Posted to News on 16th Aug 2007, 20:56
Economical desktop 3D printer speeds prototyping
Unimatic Engineers is introducing a desktop 3D printer that is said to be so economical to purchase and operate that it is making rapid prototyping available to users who never before could have justified investing in this technology.
The cost of ownership, ease of use and quietness of operation of the SD300 means that almost anybody needing models of three-dimensional products can have 3D modelling capability in their own office. The SD300 creates models using the LOM (laminated object manufacturing) method of building up layers, using shaped PVC sheets that are adhesively bonded together. It is driven by a CAD or solid modelling file of the object to be made, which it interpolates into the necessary number of layers – most of which will be uniquely shaped. The process is fast, clean and quiet, and therefore suitable for an office environment; no special skills are required, so dedicated staff are not required.
Unimatic says the resulting model is robust and suitable for use as a visual design aid; it is not brittle nor too delicate to withstand handling. It enables users to realise CAD files as 3D models – to see and feel the reality of the virtual design.
Lowest price
Significantly Unimatic claims it has priced the SD300 so that it is the lowest priced rapid prototyping machine on the market, as the company wishes to make the RP concept and technology available to those designers, engineers and others who need models quickly, cheaply and with the minimum of fuss.
Martin Stevens, Managing Director of Unimatic, comments: "Running costs and overall cost of ownership are also modest. The SD300 has a single-stage operating process. You just have to make sure that it is loaded with a roll of PVC, glue and the CAD file. There are no curing or other secondary operations."
Models made on the SD300 are accurate to within 0.25mm, and can be produced up to 160 x 210 x 135mm. The machine is about the size of a three-in-one printer/fax/scanner, and although it weighs rather more - at 35kg - it can be moved without lifting equipment.
Stevens adds: "These factors, plus that fact that the SD300 looks and operates more like a computer peripheral than an industrial machine, means true rapid modelling can be carried out in just about any design office or workshop. It stands to cut weeks or months from many development cycles, by making model creation as simple as document printing, and putting it in the hands of the actual design team."
