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

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Introducing ULTEM 9085 in Black!

All the things you like about ULTEM, but in black!



ULTEM 9085 from SABIC Innovative Plastics has superior strength, is light weight, and has other desirable characteristics, including FST rating. The FST (flame, smoke and toxicity) rating is a safety standard that ensures a material won't promote a fire, release harmful smoke, or emit toxic fumes, and it is particularly valued in the transportation industries.

http://solidsmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/black-ultem-9085-03-630x360.jpg

"The majority of our tan ULTEM users have requested the material also be available in black, because it gives a uniform look to product assemblies," said Fred Fischer, business development director at Stratasys. "It also helps mask dirt or grease found in mechanical systems or under the hood, in the fuselage, or on the manufacturing floor. For many users, the black color will eliminate the need for non-value-added post-processing step of painting or coating."

Stratasys' black ULTEM thermoplastic is used for functional prototyping by truck fender maker, Minim ...


Truck fender and accessory manufacturer, Minimizer, uses ULTEM when creating both fender and mounting component prototypes. Mounting brackets are commonly made from glass fiber and tough, rigid plastics, which can be a challenge to prototype, according to Minimizer mechanical engineer, Martin Larsen.
"When we make an FDM part and mount it on a truck there's a lot of drilling, using fasteners and even mating parts together," he says. "We found that (because) the ULTEM has high tensile strength and is rigid, it's a good alternative for us to prototype with. Having the black material is a big bonus for us. We don't have to spend the time to finish the part, and we get the same material properties we look for in the (standard) ULTEM material."

Black ULTEM fender and mounting assembly prototypes on the road


Like standard ULTEM 9085, the black color material has a V-0 flammability rating. The material is heat resistant up to 320° F (160° C) and is inherently flame-retardant, offering full FST compliance including OSU heat release of less than 55/55, or 55 kw min/m2 for heat release and 55 kw/m2 for peak heat release.
The material's impact strength also makes it appealing to the aerospace industry, where high-strength, lightweight parts are extremely valuable.

In addition to the automotive and aerospace industries, Stratasys anticipates that black ULTEM 9085 will be useful for construction, agriculture and industrial equipment manufacturers.

Tan and Black ULTEM 9085 are now available at RedEye Australasia.

Call 1300 559 454 or email enquiries@redeyerpm.com.au for more information or competitive quote on your next project. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Future of Additive Manufacturing

Ask Jeff Hanson, business development manager at RedEye On Demand, and he’ll tell you the factory of the future is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn. Hanson helped launch the digital manufacturing company in 2005 after working for parent company, Stratasys, for more than 10 years and explains how RedEye is leading the future of manufacturing.

Read the full article by Marta Jiménez-Lutterat Manufacturing Today, click here.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

NASA's New Rover uses FDM printed parts

NASA Trusts 3D Printing in Space

When you're developing highly customized space vehicles that must sustain human life, stock parts and traditional machining simply won't fly. So NASA engineers put around 70 3D printed FDM parts on their new rover. A new video shows the rover enduring desert tests with ABS and polycarbonate parts built using FDM technology and materials.


The rover, about the size of a Hummer uses about 70 3D-printed parts made from thermoplastic materials including ABS, PC/ABS and PC using FDM technology and materials created by Stratasys, parent company to RedEye On Demand Australasia. The printed parts include flame-retardant vents, pod doors and many custom fixtures. One ear-shaped exterior housing is deep and contorted, and would be nearly impossible to build without 3D printing.

Watch the video below to see how NASA harnessed the design flexibility and durable materials of Redeye On Demand's FDM technology.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

FDM printed Magic Arms change a little girl's life




The moment Megan Lavelle saw the device, she knew it would change her daughter’s life. Lavelle is an energetic, unstoppable mom whose youngest daughter, Emma, was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). At a Philadelphia conference for AMC families, Lavelle learned about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), an assistive device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands. It enables kids with underdeveloped arms to play, feed themselves and hug.
AMC is a non-progressive condition that causes stiff joints and very underdeveloped muscles. Emma was born with her legs folded up by her ears, her shoulders turned in. “She could only move her thumb,” says Lavelle. Doctors immediately performed surgery and casted Emma’s legs. The baby girl went home with parents determined to provide the best care.
Medical experts warned that AMC would prevent Emma from ever experiencing any sort of normalcy. She developed more slowly than an average child and spent much of her first two years in casts or undergoing surgery. Unable to see Emma play and interact with her environment in ways her older daughter had, Lavelle privately wondered whether Emma’s cognitive ability would be hampered as well.

