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.
Taking risks attempting to capture design intent at the end of the process requires a lot of post-processing (coloring, assemblies, a mix of technologies, etc.) – when its too time consuming, expensive and late to make changes or correct errors. Stratasys PolyJet 3D printing technology is developed to elevate designs by realizing ideas more quickly and more accurately and taking color copies to the next level.
By putting realistic models in a designer’s hands earlier in the process, companies can promote better decisions and a superior final product. Now, with the Stratasys J8 Series, the same is true for prototypes. This tried and tested technology simplifies the entire design process, streamlining workflows so you can spend more time on what matters –creating, refining, and designing the best product possible.
PADT is excited to introduce the new StratasysJ826 3D printer
Based on J850 technology, the J826 supplies the same end-to-end solution for the design process and ultra-realistic simulation at a lower price point. Better communicate design intent and drive more confident results with prototypes that realistically portray an array of design alternatives.
The Stratasys J826 3D Printer is able to deliver realism, shorter time to market, and streamlined application thanks to a variety of unique attributes that set it apart from most other Polyjet printers:
High Quality – The J826 can accurately print smaller features at a layer thickness of 14µm to 27µm. As part of the J8 series of printers it is also capable of printing in ultra-realistic Pantone validated colors.
Speed & Productivity – Three printing speed modes (high speed, high quality & high mix) allows the J826 to always operate at the most efficient speed for each print. It can also avoid unnecessary down-time associate with material changeovers thanks to it’s built-in material cabinet and workstation.
Easy to Use – A smooth workflow with the J826 comes from simple integration with the CAD format of your choice, as well as a removable tray for easy clean up, and automated support creation and removal.
Are you ready to learn how the new Stratasys J826 provides the same quality and accuracy as other J8 series printers at a lower cost?
Provide the requested information via the form linked below and one of PADT’s additive experts will reach out to share more on what makes this new offering so exciting for the enterprise design world.
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:
NOTE 10/28/2019: See updated information regarding Diran extruder heads, below.
Does the idea of 3D printing parts in semi-aromatic polyamides (PA) sound intriguing? Too bad it has nothing to do with making nicely scented models – but it has everything to do with reaping the benefits of the Nylon family’s molecular ring structure. Nylon 6, Nylon 12, carbon-filled Nylon 12 and now a new, smoother Nylon material called Diran each offer material properties well-suited for additive manufacturing on industrial 3D printers. Have you tried Holden’s Screen Supply? It has the emulsions and reclaimers needed for screen printing. To get more information about 3D printers, Go through PrtWd.com website.
3D printed Nylon 12 Battery Box. (Image courtesy Stratasys)
Quick chemistry lesson: in polyamides, amine sub-groups containing nitrogen link up with carbon, oxygen and hydrogen in a ring structure; most end up with a strongly connected, semi-crystalline layout that is key to their desirable behaviors. The number of carbon atoms per molecule is one way in which various Nylons (poly-amines) differentiate themselves, and gives rise to the naming process.
Now on to the good stuff. PA thermoplastics are known for strength, abrasion-resistance and chemical stability – useful material properties that have been exploited since Nylon’s discovery at Du Pont in 1935. The first commercial Nylon application came in 1938, when Dr. West’s Miracle Tuft Toothbrush closed the book on boar’s-hair bristle use and let humans gently brush their teeth with Nylon 6 (then called “Exton”) fibers.
Today’s Nylon characteristics translate well to filament-form for printing with Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) production-grade systems. Here’s a look at properties and typical applications for Nylon 6, Nylon 12, Nylon 12 CF (carbon-fiber filled) and Diran (the newest in the Stratasys Nylon material family), as we see their use here at PADT.
When Flexibility
Counts
Nylon 12 became the first Stratasys PA offering, filling a need for customized parts with high fatigue resistance, strong chemical resistance, and just enough “give” to support press (friction-fit) inserts and repetitive snap-fit closures. Users in aerospace, automotive and consumer-goods industries print Nylon 12 parts for everything from tooling, jigs and fixtures to container covers, side-panels and high vibration-load components.
