Company visit materialise summer school 2011

State of the Artin

Rapid Prototyping

Jeroen MoonsProject Manager

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases

The Materialise Group

3

PRODUC-TION

SOFTWARE

SERVICES

Software for Additive Manufacturing

i.Materialise

.MGX

Additive Manufacturing

Solutions

Biomedical Engineering

Cranio-MaxilloFacial

RapidFit+

Orthopaedic

The Materialise Group:Diversity means strength

Materialise, a Global Presence

Offices Agents Home Offices

Japan

Ukraine

India

Malaysia

China

USA

Venezuela

Czech Republic

Germany

Austria

Italy

Spain

France

Portugal

Belgium

United Kingdom

Sweden

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases

Use of prototype models: 1. Why?

Different reasons for production of prototypes

• Limitation of risks

• Reduction of costs

• Time to market reduction

• Sales & Marketing support

• Communication

1.1 Limitation of risks

Does the model live up to the expectations?

• Visual control

• Features, ergonomics, ...

• Does the concept “fit”

• Acceptation customers

• Assembly control

• Joining of multiple components

• Functional control

• Mechanical, thermal, chemical, ...

• Clickfingers, ...

• Features, ...

• Production control

• Mould-ability, ...

1.2 Reduction of costs

Prototyping changes the design process

• RP makes product- and process optimisation possible, with a view to

cost savings

• RP allows early detection and correction of errors

• RP allows verification of usability of designs in an early stage

• RP allows start-up of production lines when the series mould is not

ready yet

1.3 TtM reduction

• Prototypes allow testing of ideas while still in the concept

phase

• Different concepts in parallel

• Immediate feeling of feasibility

• eg. NextDay prototypes

• Faster final “freeze” of design

• You can enter the market with a prototype, without the final

product being ready

• Marketing

• Initial feedback

1.4 Sales & Marketing

• Prototypes can be used

• To talk to customers about a new concept

• eg. A real estate project, a new bumper concept

• To allow customers a choice between several concepts

• eg. P&G showing 10 new shampoo bottles to the general public

• To start up marketing campagnes without the product being ready

• eg. Visually perfect prototype can be used for photo shoots

1.5 Communication

• A fysical model allows

• Talking to customers about the concept

• “Show & Tell”

• Talking to suppliers about the requirements

• Talking to colleagues with less technical knowledge

• Determining milestones in a project, in order to give the entire team a

common goal

Use of prototype models: 2. Customers

• The main industries using prototypes are:

• Automotive

• Consumer goods

• Coffee machine, washing machine, …

• Industrial goods

• Instrumentation panels, printers, …

• Design & Engineering bureaus

• Designers of new products commissioned by other companies

• Medical goods

• Kidney dialyses, measuring equipment, …

• Architectural Models

• The individual customer

• i.materialise

Use of prototype models: 3. Trends

• Low Volume Manufacturing

• Using prototyping techniques to make final series components

• Advantages

• Designs tailored to the customer

• Free-form design without limitations of traditional production techniques

like tooling

• Smart design can lead to

• Integrated functionality

• Avoiding (expensive) assembly

3. Trends

• Examples freeform functionality

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases

1.1 Stereolithography

• Process

1.1 Stereolithography

• Support structure – principle

• vs.

• Made up out of epoxy resin too

• Creates an extra expense, but can‟t be avoided

1.1 Stereolithography

• Importance of orientation during the build

• Amount of support

• vs.

• Lead time

• Time needed for finishing

• Slight anisotrophy of material properties (mechanical, optical)

1.1 Stereolithography

• Finishing

• After the last layer, the building platform rises

• Parts are released from building platform, and support structure is

removed

• Excess resin is rinsed away (alcohol)

• Parts undergo a “UV cure” step, which provides extra strength

• Surface is sandpapered

• Connection points of the support structure

• Visible layer structure

• Finishing depends on requirements of customer

• Afterwards parts can be finished with different coatings(…)

1.1 Stereolithography

• Materialises Mammoth machines

• Stereolithography machines based on curtain coating principle

• Dimensions up to 2100x700x800 mm

• Application

• Very large parts in one piece

• Several smaller parts in 1 build,

which makes building capacity very

large

1.1 Stereolithography

• Available materials

• Photo-hardening epoxy materials

• Current Materialise range

• Poly 1500

• Rigi 2200

• TUSK 2700 (white / transparent)

• Protogen

• Next

• Xtreme

• Tusk Solid Grey

• Differences in stiffness, hardness, temperature resistance, sensitivity

to shocks

1.1 Stereolithography

• Advantages of Stereolithography

• Parts can easily be sanded and finished

• Ideal for visual parts, show & tell models

• Thanks to curtain coating technique

• Very large parts in 1 pice possible (2100x650x600 mm), which gives extra

strength and accuracy

• Very fast (NextDay) service possible for parts within 650x650x450 mm

• Transparent parts are possible

1.1 Stereolithography

• Disadvantages

• Relatively weak mechanical properties

• Stiffness

• Impact strength

• Low temperature resistance (~ 50°C)

• Finished parts will keep reacting to UV light (the sun), unless

protected with transparent paint.