Determined to Grow
But Emma progressed, slow and steady. As she grew and became able to move about with the help of a walker, it became clear that her mind was sharp and her determination on par with her mom’s. At two years old, she still couldn’t lift her arms, and the smart little girl wanted more. “She would get really frustrated when she couldn’t play with things like blocks,” Lavelle says. And so the mom would be Emma’s arms for her; playing with blocks, eating, brushing teeth.
Then came the WREX, demonstrated at the conference by an 8-year-old AMC patient lifting his arms and moving them in all directions. Lavelle met with the presenters, Tariq Rahman, Ph.D, head of pediatric engineering and research, and Whitney Sample, research designer, both from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. Rahman and Sample had worked for years to make the device progressively smaller, serving younger and younger patients. Attached to a wheelchair,
the WREX worked for kids as young as six. But Emma was two, small for her age, and free to walk.
In Sample’s tool-and-toy filled workshop, the team strapped Emma’s little arms into a small but awkward trial WREX attached to a stationary support. “She just started throwing her hands around and playing,” Sample says. Megan brought Emma candy and toys and watched her lift her arms toward her mouth for the first time.

Tiny Rewards
For Emma to wear the WREX outside the workshop, Rahman and Sample needed to scale it down in size and weight. The parts would be too small and detailed for the workshop’s CNC system to fabricate. But just perfect for printing using FDM technology. So a 3D printed prototype WREX was created in ABS plastic.
The difference in weight allowed Sample to attach the Emma-sized WREX to a little plastic vest.
The 3D-printed WREX turned out to be durable enough for everyday use. Emma wears it at home, at preschool, and during occupational therapy. And the design flexibility of 3D printing lets Sample continually improve upon the assistive device, working out ideas in CAD and building them the same day.
Fifteen kids now use custom 3D-printed WREX devices. For these littlest patients, Rahman explains, the benefits may extend beyond the obvious. Prolonged disuse of the arms can sometimes condition children to limited development, affecting cognitive and emotional growth. Doctors and therapists are watching Emma closely for the benefits of earlier arm use.
Emma quickly grew to love the abilities WREX unlocked in her. “When she started to express herself, we would go upstairs [to Sample’s workshop] and we would say, ‘Emma, you know we’re going to put the WREX on.’ And she called them her magic arms,” Lavelle says.
The little girl’s approval is a fitting reward for her determined mom and dedicated researchers. Sample says: “To be a part of that little special moment for someone else, can’t help but tug at your heart strings.” 

To watch the movie, click here

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Introducing RedEye Australasia's Corporate Advantage Network


Calling Existing FDM machine owners!

Do you have a Dimension, U-Print, Mojo or 400MC machine and can’t keep up with your printing requirements? 

Supplement your existing capabilities by utilising the facilities at Redeye Australasia (the bureau service for Stratasys and Fortus).

RedEye Australasia offers corporate rates to existing machine owners allowing them access to a full suite of machines (including 400MC and 900MC), as well as the complete range of FDM materials including Ultem, PC, PC-ISO, ABS-M30i, and ABS in a wide variety of colours. 

Whether you need diversity in materials, a larger build platform or simply more machines to meet your short term requirements, take advantage of the RedEye Corporate rate and allow RedEye Australasia to supplement your existing FDM capabilities.

You already know the benefits of FDM for accurate repeatable models, prototypes and parts, and now you can gain a corporate discount for any projects that are built in the RedEye Australasia facilities because of your previous machine purchase.  

To receive the corporate discount, send your existing Stratasys or Fortus serial number along with your files, and upgrade your capabilities without the capital expenditure by becoming a member of the RedEye Australasia Corporate Advantage network. 

RedEye Australasia, www.redeyeondemand.com.au, 1300 559 454, enquiries@redeyeondemand.com.au.




Thursday, June 14, 2012

FDM end use parts break land speed record

Not sure of the end use applications of FDM? Read about how durable parts can be in the following article where FDM parts were used on a custom built motorcycle to break the land speed record.


When the Discovery Channel set the task of building a custom bike in 10 days for viewing by die-hard cyclists at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for their Biker Build-Off, no-one expected that bike to be able to break the AMA Land speed record.

Klock Werks Kustom Cycles, South Dakota, took on the Biker Build off challenge and won with 'Best bike at the show'. They followed up their win by setting an AMA Land Speed Record (147 mph) at the Bonneville salt flats.

“Direct Digital Manufacturing gave us a major edge in the competition,” says Jesse Hanssen, Klock Werks mechanical engineer. With only a five-day filming schedule, one-of-a-kind components with complex geometries and strict functional requirements were created with direct digital manufacturing using polycarbonate. “FDM enabled us to build anything we could imagine. FDM put no limits on our imagination,” says Hanssen.

“Many of the parts on this bike could not have been produced by any other method in the time-frame required. FDM saved us a considerable amount of money and made a major contribution to our winning the Biker Build-Off,” says Klock Werks partner Todd Snedeker.
 
