Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.02
…replacement—continuous carbon fiber composites—that can be combined with metals, plastics, wires, and other materials for aerospace, automotive, and consumer products. In a recent press release, Ethan Escowitz, founder and CEO of Arris Composites, explains: “The product architectures that are now possible with our high-volume manufacturing process unlock a host of competitive advantages for some of the highest revenue and highest value products in the world. Vehicles and consumer products are being redesigned to take advantage of the mass market manufacturing technology of tomorrow. Things are about to get lighter and smaller, and Arris is making that a reality.” Arris states…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 30.96
…manufacturing applications that enables manufacturers to directly produce end-use plastic parts without tooling. This results in parts produced the same day versus weeks required with conventional tool-based approaches. Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10 is 3D Systems’ photopolymer for additive manufacturing that exhibits thermoplastic behaviors, providing a combination of speed, accuracy, strength and durability previously only associated with injection molding output. The material works with a simple isopropyl alcohol (IPA) wash and does not require a secondary thermal post-cure process, which significantly improves throughput yield and significantly reduces the extensive solvent cleaning cycles needed with other technologies. In customer testing of a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.23
…with finer details than most processes that use high-strength plastics. The composition is one of the more isotropic available from additive manufacturing. How does the technology work? SLS uses a blade to spread a thin layer of powder over the build volume. A laser sinters the cross-section of the part, fusing the powder together. The z stage then drops one layer, and the process begins again until the build is finished. Parts are then excavated from the build powder-cake and bead blasted. The un-used powder in the build envelope acts as the support structures, so no support removal is necessary.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.48
…The additive technologies most commonly used for production of plastic parts include Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). The break-even point of AM compared to injection molding (IM) was once a few hundred parts but is now pushing into the thousands with trends showing the cut-off point even higher in the coming years. Although, if you are projecting production volumes in the 10’s, 100’s of thousands, or even millions, AM can still prove to be a strong option for manufacturing throughout the early stages of production. AM has many other benefits not explicit…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.69
…MaaS evolution to that of other industries, such as plastics injection molding, where the concept is successful. “Injection molding output [IMO] is sold as a service, instead of purchasing an injection molding press, auxiliary equipment and robotics,” he says. “All traditional equipment purchases require technical support and trained employees to optimize processes for each unique project. Current financial and timing hurdles must be overcome in the competitive race to get products quicker to market.” Heverly says IMO is the plastic industry’s take on a share economy. OEM suppliers are selling moldable hours or pounds. “A complete documented process that is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.41
…with Wittmann Battenfeld, a global manufacturer and supplier of plastics processing equipment on July 5, to collaborate on new innovations in liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection molding. The MoU was signed on behalf of Moldex3D by Dr. Rong-Yeu Chang, CEO and on behalf of Wittmann Battenfeld by David Chen, President of Wittmann Battenfeld Taiwan. The MoU is aimed at bringing together both parties’ extensive knowledge and technical expertise to advance the role of simulation in LSR injection molding. As part of the partnership, Moldex3D has acquired LSR injection molding equipment, including SmartPower 90/350 UNILOG B8 from Wittmann Battenfeld and LSR…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.23
…has chosen DuraForm ProX HST Composite, a fiber-reinforced engineered plastic that combines rigidity and thermal resistance and is designed for the manufacture of structural elements, housings, coatings, covers, knobs, handles, masks, equipment and internal components for the automotive industry. “The implementation of this new technology dedicated to 3D printing, with a second machine already optioned, is just one of many upgrades that we have planned for 2019 and that will allow us to respond even more thoroughly to the demands of this market, where we register a vertical growth with runs that involve thousands of units,” says Rigamonti. Weerg Srl…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.38
…have use for individualized decorative trim in vehicles and plastic design products, according to the company. For users, 4D_Additive makes it easy to define textures on the CAD model, simply choosing the desired B-Rep areas and a matching texture from the database. The fineness and position of the structure can be visually adjusted on the component. The software automatically ensures distortion-free projection of the grain over surface boundaries. The graphical representation allows the assessment of the designed geometry and fuels the creative process in the design of new parts. The tool reads CAD data from all common systems such as…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 32.65
…Report. In addition to a commitment to increase recycled plastic content in its Personal Systems and Print products to 30% by 2025, the technology giant also set a timeline to power its global operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2035. On the recycled plastics front, HP announced it used 21,250 tonnes of recycled plastic in HP products, including more than 8,000 tonnes in its Personal Systems products (an increase of 3.5% from 2017), more than 4,700 tonnes in its printing products (a much more significant increase of 280% during the same timeframe), and more than 8,000 tonnes in its ink…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.31
…teams had to determine the format and number of plastic totes each robot would carry. IT work focused on integrating GEODIS’s WMS with the robot management system and creating a digital warehouse map that the robots would follow. Add in training time and change management sessions with the 60 team members who would be involved with the robots, and the prep work took roughly two months before the October 2017 go live with 30 robots. “We emphasized that the robots were not there to replace associates, but to improve their productivity,” Stock recalls. That effort paid off and the associates…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.91
…The group has used a 3D printer to create plastic molds that can function as a microenvironment for hair follicle growth. The process could be a way to facilitate the growth of human hair follicles in a laboratory to slow or prevent hair loss. According to team leader Angela Christiano, the Richard & Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology at Columbia university Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, growing human hair from cell cultures has historically been difficult. While rat and mice hairs have been grown in a dish using cell cultures, but human hair cultures have never produced reliable results.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.09
…HP’s Ramon Pastor, general manager and global head of Plastics Business, HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Groups, told a group of industry press and analysts invited to the June 2019 grand opening of the new HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Barcelona, Spain. Delayed by the discovery of Roman-era ruins on the building site, the new center is an extension of HP’s existing Barcelona campus, and is now headquarters for both HP’s 2D wide-format printing and 3D digital manufacturing endeavors. 100 3D printers are in use for its own part production as well as doing…