Hi. Your pix go here now.
- Thread starter fly
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Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
We use 3D printers pretty well non-stop at work for shit.
Rapid prototyping of a new product concept to see how it fits together and looks before sending the real thing out for molding or machining or whatever. You can stare at a computer screen all day and think you've got the best idea ever, but making a physical copy of the thing and holding it in your hands can reveal issues you never thought of, and inspire improvements/discussion/whatever.
We 3D print all sorts of jigs and random tools used on the production line. Circuit board holders, probing jigs, clamping jigs, endless shit you just can't buy off the shelf because we make weird shit. Previously we would machine most of our tooling, and still machine some of it, but 3D printing has made the process way more efficient.
If I need a soft jig for holding something without damaging the finish on it, I can quickly 3D print a mold and cast a soft silicone jig. I also 3D print molds for making overmolded cable junctions for underwater cables and such using the same method.
One of our products has a 3D printed battery holder in it and we've sold 5000+ of the things. It's a weird shape in a weird product for a weird application, and the 3D printed solution just worked elegantly. We farmed out the manufacture of it and now it's made with SLS nylon.
It's an incredibly useful tech for some things.
The "deck dick" just fell out of my brain as another production jig. The thing took about 15 minutes to throw together in F360 and less than 3 hours to print, and used 40g of plastic or about 80 cents. Arguably it's a rapid prototype of a tool that could be injection molded out of ABS or Nylon for pennies, and injection molding would make a better part, but the 3D printed tool works fine for me.
It's hard to explain my thought process. I think it's cool. I just, for that type of thing, I'm not trained to design parts, Im a systems engineer who has worked in trades so I can make a part, or I can tell you the part you need but I've never or rarely actually thought about the part. I can tell you what it does and why you need it etc. Im good at ordering the right parts.
They could make a space movie about NASA engineers called "The right parts"
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