3D Printed Nylon 12 bending example. (Image courtesy Stratasys)
Nylon 12 is the workhorse of the manufacturing world, supporting distortion without breaking and demonstrating a high elongation at break. Its ultimate tensile strength in XZ part orientation (the strongest orientation) is 6,650 psi (46 MPa), while elongation at break is 30 percent. Users can load Nylon 12 filament onto a Stratasys Fortus 380mc CF, 450mc or 900mc system.
As evidenced by the toothbrush renaissance, Nylon 6 has been a popular
thermoplastic for more than 80 years. Combining very high strength with
toughness, Nylon 6 is great for snap-fit parts (middle range of
flexing/stiffness) and for impact resistance; it is commonly used for things
that need to be assembled, offering a clean surface finish for part mating.
Nylon 6 displays an XZ ultimate tensile strength of 9,800 psi (67.6 MPa) and elongation at break of 38%; it is available on the F900 printer. PADT customer MTD Southwest has recently used Nylon 6 to prototype durable containers with highly curved geometries, for testing with gasoline/ethanol blends that would destroy most other plastics.
Prototype gas-tank made of Nylon 6, printed on a Stratasys system, using soluble support. (Image courtesy MTD Southwest)
Both Nylon 12 and Nylon 6 come as black filament that prints
in tandem with a soluble brown support material called SR-110. Soluble supports
make a huge difference in allowing parts with internal structures and
complicated overhangs to be easily 3D printed and post-processed.
Getting Stronger and
Smoother
As with these first two PA versions, Nylon 12CF prints as a black filament and uses SR-110 soluble material for support; unlike those PAs, Nylon 12CF is loaded at 35 percent by weight with chopped carbon fibers averaging 150 microns in length. This fiber/resin combination produces a material with the highest flexural strength of all the FDM Nylons, as well as the highest stiffness-to-weight ratio.
Nylon 12 CF (carbon-fiber filled) 3D printed part, designed as a test brake unit. (Image courtesy Stratasys)
That strength shows up in Nylon 12 CF as a high ultimate XZ tensile strength of 10,960 psi (75.6 MPa), however, similar to other fiber-reinforced materials, the elongation at break is lower than for its unfilled counterpart (1.9 percent). Since the material doesn’t yield, just snaps, the compressive strength is given as the ultimate value, at 9,670 psi (67 MPa).
Nylon 12 CF’s strength and stiffness make it a great choice for lightweight fixtures. It also offers electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection properties better than that of Stratasys’ ABS ESD7, yet is still not quite conductive, if that is important for the part’s end-use. (For more details on printing with Nylon 12 CF, see Seven Tips for 3D Printing with Nylon 12 CF.) The material runs on the Fortus 380mc CF, 450mc or 900mc systems.
Just announced this month, Stratasys’ Diran filament
(officially Diran 410MF07) is another black Nylon-based material; it, too,
features an infill but not of fibers – instead there is a mineral component
listed at seven percent by weight. This filler produces a material whose
smooth, lubricious surface offers low
sliding resistance (new vocabulary word: lubricious, meaning slippery, with
reduced friction; think “lube job” or lubricant).
Robot-arm end printed in Diran, a smooth Nylon-based filament. (Image courtesy Stratasys)
This smooth surface makes Diran parts perfect for applications needing a non-marring interface between a tool and a workpiece; for example, a jig or fixture that requires a part to be slid into place rather than just set down. It resists hydrocarbon-based chemicals, displays an ultimate tensile strength of 5,860 psi (40 MPa), and has a 12 percent elongation at break.
Close-up of Diran’s smooth surface finish. (Image courtesy Stratasys)
(Revised) For the first time, Diran also brings the benefits of Nylon to users of the Stratasys office-environment, plug-and-play F370 printer. The system works with the new material using the same extruder heads as for ABS, ASA and PC-ABS, with just a few material-specific requirements.
