.
Read more details in the press release below or here.
Also, watch this space for reports on what we learn and information about the tools we will be creating.
If you have the need to do simulation, design, or additive manufacturing, or combine any of those disciplines to create better products or improve your processes, please contact PADT and let’s talk about how we can help.
NASA Awards PADT, Arizona State University and
Kennesaw State University a $755,000 Phase II STTR Research Grant
The
Grant Will Fund Research for Combining Cellular Patterns Inspired by Nature
with Simulation and 3D Printing to Make Stronger and Lighter Structures for Space
Exploration
TEMPE,
Ariz., December 10, 2019 ─ In
a move that acknowledges its excellence and expertise in 3D printing, simulation,
design and software development, PADT today announced NASA has awarded a $755,000
2019 Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research grant for it
to collaborate with Arizona State University (ASU) and Kennesaw State University (KSU) to enable the development of stronger and lighter
structures for space exploration. The objective of the joint effort is to develop
a software tool for designing, virtually testing and optimizing strong, lightweight
lattice structures for aerospace vehicles. The result of the research project
will be a commercial software product that PADT plans to market.
The Phase II STTR grant is a
continuation of the original $127,000 Phase I grant awarded to PADT and ASU’s
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering in August 2018. This is PADT’s 16thSTTR/SBIR grant since the company was founded in
1994.
“We’re proud to win this Phase II STTR because it furthers our coordination
with the Fulton Schools and requires the use of our three main areas of
expertise: 3D printing, simulation and product development,” said Alex Grishin,
Ph.D., consulting engineer, PADT. “As an Elite ANSYS channel partner, we also
have the skillset needed to embed our solution in the ANSYS simulation tool,
saving a lot of time and effort. Improving aerospace innovation is always an
exciting prospect, and our team is uniquely qualified to apply our expertise to
develop disruptive technology for NASA.”
Shapes found in nature, like honeycombs in a beehive, are
intriguing to the aerospace community because of their strength and light weight.
Additionally, the shape and spacing of these lattice structures do not have to
be uniform, and by varying them, the compositions can provide better performance.
The challenge PADT, ASU and KSU is solving is how to develop a design tool that
combines concepts from density, topology and parameter optimization to generate
lattice materials that are aperiodic in nature and do not require a priori
definition of cell size. Recent advancements in additive manufacturing will create
the geometry specified by the tool and manufacture “bio-inspired” structures
with detail to a degree previously not possible.
“ASU has become a leader in the
advancement of additive manufacturing and we are continually discovering new
ways to solve engineering challenges with this technology,” said Kyle Squires,
Ph.D., dean, Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University. “The NASA
Phase II STTR grant allows us to use simulation and 3D printing to explore
bio-inspired structures to innovate how NASA designs and manufactures its
spacecrafts.”
In addition to the software product, the group’s deliverables
include cellular material data for inclusion in NASA’s open-source PeTaL
platform, data analysis, experimental results, and 3D printed metal
demonstration artifacts. The lattice structure design tool itself may allow
NASA to design and manufacture high-performance materials, including:
Heat shields
Acoustic liners
Space debris resistant skins
Lightweight panels
Conformal, structural heat
exchangers
“This research project is a great
example of government, academic institutions and the private sector working
together to provide practical solutions for the space industry,” said Ji Mi
Choi, associate vice president, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Arizona State
University. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with NASA, PADT and KSU as
we discover new ways to apply 3D printing and simulation to real-world
challenges.”
To learn more about PADT and its
advanced capabilities, please visit www.padtinc.com.
About Phoenix Analysis and Design Technologies
Phoenix Analysis and Design
Technologies, Inc. (PADT) is an engineering product and services company that
focuses on helping customers who develop physical products by providing
Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions. PADT’s worldwide
reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is based on its
proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships with vendors and
customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies have relied on PADT
because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 80 employees, PADT services
customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University Research Park
in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California, Littleton,
Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah, as well as
through staff members located around the country. More information on PADT can
be found at www.PADTINC.com.
About Ira A. Fulton Schools of
Engineering
The Ira A. Fulton Schools of
Engineering at Arizona State University, with more than 24,000 enrolled
students, is one of the largest engineering schools in the United States,
offering 44 graduate and 25 undergraduate degree programs across six schools of
academic focus. With students, faculty and researchers representing all 50
states and 135 countries, the Fulton Schools of Engineering is creating an
inclusive environment for engineering excellence by advancing research and
innovation at scale, revolutionizing engineering education and expanding global
outreach and partner engagement. The Fulton Schools of Engineering’s research
expenditures totaled $115 million for the 2017-2018 academic year. Learn more
about the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at engineering.asu.edu.
Globally Recognized Company Selected as an ACE Recipient for its Impressive Growth and for Numerous Contributions to the Arizona Technology Sector
For the third time this year, PADT was officially recognized for our contribution to the local tech ecosystem: An Arizona Corporate Excellence award. Last night we joined companies of every type at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing arts to be listed with fifty other privately held companies headquartered here in Arizona. As with many of these awards, it is hard to grasp what an honor it is to be recognized until you hear the names of the other honorees.
You can find a list of all of those who were recognized for the 2019 ACE Award here. Our press release on this topic is below and here.
