RedEye Australasia is Australia's largest FDM build centre, and part of Stratasys and RedEye On Demand worldwide - the world’s leading rapid prototype and parts builders. Facilitated by RapidPro in Melbourne, RedEye On Demand Australasia produces high quality thermoplastic parts and prototypes by employing the latest in Rapid Prototyping technology … Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).

A true direct digital manufacturing solution, FDM easily converts 3D CAD files into fully operational working parts using a range of engineering thermoplastic materials, such as a 140+ degree C polyphenylsulfone and pc/iso, a material approved for medical applications (ISO 10993-1).

Managing complex part geometry with ease, FDM removes prior design limitations and tooling constraints producing high quality, fully repeatable parts in one piece. And because FDM prototypes are working parts, it streamlines product development, getting finished products to market faster. It is a tue Direct Digital Manufacturing solution with online instant quoting.

RedEye On Demand - The Factory of The Future

Monday, October 25, 2010

Throw Your Design for Manufacturability Guide Out the Window

Starting any new product design with a traditional Design for Manufacturability (DFM) checklist can stifle innovation. Why limit your creativity? One of the key benefits of additive manufacturing is true freedom of design. Find out how you can use additive manufacturing technology to put the fun back into product development.

If you design plastic parts you probably have a Design for Manufacturability (DFM) guide sitting on your desk. A typical list of things to consider when designing for plastic injection molding include:
•Radii
•Wall Uniformity
•Ribs
•Bosses
•Draft
•Snap-fits
•Screws
•Molded-in Threads
•Picture Framing
•Warpage

For each of the above bullets, you must alter your design to accommodate the limitations of injection molding tooling, (which is what “design for manufacturability” is all about). By the time the DFM rules are met, your original design may end up needing numerous adjustments, taking away from its intended use.

Talk about sucking the wind out of your creativity. Of course when you’re designing a product to be produced from plastic in the tens of thousands or more, your only choice for this volume is injection molding. But how many of you design products that will only be produced in the hundreds to a couple of thousand?

Using an additive manufacturing technology such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) allows you to produce parts directly from digital CAD files. Because plastic parts are built in layers, you’re no longer confined to the constraints of DFM.

Take for example this electrical connector cover. The designers knew they were only going to produce a couple of hundred covers. Functionality required some internal channels that would normally require a multiple piece component. When the designers found out they were going to use their FDM system for the final production parts, they threw DFM constraints out the window. Instead of multiple components, they designed the internal channels into a single component. They also minimized their design time by not worrying about radii, fillets or draft angles. Straight walls and 90 degree angles were perfectly acceptable.

Using direct digital manufacturing allows you the design freedom your product deserves. Imagine being able to optimize your design and product for its true end-use and not have to worry about how it's going to be manufactured.

Direct digital manufacturing with FDM could be the next industrial revolution because it offers companies an unprecedented freedom to innovate their products, processes and businesses.
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