To keep thermal expansion consistent across a model and any necessary supports, parts set up for Diran automatically use model material as support. A new, breakaway SUP4000B material comes into play as an interface layer, simplifying support removal. The higher operating temperature also requires a different build tray, but the material’s lubricious properties (just had to use that word again) make for easy part removal and allow that tray to be reused dozens of times.
Read more about this intriguing material on the Diran datasheet:
and contact PADT to request a sample part of Diran or any of these useful Nylon materials.
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.
In this episode, your host and Co-Founder of PADT, Eric Miller is joined by PADT’s simulation support & application engineer Doug Oatis for a discussion on what is new in ANSYS 2019 R3 with regards to tools and applications for topology optimization and additive manufacturing.
If you would like to learn more about what’s new in this latest release, check out our webinar on the topic here: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/15747/372133?
If you have any questions, comments, or would like to suggest a topic for the next episode, shoot us an email at podcast@padtinc.com we would love to hear from you!
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.
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.
Through the use of ANSYS tools such as Additive Prep, Print, and Science, paired with topology optimization capabilities in ANSYS Mechanical Workbench, the need for physical process of trial-and-error testing has been greatly reduced.
Join PADT’s Simulation Support and Application 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 2019 R3. This presentation includes updates regarding:
Level-set based topology optimization
The export of build files directly to AM machines
Switching between viewing STL supports, mesh, or element densities
Multiple support being made in a single simulation (volume-less & solid supports)
If this is your first time registering for one of our Bright Talk webinars, simply click the link and fill out the attached form. We promise that the information you provide will only be shared with those promoting the event (PADT).
You will only have to do this once! For all future webinars, you can simply click the link, add the reminder to your calendar and you’re good to go!
While attending the 2019 RAPID + TCT conference in Detroit this year, I was honored to be interviewed by Stephanie Hendrixson, the Senior Editor of Additive Manufacturing magazine and website. We had a great chat, covering a lot of topics. I do tend to go on, so it turned into two videos.
The first video is about the use of simulation in AM. You should watch that one first, here, because we refer back to some of the basics when we zoomed in on optimization.
Generative design is the use of a variety of tools to drive the design of components and systems to directly meet requirements. One of those tools, the most commonly used, is Topological Optimization. Stephanie and I explore what it is all about, and the power of using these technologies, in this video:
You can view the full article on the Additive Manufacturing website here.
If you have any questions about how you can leverage simulation to add value to your AM processes, contact PADT or shoot me an email at eric.miller@padtinc.com.
While attending the 2019 RAPID + TCT conference in Detroit this year, I was honored to be interviewed by Stephanie Hendrixson, the Senior Editor of Additive Manufacturing magazine and website. We had a great chat, covering a lot of topics. I do tend to go on, so it turned into two videos.
In the first video, we chat about how simulation can improve the use of Additive Manufacturing for production hardware. We go over the three uses: optimizing the part geometry to take advantage of AM’s freedom, verifying that the part you are about to create will survive and perform as expected, and modeling the build process itself.
You can read the article and watch the video here on the Additive Manufacturing website. Or you can watch it here:
If you have any questions about how you can leverage simulation to add value to your AM processes, contact PADT or shoot me an email at eric.miller@padtinc.com.
For the second interview, we focus on Topological Optimization, Generative design, and the difference between the two. Check that out here.
PADT’s Austin Suder is a Solidworks CAD wizard,
a NASA design-competition (Two
for the Crew) winner and a teaching assistant for a course in additive
manufacturing (AM)/3D printing. Not bad for someone who’s just started his
sophomore year in mechanical engineering at Arizona State University.