This was the first time we were nominated for an ACE award, and we ranked 46th amongst private companies in the state. Next year… let’s see how high up that list we can move.
Recognition of this type, and by the broader business community instead of our insular tech world, was a great way to wind down our celebrations for PADT’s 25th year in business.
Arizona
Corporate Excellence Awards Lists PADT as one of the Top Private Companies in
the State
Globally Recognized Company Selected as an ACE
Recipient for its Impressive Growth and for Numerous Contributions to the
Arizona Technology Sector
TEMPE,
Ariz., November 19, 2019 ─ PADT, a globally recognized provider of numerical
simulation, product development, and 3D printing products and services, today
announced it has been named to the Arizona Corporate Excellence (ACE)
Awards list of the Top
Private and Fastest Growing Companies.
PADT joined a prestigious group of companies at
the awards ceremony hosted by the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts on
November 14, 2019. Fellow winners included Arizona Coyotes, JDA Software, OnTrac,
SiteLock, StandardAero, and WebPT.
“Since we started PADT in the Valley in 1994,
our goal has been to become the premier innovation partner to technology
companies who create physical products,” said Ward Rand, co-founder and
principal, PADT. “We’re honored to be named an ACE recipient alongside this
impressive list of winners, many of which have been, or are, our clients. It’s
a testament to how far we have come since we were four engineers in a tiny
executive suite.”
PADT has experienced tremendous growth over the
past five years. Included below is a list of key accomplishments the company
has achieved since 2015:
Opened offices
in Torrance,
California and Austin,
Texas – with a new office location coming soon.
Further
developed partnerships with universities throughout the Southwest and helped to
launch significant additive manufacturing labs at Arizona
State University and Metro
State University in Denver, Colorado.
Tripled
3D printing capacity with new, large format stereolithography systems, and
launched the first 3D printing factory in the Southwest using Carbon’s digital
light synthesis system.
Awarded multiple
SBIR/STTR grants, bringing the company’s total to 15.
The company
and its leadership received two
additional awards in 2019 – PADT received a special recognition for its
contributions to the biotech community by AZBio and Eric Miller was honored as
one of the state’s top tech executive by the Phoenix Business Journal.
The ACE awards are the premier business
awards event in the Valley, and the only program highlighting the market’s
biggest and best privately held companies. In its 24th year, the goal of the
ACE Awards is to develop an increasing
sense of knowledge sharing and community among private companies.
For more information on PADT’s services,
leadership and the company’s history, please visit www.padtinc.com/about.
About PADT
PADT is an engineering product and services
company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical products by
providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions.
PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is
based on its proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships with
vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies have relied
on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 90 employees, PADT
services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University
Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California,
Littleton, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah,
as well as through staff members located around the country. More information
on PADT can be found at www.PADTINC.com.
Here at PADT, we pride ourselves on our ability to make our customers’ ideas for innovation practical and get them to market. No matter how complex the challenge is, we have the engineering expertise and technology tools to work with our customers and deliver tailored solutions to meet their needs. And for every solution we create, there’s a business development team leading the partnership with our customers. We’re excited to welcome the newest leader of this team who introduced the free invoice template, Business Development Manager for Engineering Services, Jeff Wells.
“PADT’s engineering services are
thriving behind the work of our outstanding team,” said Eric Miller, co-founder
and principal, PADT. “Jeff adds a tremendous amount of experience as both an
engineer and a business development leader. His knowledge of the industry and
the community will elevate our ability to attract new and innovative customers.”
To help PADT improve its market position in engineering services and product development, Wells will be responsible for building new customer relationships and seeking new opportunities to solve complex challenges. His focus will be on serving customers in a wide variety of industries, including aerospace and defense, medical, and industrial. You can check h-t to know how to build attitude for work like him.
“Throughout my many years in
engineering here in Arizona, I’ve been keenly aware of the outstanding services
provided by PADT,” said Wells. “The company’s reputation and the wonderful
people I’ve gotten to know over the years made it an easy decision to join the
team. I look forward to contributing to the company’s strategy for growing its engineering
services department.”
Jeff and his Family in New Zealand
Wells brings nearly 30 years of
engineering, business development, and sales experience to the position. He
joins PADT after spending the past five years in the director of business
development role at CollabraTech Solutions. Wells joined CollabraTech early in
the company’s lifecycle and helped grow the gas and chemical delivery product
company from a few million dollars in revenue to over $14 million, by
diversifying their customer base, the markets they served and the projects they
pursued.
Early in his career, Wells worked
as an engineer designing a wide variety of products from parts for Airbus
aircraft engines to laser part marking kiosks and semiconductor capital equipment.
He quickly realized his propensity for combining his engineering expertise with
his communication skills, and in the late ‘90s, he began his career in business
development. Wells worked at Advanced Integration Technologies for 10 years as
a business development engineer and business development manager. He later worked
closely with senior leadership on business development operations at Ultra
Clean Technology and led business development for Foresight Processing.
Wells holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University (ASU). He and his wife, Kate Wells, CEO of the Phoenix Children’s Museum, have been married for 27 years and have two daughters who attend school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Barrett, the Honors College at ASU. In their free time, Wells and his family enjoy traveling. A decade ago, Jeff and his wife took their two daughters out of school for 14 months backpacking around the globe, visiting 22 countries. Wells also enjoys being outdoors hiking, playing sports, snowboarding and water skiing.
