Newsletter September 2008

In this issue:

• Redefining Product Development with Direct Digital Manufacturing – Part 1

• Did You Know?...New RedEye website

• Digital Manufacturing Centers and the "Factory of the Future"

• Utilizing FDM for Sand Casting

• RedEye 3D CAD Add-ins Provide Convenience and Security

Redefining Product Development with Direct Digital Manufacturing – Part 1

By Tim Thellin - RedEye Marketing Manager

Marketers are always looking for innovative ways to stay ahead of the competition, add more value and clearly differentiate their product or service. Getting to market first also can be a significant advantage.

As a newcomer to this industry who now understands the value of 3D printing, rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing (DDM), I have been rethinking product development. Looking back on my own career, I can see that if DDM technology had been available or we had incorporated it into our product development process, we could have moved a lot quicker than our competition, provided more value to our customers and significantly increased the revenue for the company.

I once worked for a manufacturer of paint mixing and colorant dispensing equipment. This company could have used DDM in its product development process in a couple of ways. The first was for low-volume production. Those who have painted a house know that paint comes in a myriad of different cans, from the traditional round cans to square cans and plastic cans with handles. Sizes vary, too, from one gallon to five gallon and more. Paint manufacturers are constantly changing their designs to add more value for their consumers. As you can imagine, keeping up with this can be a nightmare for a manufacturer of paint mixing equipment. And to design a new mixer to accommodate a new, square, plastic can could take a couple of years. With DDM, my company could have designed custom adaptors to fit inside its existing paint mixing equipment to meet the needs of the market until it could design and produce a new mixing platform. Given the number of units, it would most likely have been cost prohibitive to go to tooling with the volumes. DDM also could have been a bridge to tooling until the product was validated, and enough demand was realized.

The company also could have utilized DDM to serve its customers more quickly. A typical paint store has a handful of different mixing platforms, such as one-gallon mixers, five-gallon mixers and multi-sized mixers, all with advantages and disadvantages. If you’ve ever been to the paint counter in a hardware store, you know that waiting for the paint to mix is almost like waiting for paint to dry! It takes awhile. But often, a paint store is only running the one-gallon mixer, meaning the five-gallon mixer is idle. Within the mixing compartment of a five-gallon mixer, store employees could fit a multitude of different configurations for gallon, pint and quart cans. With a customized adapter that met the customer mixing requirements, stores could be using more of their equipment and serving the needs of the more customers. DDM can make this possible. The result is more value for the customer, greater efficiency by not having an expensive machine sitting idle and incremental revenue for the paint mixing company.

This is just one example of how DDM can be leveraged in the product development process. I hope this gets you thinking about the power of DDM and how you might leverage it in your own organization. If you’re currently using DDM, we'd love to hear about it and feature it in our newsletter. Please contact Ruth Jacques at Ruth.Jacques@redeyeondemand.com with your story.

Top

Did You Know?

The new RedEye Web site has a wealth of information available to help visitors realize direct digital manufacturing – on demand. From basic product information to more than 30 case studies highlighting how individuals are using the technology. Video overviews are also available. Right now, individuals can view a primer on FDM technology, hear Stratasys CEO Scott Crump discuss direct digital manufacturing, enjoy a virtual tour of the RedEye facility, learn about a custom guitar application, and more.

Take a few minutes to explore the new RedEye website. You won’t be sorry.

Top

Digital Manufacturing Centers and the “Factory of the Future”

Last month, RedEye introduced a new brand identity centered around the "Factory of the Future," a new way of looking at the evolution of 3D printing technology beyond rapid prototyping to "on demand" direct digital manufacturing (DDM). Since then, RedEye has received an increasing number of inquiries about how organizations can harness the power of DDM, according to Tim Thellin, Marketing Manager.

"Companies are seeking information about how they can leverage RedEye's on demand, global network of more than 100 systems for their digital manufacturing center," he said. "The new brand has people re-thinking how they approach product development and manufacturing using digital manufacturing, all with no capital investment. It's great to see companies discovering new ways to use technology to enhance their customer offerings. We look forward to sharing these applications in the future."

Learn more about direct digital manufacturing and the "Factory of the Future" >

Talk to RedEye about how you can leverage us as your digital manufacturing center >

Top

Utilizing FDM for Sand Casting

Sand casting is a popular method for producing metal parts because of the wide range of part sizes that can be cast and the large selection of metal alloys that can be processed. Sand casting also can be faster and less expensive than die casting or investment casting. The application of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to the sand casting pattern production reduces the lead time from weeks to days and speeds delivery of the finished product.

Molds used in sand casting are created by packing sand around a pattern. Green sand, a combination of clay and water, is used most often, but dry sand, using a chemical bond, is also common. Once the pattern has been formed, the sand is removed, and molten metal is poured into the cast. Metals commonly used are iron, steel, bronze, brass and aluminum. When the mold has cooled, the sand is removed from the cast metal part.

Sand casting is versatile, producing parts from a pound to several tons, thus making it appropriate for a variety of products, from small buckles and knobs to large plumbing fixtures and construction machinery. It is cost effective and efficient for small lot production, but when using automated equipment, it can be an effective process for high-volume manufacturing.

Learn more about sand casting >

Top

RedEye 3D CAD Add-ins Provide Convenience and Security

RedEye's 3D CAD add-ins for SolidWorks, Alibre and Autodesk Inventor enable designers and engineers to receive instant price quotes from the security of their own applications. This helps a designer to protect the proprietary information behind a product design and allows him or her to understand instantly how much the design is going to cost without having to go to RedEye's web site. Once the decision has been made to order the part, the design can be passed seamlessly to RedEye for ordering via an STL file.

Download your 3D CAD Add-in today >

Top