PADT’s Austin Suder 3D printed these custom LED reverse-light housings in carbon fiber PLA, then added heat-set inserts to strengthen the assembly and mounting structure. (Image courtesy Austin Suder)
In last month’s PADT blog post about adding heat-set inserts to 3D printed parts we gave a shout-out to Austin for providing our test piece, the off-road LED light unit he had designed and printed for his 2005 Ford F-150. Now we’ve caught up with him between classes to see what other additions he’s made to his vehicle, all created with his personal 3D printers and providing great experience for his part-time work with Stratasys industrial printers in PADT’s manufacturing department.
Q: What has inspired or led you to print multiple parts
for your truck?
I like cars, but I’m on a college budget so instead of complaining I found a way to fix the problem. I have five 3D printers at my house – why not put them to work! I understand the capabilities of AM so this has given me a chance to practice my CAD and manufacturing skills and push boundaries – to the point that people start to question my sanity.
Q: How did you end up making those rear-mount LED lights?
I wanted some reverse lights to match the ones on the front
of my truck, so I designed housings in SolidWorks and printed them in carbon
fiber PLA. Then I soldered in some high-power LED lights and wired them to my
reverse lights. These parts made great use of threaded inserts! The carbon
fiber PLA that I used was made by a company called Vartega that recycles carbon
fiber material. (Note: PADT is an investor of this company.)
Q: In the PADT parking lot, people can’t help but
notice your unusual tow-hitch. What’s the story with that?
I saw a similar looking hitch on another car that I liked
and my first thought was, “I bet I could make that better.” It’s made from ABS
painted chrome (not metal); I knew that I would never use it to tow anything,
so this opened up my design freedom. This has been on my truck for about a year
and the paint has since faded, but the printed parts are still holding strong.
An adjustable-height “topology optimized” trailer hitch Austin designed and printed in ABS. The chrome paint-job has many passersby doing a double-take, but it’s just for fun, not function. (Image courtesy PADT)
This part also gets questioned a lot! It’s both a blessing and a curse. In most cases it starts when I’m getting gas and the person behind me starts staring and then questions the thing that’s attached to the back of my truck. The conversation then progresses to me explaining what additive is, to a complete stranger in the middle of a gas station. This is the blessing part because I’m always down for a conversation about AM; the downside is I hate being late for work.
Q: What about those tow shackles on your front bumper?
Unique ABS printed tow shackles – another conversation-starter. (Image courtesy PADT)
Those parts were printed in ABS – they’re not meant for use,
just for looks. I’ve seen towing shackles on Jeeps and other trucks but never
liked the look of them, so again I designed my own in this pentagon-shape. I
originally printed them in red but didn’t like the look when I installed them;
the unusual shading comes because I spray-painted them black then rubbed off some
of the paint while wet so the red highlights show through.
Q: Have you printed truck parts in any other
materials?
Yes, I‘ve used a carbon-fiber (CF) nylon and flexible TPU
(thermoplastic polyurethane) on filament printers and a nylon-like resin on a
stereolithography system.
The CF nylon worked well when I realized my engine bay lacked the real estate needed for a catch can I’d bought. This was a problem for about five minutes – then I realized I have the power of additive and engineered a mount which raised the can and holds it at an angle. The mount makes great use of complex geometry because AM made it easy to manufacture a strong but custom-shaped part.
Custom mount, 3D printed in carbon-fiber reinforced nylon, puts aftermarket catch-can in just the right location. (Image courtesy Austin Suder)
After adding the catch can to my engine, I needed a way to
keep the hoses from moving around when driving so I designed a double S-clip in
TPU. The first design didn’t even come close to working – the hoses kept coming
loose when driving – so I evaluated it and realized that the outer walls needed
to be thicker. I made the change and printed it again, and this time it worked
great. In fact, it worked so well that when I took my truck to the Ford
dealership for some warranty work, they went missing. (It’s OK Ford, you can
have them – I’ll just print another set.)
Just-right 3D printed clips keep hoses anchored and out of the way. ((Image courtesy Austin Suder)
Other parts I printed in TPU included clips for the brake-lines. I had seen that my original clip had snapped off, so when I had the truck up on jacks, I grabbed my calipers and started designing a new, improved version. Thirty minutes later I had them in place.