You can find a writeup in the Phoenix Business Journal here and his LinkedIn profile is here.
To learn more about PADT’s engineering service capabilities and to connect with Jeff Wells, please visit www.padtinc.com/services or call us at 1-800-293-7238.
Way back in 2011, PADT participated in our first Governor’s Celebration of Innovation, or GCOI. We actually won the award for being a Pioneer that year, and we also started making custom awards with our 3D Printing systems. And every year we get to see friends, customers, and partners take a PADT original home. 2019 was no different.
You can read about the event in the Phoenix Business Journal here.
This year FreeFall Aerospace was won the Innovation Award for startups. They are part of the ANSYS Startup program and someone we really enjoy working with. In addition, Qwick won the Judges award. They are a local software startup that we have interacted with through our mentoring and angel investing activities.
This year’s awards came out nice, combining PolyJet and Stereolithography to make a kinetic sculpture:
We were pleased to watch these being handed out to eight winners. The Tucson winners, half of those recognized, were happy to show their’s off:
It was a special week for PADT when we received two awards for our activities in the Arizona business community. Every time anyone at PADT, or the company as a whole is recognized, it reflects the long term commitment our employees have made to our community, their focus on our customers, and their continued effort to simply be good at what they do.
The details for these two awards are given in the press release below. You can see a list of the fifteen awards PADT has received since 2002 here.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to our success over the years. We are humbled by this type of recognition, so we don’t have much else to say.
The official press release is available as HTML or PDF.
PADT Recognized for its Contribution to Arizona’s Tech Community with Two Awards: Top Tech Exec by Phoenix Business Journal and Special AZBio Award
PADT Co-founder Eric Miller Honored in the CEO Category by the Phoenix Business Journal and PADT’s 25Years of Contributions Recognized by AZBio
TEMPE,
Ariz., Oct. 8, 2019 ─ PADT, a leader in numerical simulation, product development, and 3D printing,
is honored to announce that Principal and Co-founder, Eric Miller, is a winner
of the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2019 Top Tech Exec Award in the CEO category. On the heels of that honor, the state’s
bioscience industry organization, AZBio, recognized the contributions PADT has made to
the local medical technology community over the past 25 years with a special
trophy presented at the 2019 AZBio
Awards ceremony on October 2,
2019.
PBJ Top Tech Exec Award
“Thank
you to the Phoenix Business Journal for recognizing our dedication to
Phoenix’s innovation landscape,” said Miller. “We work hard to ensure the
success of our clients, and I’m extremely proud of the company my co-founders and
I have built together here at PADT. When our clients and employees are happy,
there’s no limit to what we can achieve.”
Each
year, the Phoenix Business Journal recognizes individuals for their
involvement and influence in the technology industry with the AZ Top Tech Exec
Awards. Miller was selected for his role in establishing PADT as an integral
part of the local manufacturing ecosystem, providing market-leading numerical
simulation tools from ANSYS, Inc., and the 3D printing systems from Stratasys
across the Southwest. PADT also assists
companies through engineering consulting for design, test, and simulation and
is the state’s largest provider of 3D printing services. Companies come to PADT
for the tools and consulting they need to design and manufacture better
products.
In addition to PADT’s
extensive business victories, Miller was also chosen as a result of his continuous
involvement in the Phoenix technology community. Miller is an angel investor
with Arizona Tech Investors, and he frequently lends his time to advise
entrepreneurs. He is also an active mentor for ACA’s Venture Ready Program and
was recently named Vice-Chair of the Arizona Technology Council’s Board of Directors.
He is also on the board of directors of BioAccel and is a regular guest
contributor of articles on technology, business, and the local tech scene to
the Phoenix Business Journal.
“Congratulations to Eric Miller and all of the 2019 Top Tech Execs,” said Ray Schey, market president and publisher, Phoenix Business Journal. “Eric is one of the key contributors to the Valley’s incredible growth in the technology sector. This recognition is acknowledgement of his, and the work of the other talented tech execs, in the industry. Arizona is being noticed both nationally and internationally for its innovation and growth in technology.”
AZBio
Recognition
During
the 2019 AZBio Awards, the Arizona Bioindustry Association recognized PADT’s 25th
anniversary with a special award in recognition of the contribution the company
has made to Arizona’s biotechnology community.
It was a special honor for PADT to receive the iconic double-double
helix trophy that PADT has been 3-D printing for the AZBio awards for eight
years.
“Since
it was founded in Arizona in 1994, PADT’s dedicated employees have provided
their knowledge of innovation and enthusiasm for collaboration to advance our
common goal of making Arizona a top-tier bioscience state,” said Joan
Koerber-Walker, president and CEO, AZBio. “It was a privilege to recognize this
trail-blazing company that’s grown to be the largest of its kind in the
Southwest for its contributions.”
Although
PADT provides products and services to companies across industries, the Bioscience
sector has been a special focus of the company because of its
disproportionately positive impact on the overall community. PADT’s involvement
in groups like AZBio is way for the company to amplify its impact.