In building a custom bike for the competition, Klock Werks called upon their own line of bagger parts, purchased some components, and others were one-of-a-kind creations that could not be purchased off the shelf. Most of these unique parts had complex geometries and many also needed to also meet strict functional requirements such as a gauge pod which had to withstand cyclical vibrations without breaking.
“Normally, these parts would be produced from injection molded plastic or machined aluminum,” says Hanssen. “But it takes three to four weeks to build parts using either of these methods because they require tooling. Klock Werks had to fabricate all of the components during a five-day filming segment.” In addition, the cost of building the parts needed for the competition would have been between $15,000 and $20,000, which would have been far too expensive.

Klock Werks engineers designed the gauge pod, fork tube covers, headlight bezel, floorboard mounts, floorboard undercovers, and wheel spacer cover in SolidWorks. “FDM put no limits on our imagination,” says Hanssen. “We built all of these parts in a quarter of the cost to injection mold or cast them."
"The finished parts met all of our requirements for both geometric accuracy and mechanical strength," says Klock Werks partner Todd Snedeker. "The ability to produce fully functional parts using direct digital manufacturing methods was instrumental to our success. Many of the parts on this bike could not have been produced by any other method in the time-frame required. FDM saved us a considerable amount of money and made a major contribution to our winning the Biker Build-Off at Sturgis Week."
After winning the competition, the Klock Werks team raced the bike at the Bonneville salt flats, where they set an AMA Land Speed Record. "The WFB (World’s Fastest Bagger) proves the durability of FDM polycarbonate parts at 147 mph.," says partner Brian Klock.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

FDM creates iphone bridge prototype pre-production

Inventor and Dimension 3D Printer user Jason Hilbourne has yanked a tangled mess of white cord out of his bag for the last time. He and his colleagues at 3D Product Engineering in Portland, Oregon, have developed Twig, a short, sturdy, flexible accessory for syncing and charging handheld Apple devices. The Twig improves threefold upon the idea of a shorter cord: It doubles as a tripod and, resting against a wall, triples as a charging base. Watch this video to see the household objects Hilbourne sacrificed to splice together his early prototypes, eventually graduating to attractive black ABS models built on a Fused Deposition Modeling system. Hilbourne describes his creative process as involving “lots of prototyping,” and says he and his colleagues use 3D printing all the time. If you want one of these clever accessories for yourself, preorder one now; the Twig is a Kickstarter project that seems fast on its way to final production. But only sustained interest will put it in backpacks and briefcases.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

FDM creates prototypes for the Smithsonian

The possibilities are endless with rapid prototyping technologies. Aside from functional tools, injection moulds, blow moulds and highly accurate parts, FDM is also suitable for building lifesize replicas, like the model of Thomas Jefferson recently created for the Smithsonian. The possibilities are endless with rapid prototyping technologies. Aside from functional tools, injection moulds, blow moulds and highly accurate parts, FDM is also suitable for building lifesize replicas, like the model of Thomas Jefferson recently created for the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian was putting together an exhibition for the National Museum of African American History called Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty. They would obvioulsy have loved to use the statue on permanent display at Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson Museum in Virginia, but that was not practical or possible.

Instead of using traditional modelling techniques, such as rubber molding and casting, the statue was instead scanned and built in three sections (four parts) using FDM technology and materials. The full scale replica was then finished and painted to look like the original bronze statue.

Not only is this an excellent example of rapid prototyping technology and the possibilities of this growing industry, it also opens up a whole new way for people to experience some amazing objects in a museum or gallery which they may otherwise never have the opportunity to see.

FDM parts and prototypes are durable and accurate, minimising the risk of damage during transport.

Already popular with medical models, architectural models and teaching aids, a new era of model making has arrived, and with it, new opportunities!

Well Done Redeye On Demand and the Smithsonian.






Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Streamlining Aerospace Tooling with FDM

Advanced Composite Structures (ACS) repairs components for planes and helicopters, and manufactures low-volume composite parts for the aerospace industry. A typical job might include repairing a helicopter blade or building an aircraft camera fairing. Tooling is often a big portion of a job's cost, including layup tools to create composite parts and fixtures for drilling.
In the past, CNC machining weighed down ACS with heavy costs and lead times. The typical tool cost around $2,000 to make and required eight to 10 weeks. If the tool wasn’t perfect the first time around, the process began again.
So ACS streamlined by moving all of its tooling production to a Fortus 3D Production System, as available through Redeye on Demand Australasia, which creates durable, lightweight plastic jigs and fixtures directly from a CAD file through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). It now takes about two days and $400 to produce a typical tool, meaning ACS trimmed one of its biggest expenses by 80 percent. Plus, reworking a component is less of a setback.
“FDM has helped us substantially improve our competitive position,” said owner Bruce Anning.
To read the whole story of ACS’s low-volume manufacturing success, click here.