I also made replacement hood dampeners from TPU since they
looked as though they’d been there for the life of the truck. I measured the
old ones, used SolidWorks to recreate them (optimized for AM), printed a pair
and installed them. They’ve been doing great in the Arizona heat without any
deformation.
New hood-dampeners printed in TPU have just the right amount of give. (Image courtesy Austin Suder)
My last little print was done on my SLA system in a material
that behaves like nylon. (This was really just me showing off.) The plastic
clips that hold the radiator cover had broken off, which led me to use threaded
sheet-metal inserts to add machine threading to the fixture. I then purchased chrome
bolts and made some 3D printed cup-washers with embossed text for added personalization
and flair.
Even the cup-washers got a 3D printed make-over on Austin’s F150: printed in white resin on an SLA system, these parts got a coat of black paint and then some sanding, ending up with a two-color custom look. (Image courtesy PADT)
Q: What future automotive projects do you have in
mind?
I’m working on a multi-section bumper and am using the
project to standardize my production process – the design, material choice, sectioning
and assembling. I got the idea because I saw someone with a tube frame car and
thought it looked great, which led to me start thinking about how I could
incorporate that onto my truck.
When I bought my F-150, it had had a dent in the rear bumper.
I was never happy with this but didn’t have the money to get it fixed, so at this
point the tube-frame look came full circle! I decided that I was going to 3D
print a tube-frame bumper to replace the one with a dent. I started by removing
the original bumper, taking measurements and locating possible mounting points
for my design. Then I made some sketches and transferred them into SolidWorks.
The best part about this project is that I have additive on
my side. Typical tube frame construction is limited by many things like bend
allowance, assembly, and fabrication tooling. AM has allowed me to design
components that could not be manufactured with traditional methods. The bumper
will be constructed of PVC sections connected by 50 ABS printed parts, all
glued together, smoothed with Bondo and filler primer then painted black. This
is a large project! It will take a lot
of hand-finishing, but it will be perfect.
Q: If you were given the opportunity to work on any printer
technology and/or material, what would you want to try working with?
Great question! If I had the opportunity to use AM for
automotive components, I would redesign internal engine components and print
them with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), one of PADT’s other AM
technologies. I would try printing part like piston rods, pistons, rocker arms,
and cylinder valves. Additive is great for complex geometries with exotic
materials.
Go Austin! Can’t wait to see what your truck looks
like when you visit over semester break.
To learn more about fused deposition modeling
(FDM/filament), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS) and
DMLS printers and materials, contact the PADT Manufacturing group; get your
questions answered, have some sample parts printed, and share your success
tips.
PADT Inc. is a
globally recognized provider of Numerical Simulation, Product Development and
3D Printing products and services. For more information on Insight, GrabCAD and
Stratasys products, contact us at info@padtinc.com.
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. 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.
Additive manufacturing (3D Printing) has been rapidly gaining popularity as a true manufacturing process in recent years. ANSYS’ best-in-class solution for additive manufacturing enables simulation at every step in your AM process, and helps to optimize material configurations, and machine & parts setup before printing begins.
Through the use of ANSYS tools such as Additive Suite & Additive Print, paired with topology optimization capabilities in ANSYS Mechanical Workbench, the need for physical process of trial-and-error testing has been greatly reduced.
Join PADT’s Simulation Support and Application Engineer Doug Oatis for an exploration of the ANSYS tools that help to optimize additive manufacturing, and what new capabilities are available within them when upgrading to ANSYS 2019 R2. This presentation includes updates regarding:
If this is your first time registering for one of our Bright Talk webinars, simply click the link and fill out the attached form. We promise that the information you provide will only be shared with those promoting the event (PADT).
You will only have to do this once! For all future webinars, you can simply click the link, add the reminder to your calendar and you’re good to go!
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