“PADT
Co-founder Mark Johnson started our special commitment to the medical device industry
and our contributions to the bioscience community early in the company’s
history,” said Rob Rowan, director of Engineering, PADT. “Although Mark is
unfortunately no longer with us, we continue to execute on his vision of bringing
aerospace quality engineering to the medical sector, helping companies large
and small translate their innovative ideas into viable products that improve patient
outcomes across applications.”
About
Eric Miller
As a Co-founder of PADT in 1994, Miller was able to pursue his
interests in simulation, 3D printing, operations, and small business
management. He is often called upon to write and speak on simulation, design, and 3D Printing as well as on
startups and the high-tech sector. In addition, Miller is a board member for
several tech-related organizations and Vice-Chair of the Arizona Technology
Council. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley.
About PADT
PADT is an engineering product and services
company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical products by
providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions.
PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is
based on its proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships with
vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies have relied
on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 90 employees, PADT
services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University
Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California,
Littleton, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah,
as well as through staff members located around the country. More information
on PADT can be found at www.PADTINC.com.
Engineers, educators, and enthusiasts gathered on the green lawn of beside the Platte River at the Blind Faith Brewing to talk about Additive Manufacturing. Over 170 attendees (and two dogs) met each other, caught up with old colleagues, and shared their AM journey during the breaks and listened to 13 presenters and panelists. 12 antipasto platters and 30 pizzas were consumed, and 298 beers or sodas were imbibed. By the numbers and by type of interaction we saw, a successful event all around.
This was the fourth annual gathering, hosted by PADT and sponsored by our partners at this brewery. We could not have put this event on without the support of Stratasys, ANSYS, ZEISS, and Desktop Metal. We also want to thank our promotional partners, Women in 3D Printing and Space for Humanity who both brought new people to our community. Carbon, Visser and a student project with Ball Aerospace did their part as exhibitors.
Check out the Slideshow at the end of this post to get a visual snapshot of the day.
We want to thank the true stars of our event, the speakers and panelists who shared their knowledge and experience that turned a great gathering into a learning experience.
We started the morning off with an inspirational keynote from Dr. Robert Zubrin. A visionary in the space community and long term champion of going to Mars, Dr. Zubrin shared with us his observations about the new space race with his talk: “The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibilities.” He left the packed audience energized and ready to do our part in this next step in humanities exploration of the universe. He stayed after to talk with people and sign copies of his book, which you can find here.
We then heard from user David Waller of Ball Aerospace on his experience with their Desktop Metal system. He went over the testing, lessons learned, and usage of their Studio system. It was a great in-depth look at someone implementing a new technology. There is a lot of interest around this lower-cost approach to producing metal parts, and the audience was full of questions.
Sticking with the Desktop Metal technology, PADT’s very own Pamela Waterman talked about how PADT is using our in-house Zeiss Optical Scanning hardware and software to inspect the parts we are making with our Desktop Metal System. She shared what we have learned about following the design guidelines that are developing for this technology and how scanning is a fast and accurate way to determine the final geometry created in the three-step process of building a green part, debinding, and sintering.
Next up was Christopher Robinson form ANSYS, Inc. to talk about recent additions to the ANSYS Additive products. He shared how customers are using simulation to design parts for metal powder bed fusion AM and then model the build process to predict and avoid failures as well as compensate for the distortion inherent in the process. The key takeaway was that simulation is the solution for getting parts built right the first time.
After a short break, and some AM trivia that won some PADT25 T-Shirts for people who knew the history of 3D Printing, we heard all about the new V650 Flex Stereolithography system that Stratasys recently introduced. Yes, Stratasys now makes and sells an SL system and it is literally a dream machine designed by people with decades of AM and Stereolithography experience. Learn more about this open and powerful system here.
Another AM technology was up next when Nick Jacobson spoke about Voxel Printing with PolyJet technologies. He discussed how he varies materials and colors spacially to create unique and realistic replicas for medicine and engineering. He also showed how the voxel-based geometry he creates can be used to create Virtual Reality representations of objects. Much of their work revolves around the visualization of hearts for adults and children to improve surgery planning. While we had been focused on space at the start of the afternoon, he reminded us of the immediate and life saving medical applications of AM.
And then we moved back to space with a presentation from Lockheed Martin‘s Brian Kaplun on how they are using AM to create parts that will fly on the Orion Spacecraft. Making production parts with 3D Printing has been a long-term goal for the whole industry, and Lockheed Martin has done the long and hard work of design, test, and putting processes in place to make this dream a reality. One of the biggest takeaways of his talk was how once the Astronauts saw a few AM parts in the capsule, they started asking of its use to redesign other tools and components. The ultimate end-users, they saw the value of lightweight and strong parts that could be made without the limitations of traditional manufacturing.
We finished up the day, after another break and some more trivia, with a fascinating panel on AM at Colorado’s leading Universities. We were lucky to have Ray Huff from Wohlers Associates moderate a distinguished group of deans, directors, and professors from four outstanding but different institutions:
Martin Dunn PhD, Dean of Engineering, CU Denver
Jenifer Blacklock PHD, Mechanical Engineering Professor – Colorado School of Mines
David Prawel PhD, Director, Idea-2-Product 3D Printing Lab, Colorado State University
Matt Gordon, PhD, Chair, Mechanical Engineering, University of Denver
Their wide-ranging discussion covered their education and research around AM. A common theme was industry cooperation. Each school shared how they use AM to help students not just make things, but also understand how parts are made. The discussion was fantastic and ended far too soon, which is always an indicator of a great group of experts.
And that sums up our great day, leaving out several hundred side conversations that went on. Check out this slide show to get a feel for how energetic and interesting the afternoon was.
As everyone left, some reluctantly and after one more beer, the common comment was that they can’t wait to get together again with everyone. We hope that next year we will have more speakers and participants and continue to support the growth of Additive Manufacturing in Colorado.
A quick note about the location: You are not wrong if you remember a different name for the three previous events. St. Patricks’s is now Blind Faith and the new owners could have not been more welcoming. Plus, they have more Belgian’s, which I am a big fan of.
Well, the cat is now out of the bag. We are pleased to announce that we now have a Stratasys F900 FDM system up and running at PADT. Over the years we have helped dozens of customers specify and acquire their own F900 system. These are great machines. And our services customers were always asking when we would be adding one to our fleet of machines.
The answer is now. Our new F900 is up and running and making large, robust, and accurate parts right now.
A few weeks ago we published this picture on social media to announce the arrival of something big:
Now we can share what it was all about. Inside the truck was a big box:
And inside that box was a brand new Stratasys F900 FDM System!
It was a tight fit through PADT’s painting room, down the hallway, and into its new home:
After our team plugged it in and Stratasys came out to finish the install and calibrate everything, we ran our first part:
This is a big machine:
Here are the specs:
Build Size: 36 x 24 x 36 in Layer thickness: 0.005 in – 0.020 in Materials: ABS-ESD7, ABSi, ABS-M30, ABS-M30i, ABSplus, ASA, FDM Nylon 12, FDM Nylong 5, PC, PC-ABS, PC-Iso, PPSF, ST-130, ULTEM.
The machine is up and running and ready to make parts. So please contact us at rp@padtinc.com or 480.813.4884 to talk about how our new, big, fast, robust machine can 3D Print better and bigger parts for you.
PADT Adds the Faster, Larger and More Advanced
Stratasys F900 Fused Deposition Modeling Additive Manufacturing System at its
Tempe Headquarters
The F900 is the Most Capable System on the Market for Companies
Who Need Large, 3D-Printed Production Parts in Small or Large Volume
TEMPE, Ariz.,
August 29, 2019 ─ In an exciting development that enhances
its additive manufacturing services and capabilities, PADT, a globally recognized provider of numerical simulation, product development, and 3D
printing products and services, added a Stratasys F900 Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) Additive Manufacturing System at its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.
With fast build speed and large build volume, the F900 significantly increased
PADT’s 3D Printing capability and capacity.
“The addition of the F900 flagship
FDM printer to our growing lineup of additive manufacturing systems is a major
milestone in our long-term partnership with Stratasys,” said Ward Rand,
co-founder and principal, PADT. “This move greatly enhances the capabilities we
provide our customers based on Stratasys’ leading-edge equipment.”
The Stratasys F900 is specifically built for manufacturing and aerospace. With the
largest build size of any Stratasys FDM system, it’s designed to handle the
most demanding manufacturing needs. The system uses a wide range of
thermoplastics with advanced mechanical properties so parts can endure high
heat, caustic chemicals, sterilization and high-impact applications.
FDM is the most common additive manufacturing
process because of the technology’s ability to provide robust parts quickly at
low-cost. PADT has developed expertise with the FDM printing process over the
past 20 years. The Stratasys F900 is the pinnacle of FDM technology because it’s
designed to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry’s shift from
prototyping towards production parts. The addition of the F900 comes at a
critical time for PADT due to the increased demand from its customers in
industries such as aviation, space and defense, to create end-use components created
under ISO9001/AS9100 standards.
“When
we added a large stereolithography machine in 2018, we quickly learned how
significant the demand is for more materials, larger parts, and faster
turnaround,” said Rey Chu, co-founder and principal, PADT. “The Stratasys F900 fulfills
all three of these same requirements for companies who need the outstanding
performance of parts made with the FDM process.
We look forward to partnering with our customers to make innovation work with
this new capability.”
This
new system will augment PADT’s existing fleet of four FDM systems from
Stratasys. It will compliment
Stereolithography, PolyJet, Selective Laser Sintering, and Digital Light
Synthesis systems. This wide range of material and process choices is why
hundreds of companies rely on PADT as their Additive Manufacturing services
provider.
To learn more about PADT and its services,
please visit www.padtinc.com.
About Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies
Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT) is an engineering product and
services company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical
products by providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D
Printing solutions. PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and
experienced staff is based on its proven record of building long-term win-win
partnerships with vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994,
companies have relied on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 80
employees, PADT services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State
University Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance,
California, Littleton, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray,
Utah, as well as through staff members located around the country. More
information on PADT can be found at www.padtinc.com.
As advancements in R&D continue to expand hardware
innovation in almost every industry, 3D printing is playing an increasingly
larger role. For a long time, companies developed prototypes via fabrication in
a machine shop or outsourced to a third party contractor. This process proved
to be costly and slow. With innovations like the Stratasys F123 series,
industrial-grade 3D printers, prototyping is becoming simpler, more cost-efficient,
and faster. PADT is a reseller and support provider for the F123 series and has
seen it used to great success in its customer’s hands.
“Our customers are finding the Stratasys F123 3D
printers to be a great addition to their design floors,” said Rey Chu,
co-founder and principal, PADT. “They have a very minimal learning curve, and a
range of material options that provides flexibility for a wide variety of
parts.”
As some of the most well-rounded 3D printers in the
industry, the Stratasys F123 Series have won numerous awards. It’s easy to
operate and maintain these machines, regardless of the user’s level of
experience, and they are proficient at every stage of prototyping, from concept
to validation, to functional performance.
The printers work with a range of materials – so users
can produce complex parts with flexibility and accuracy. This includes advanced
features like Fast Draft mode for truly rapid prototyping and soluble support
to prevent design compromise and hands-on removal – All designed to shorten
product development cycles and time to market.
All of these different characteristics allow for the
F123 series to provide innovative solutions for manufacturers working with a
wide variety of applications. This vast array of potential use is best seen in
the assortment of companies that have purchased the Stratasys F370, the largest
and most robust model in the F123 line of 3D printers; boasting a 14 x 10 x 14
in. build size, additional software integration, and access to a plethora of
unique materials designed to help ensure prototyping success, all at an accessible
price point. Companies that best represent the diversity of this machine
include:
Juggernaut
Design
PADT client Juggernaut is an authority
in rugged product design, bringing innovation and expertise to products to
survive in challenging environments. Employing the latest tools and technology, this team
of designers and engineers is always looking for the best way to meet their
client’s ever-evolving requirements. 3D printing is one such tool a design firm
like Juggernaut relies on. Covering everything from the development of
prototypes and form studies, to ergonomic test rigs and even functional models,
the need for quick turnaround is relevant at nearly every stage of the design
process. Having physical parts to show to clients also helps to improve
communication, allowing them to better visualize key design elements.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) focuses on advancing the science and engineering of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power technologies, including marine energy. Follow solarkraft for more information. When it comes to developing the components of a wave energy device that produce power from relative motion induced by the dynamics of ocean waves for example, NREL’s research requires extensive validation before it is ready for commercialization. This process often includes generating sub-scale components for numerical model validation, prototypes for proof of concept, and other visual representations to provide clarity throughout the entire manufacturing process. It’s also important to accurately validate research projects at a more manageable and cost-effective scale before moving beyond the prototype stage.
Recently, NREL has ventured into building parts with
more complex geometries, such as 3D printing hydrodynamically accurate models
that are able to effectively represent the intricacies of various geometry and
mass properties at scale.
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a privately held,
advanced technology company providing customer-focused innovative solutions in
the areas of aerospace, aviation, electronics, and systems integration. SNC’s
diverse technologies are used in applications including telemedicine,
navigation and guidance systems, threat detection and security, commercial
aviation, scientific research, and infrastructure protection, among others. SNC
decided to purchase an F370 Stratasys 3D printer to help the company’s
engineering team iterate faster on new application designs. This machine was
specifically attractive due to the reasonable purchase and operational costs of
Stratasys printers, as well as the reduced manufacturing times it provided.
These use cases provide an example of how the Stratasys F123 series is helping to replace traditional manufacturing to save costs and provide a more efficient in-house, rapid design solution. The Stratasys F123 printers, and specifically the power and size of its flagship model, the F370, are revolutionizing design team’s workflow by providing more flexibility and accessibility than ever before.
To learn more about the Stratasys F123 Series, and find the machine that is right for you, please visit PADT’s Stratasys product page here. And to talk to PADT’s sales staff about a demo, please call 1-800-293-PADT.
We are pleased to announce that the US Army has awarded PADT a Phase I SBIR Grant to explore novel geometries for combustor cooling holes. This is our 15th SBIR/STTR win.
We are excited about this win because it is a project that combines Additive Manufacturing, CFD and Thermal Simulation, and Design in one project. And to make it even better, the work is being done in conjunction with our largest customer, Honeywell Aerospace.
We look forward to getting started on this first phase where we will explore options and then applying for a larger Phase II grant to conduct more thorough simulation then build and test the options we uncover in this phase.
Read more below. The official press release is here for HTML and here for PDF.
If you have any needs to explore new solutions or new geometries using Additive Manufacturing or applying advanced simulation to drive new and unique designs, please contact us at 480.813.4884 or info@padtinc.com.
PADT Awarded U.S. Army Phase I SBIR Grant for Combustor Geometry Research Using 3D Printing, Simulation, and Product Development
The Project Involves the Development of Sand-Plugging Resistant Metallic Combustor Liners
TEMPE, Ariz., August 15, 2019 ─ In recognition of its continued excellence and expertise in 3D printing, simulation, and product development, PADT announced today it has been awarded a $107,750 U.S. Army Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. With the support of Honeywell Aerospace, PADT’s research will focus on the development of gas turbine engine combustor liners that are resistant to being clogged with sand. The purpose of this research is to reduce downtime and improve the readiness of the U.S. Army’s critical helicopters operating in remote locations where dirt and sand can enter their engines.
“PADT has supported advanced
research in a wide variety of fields which have centered around various
applications of our services,” said Eric Miller, co-founder and principal,
PADT. “We’re especially proud of this award because it requires the use of our
three main areas of expertise, 3D printing, simulation and product development.
Our team is uniquely capable of combining these three disciplines to develop a
novel solution to a problem that impacts the readiness of our armed forces.”
The challenge PADT will be solving
is when helicopters are exposed to environments with high concentrations of
dust, they can accumulate micro-particles in the engine that clog the metal liner
of the engine’s combustor. Combustors are where fuel is burned to produce heat
that powers the gas turbine engine. To cool the combustor, thousands of small
holes are drilled in the wall, or liner, and cooling air is forced through
them. If these holes become blocked, the combustor overheats and can be
damaged. Blockage can only be remedied
by taking the engine apart to replace the combustor. These repairs cause
long-term downtime and significantly reduce readiness of the Army’s fleets.
PADT
will design various cooling hole geometries and simulate how susceptible they
are to clogging using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation
tools. Once the most-promising designs have been identified through simulation,
sample coupons will be metal 3D printed and sent to a test facility to verify
their effectiveness. Additionally, PADT
will experiment with ceramic coating processes on the test coupons to determine
the best way to thermally protect the 3D printed geometries.
“When
we developed new shapes for holes in the past, we had no way to make them using
traditional manufacturing,” said Sina Ghods, principal investigator, PADT. “The
application of metal additive manufacturing gives PADT an opportunity to create
shapes we could never consider to solve a complex challenge for the U.S. Army.
It also gives us a chance to demonstrate the innovation and growth of the 3D
printing industry and its applications for harsh, real-world environments.”
Honeywell
joined PADT to support this research because it is well aligned with the
company’s Gas Turbine Engine products. The outcome of this research has the
potential to significantly improve the performance of the company’s engines
operating in regions with high dust concentrations.
This
will be PADT’s 15th SBIR/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
award since the company was founded in 1994. In August 2018, the company, in
partnership with Arizona State University, was awarded a $127,000 STTR Phase I
Grant from NASA to accelerate biomimicry research, the study of 3D printing
objects that resemble strong and light structures found in nature such as
honeycombs or bamboo.
To learn more about PADT and its
advanced capabilities, please visit www.padtinc.com.
About Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies
Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT) is an engineering product and
services company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical
products by providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D
Printing solutions. PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and
experienced staff is based on its proven record of building long-term win-win
partnerships with vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies
have relied on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 80 employees,
PADT services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University
Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California,
Littleton, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah,
as well as through staff members located around the country. More information
on PADT can be found at www.PADTINC.com.
As we shared in our recent press release, PADT was invited to be one of nine companies presenting at the 2019 Commercial Vehicle Cleantech Challenge. We happily spent the day at the Colorado Governor’s mansion talking and learning about how to make the road transportation of goods with large and small vehicles cleaner and more efficient. As one of nine companies presenting, PADT talked about our custom blower technology for hydrogen fuel cells.
Here are some pictures describing how our day went.
The building and grounds at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion are truly beautiful. We spent most of the day in the carriage house in the garden… which I failed to get a picture of.
It was a packed day as can be seen from the agenda. And the list of sponsors was fantastic. We were able to talk with key industry visionaries for more efficient and cleaner commercial vehicle fleets.
One of my favorite things about the site were these very cool napkins they gave us. Nice seal. And, “Executive Residence” sounds so much classier than “the Gov’s House”
We spent most of our day in the green room where they gave us wifi, coffee, power, and a flat surface. So Rob and I set up a portable office. The three blowers we brought with us helped decorate the place.
We can’s share the full presentation, but we can discuss some key slides. They gave us 10 minutes to talk about our solution, then 10 for questions.
The problem is fairly simple. People designing stacks need custom blower solutions because of the hydrogen and the pressure/flow requirements on the air side of a hydrogen fuel cell.
PADT’s proven solution is to design custom blowers to meet very specific needs.
In the end, we just wanted to know that we are excited to see that Hydrogen fuel cells are seeing a resurgence, our blowers are perfect for most applications, and that we would love connections to people who need our solution.
When we were done we went inside the house. Room after room was stunning.
We gave a 2-minute short presentation with this great view behind us.
A great day where we met a lot of great people from around the country. Sadly, PADT didn’t win the competition. The truth is that the challenge was for new and disruptive technology and we talked about proven and enabling solutions. Useful to the sponsors, but not what they were looking for when handing out prizes.
Visiting Colorado in the summer is always a nice break for those of us from Phoenix. We hope to participate in this and related events in the future.
If you have any needs for air our hydrogen blowers for your fuel cell, or any complex engineering for your product, please contact us and we would love to learn how we can help.
The past is a tricky thing to remember. When we started preparing for PADT’s 25th anniversary celebration we spent a lot of time thinking about the past, about our journey from an idea to the thriving business we are today. And one though kept coming back to us, “we really should have captured and stored more.”
We can’t change that past but we can preserve our history for the future with a Time Capsule. On July 1st of 2019, we took 49 items and crammed them into a sealed box that we embedded into the wall of PADT’s Tempe headquarters.
You can see a list of all the items at the bottom of this post. Some of the highlights are a copy of our different business card designs over the past 25 years, a collection of PADT logo’d shirts, bits and pieces from our SCA product, parts from various fuel cell blowers, samples of 3D Printed parts, and some old manuals. We also included a collection of tech from the past 25 years including four cell phones of various types.
The most interesting object we stored from our perspective was a binder with documents and images from the past 25 years. Here are some of the items in that binder that are interesting today:
A timeline of PADT Business Cards over the past 25 years. We did think they looked cool back then.
We didn’t take any early photos, but we do have pictures of most of our employee for almost every year since 2000.
Our first report to a customer was a stress analysis for a sprinkler valve housing.
Our staff took a look at the way things were in 1994 and in 2019. Technology, politics, entertainment, and news. A great look back at then and now.
It was a lot of fun gathering the items and thinking about the impact they all had on PADT over the years.
All of that stuff we wanted to save is piled on the cart. A lot of memories.
On Monday we crammed it all in and sealed it up. In 25 years, July 1, 2044, PADT employees, customers, and partners of the future will open it up to see what is inside. That is not too far into the future and with luck, many of us will be around to witness it.
PADT’s founders… 25 years older… Eric Miller, Ward Rand, and Rey Chu
Jeff expertly filled the box full
Co-Founder, Rey Chu puts in the first screw.
Ward Rand adds the second fastener.
Eric Miller tightens everything up.
We wonder what they will make of our past, some of which will be fifty years old by then. Will they laugh? Or scratch their head wondering what the heck a cell phone was? We can’t wait to find out.
Sealed and ready for the future
List of Items in PADT’s Time Capsule
1
First official printed PADT Brochure
2
Business Card designs - 1994 to present
3
Service Partnership Guide - 2000 ver. 1
4
Employee Handbook 2019
5
Business Journal - Issue: March 1, 2019
6
Eric's Honeywell Contractor Badge (2000) - Transition period from Allied Signal to Honeywell
7
One of the early company polo shirts - Late 1990's
PADT's first Smart Phone - Blackberry 71001 / International with internet access (2005)
45
Rey's Blackberry Curve 8310 (2007)
46
An employee's old iPhone 6 (2014)
47
Macintosh IIVX (Photo) - PADT’s original computer. It was used to create early brochures, design the PADT logo, write letters and reports, and ran our first accounting system for many years.
Last week we were pleased to learn that we were selected to present our fuel cell blower technology at the Commercial Vehicle Cleantech Challenge in Denver, Colorado on July 10th. This is a great opportunity for us to share the solutions we developed for the military, automotive applications, and buses to the trucking industry. Many manufacturers of long-haul commercial trucks are looking at hybrid solutions that combine electrical drives, batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells to create zero-emission vehicles that do not require charging.
To learn more, take a look at the press release below and watch PADT’s news feed to see if we won against some pretty prestigious competition.
If you are interested in how PADT can help you solve your customer pump, blower, turbine, and fan needs, please contact us today.
Link to official press release here for html and here for PDF
Major Automotive OEM’s, UTC Power and
Several Government Organizations Have All Used Fuel Cell Blower Technology
Developed by PADT
TEMPE, Ariz., June 27, 2019 ─ PADT, a globally recognized provider of numerical simulation, product development, and 3D printing products and services, today announced it has been selected as a finalist and to present its innovative fuel cell blower technology at the 2019 Commercial Vehicle Cleantech Challenge (CVCC) presented by the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA) and North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). The showcase event will be held on July 10, 2019, at the Governor’s Residence in Denver, Colorado.
“As a company
who’s a proud supporter and supplier to organizations involved in the green-
and cleantech space, it’s an honor to be selected to present at this event,”
said Eric Miller, co-founder and principal, PADT. “We look forward to showcasing
PADT’s solutions and demonstrating our history of excellence in the hydrogen
fuel cell sector.”
PADT will be
joined by event partners Toyota, Kenworth, Schneider, UPS, Xcel Energy, and
Great Dane as well as trucking industry strategic investors, technology experts
and industry environmental directors interested in technologies that can be
deployed into their operations. According
to a press
release from CCIA, program
partners reviewed submissions, vetted applicants and ultimately selected eight
finalists, including PADT, to present.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology has resurged in use in recent years and PADT remains one of the few companies with deep experience developing custom fuel cell accessory solutions for the transportation industry.
“The unique requirements
of providing pressurized hydrogen and air to high-efficiency fuel-cells require
custom solutions which operate at the proper pressure and flow, can deal with
the safety issues presented by working with hydrogen, and operate with
extremely high efficiency,” said Rob Rowan, director of engineering, PADT. “PADT
is one of the few companies in the world with the experience and technical
know-how to meet these needs.”
PADT has
developed fuel cell blower technology solutions for a number of major
automotive OEMs, UTC Power, and several government research organizations. The
company’s fuel cell blower technology is still in use today by buses in
Oakland, Calif., ten years after being installed.
For more
information on PADT’s expertise in cleantech, please visit its alternative
energy page here or contact us at 480.813.4884 or
info@padtinc.com
About PADT
PADT is an engineering product and services
company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical products by
providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions.
PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is
based on its proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships with
vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies have relied
on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 80 employees, PADT
services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University Research
Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California, Littleton,
Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah, as well as
through staff members located around the country. More information on PADT can
be found at www.PADTINC.com.