• Exception:

• Nanotool: High stiffness, high temperature resistance, low resistance to

impact

• Next/ Xtreme/Tusk Solid Grey: improved impact resistance.

1.2 Laser sintering

• Process

1.2 Laser sintering

• 3D nesting

• The nylon powder can support the overhanging structures on its own,

so there is no need for a additional support structure.

• At the same time, it allows to build several parts above one another

• Considering the large fixed cost (and time) for 1 build, it is worth the

effort of building as many parts in one build volume as possible

• This leads to the process of 3D nesting: parts are placed as close to

each other as possible

• The excess powder is recycled.

1.2 Laser sintering

• 3D nesting – principle schedule

• vs.

•

1.2 Laser sintering

• 3D nesting

1.2 Laser sintering

• Finishing

• After the last layer, the machine cools down. This can easily take two

days.

• The parts are taken out of the machine

• Excess powder is blown off

• Laser Sintered parts can’t be sanded

• Sintered structure is porous, and material melts rather than being sanded

• A part can possibly be treated with a filler. Afterwards parts can be

primed or lacquered (…)

• The filling however, closes up fine details

1.2 Laser sintering

• Available materials

• Pa (Nylon)

• Pa-Gf (Glass filled PA 12

• Alumide ( Aluminium filled Pa12)

• Differences in stiffness, temperature resistance, possible finishing

• Specials

• C-reinforced PA

• Metallic powder can also be sintered

1.2 Laser sintering

• Advantages of Laser Sintering

• 3D nesting allows optimal use of capacity – this can result in low part

prices.

• This is true especially for very small parts that are easily nestable

• Large series but cost-effective

• The PA parts have good mechanical properties

• Functional, eg. living hinge

• Laser Sintered parts are less fragile than stereolithography parts

• Relatively large parts 700x380x580 mm

• Food safe material

• High temperature resistance (120°C)

1.2 Laser sintering

• Disadvantages of Laser Sintering

• Machine operates at 180°C, cool down needs to be sufficiently slow in

order to avoid thermal tensions and distortion.

• Certain geometries are very sensitive to distortion as consequence of

these tensions (large, plane)

• Eg cutting bumper in pieces and building it in Selective Laser Sintering:

low accuracy

• No transparent parts possible

• Without special treatment the surface feels relatively coarse

• Not suitable for cosmetic finishing in case of many details

1.3 Fused Deposition Modeling

• Process

1.3 Fused Deposition

• Finishing

• After the last layer, the building platform rises

• Parts are released from building platform, and support structure is

removed (in a water tank)

• FDM parts can’t be sanded

• A part can possibly be treated with a filler. Afterwards parts can be

primed or laquered (…)

• Filling however closes up all fine details

1.3 Fused Deposition

• Available materials

• Engineering plastics ABS, PC, PC-ABS, ABS M30,Ultem, PPSU

• Differences in stiffness, hardness, impact resistance, temperature

resistance

• High-performance materials

• PPSU

• Ultem (strong, lightweight and flame retardant)

1.3 Fused Deposition

• Advantages of FDM

• Materials are engineering plastics

• Properties comparable to tooling parts

• Very functional parts

• Reasonable resistance to temperature (90-180°C)

• Waterresistant

• ABS is available „coloured in mass‟ in a number of basic colours

• New Fortus 900 MC machine: also big parts.

• Stable in time

• No UV aging

• No thermal distortion

1.3 Fused Deposition

• Disadvantages of FDM

• Relatively slow building process

• Anisotropy in the z-direction (risk of delamination if not well positioned)

• No transparent parts possible

• Without special treatment the surface feels relatively coarse

• Not suitable for cosmetic finishing is there are many details

1.4 Polyjet

• Process

1.4 Polyjet

• Advantages of Polyjet

• Very thin layers (16 µm tot 32 µm)

• Good surface quality when parts are lifted from the machine

• Fast technique

• Disadvantages

• Limited material range

• Limited dimensions 500x400x200 mm

• Available materials are not functional

2. Levels of finishing

• Parts can be finished to the level of the final production part

• Lacquering

• Stereolithography, Objet: black layer of lacquer to see all defects, after that

desired colourlayer

• Selective Laser Sintering, FDM: primer on filler because filler is too

porous. After that layer of lacquer on the primer.

• Colour layer: RAL or Pantone definition

• “Chromium-plating”

• Metal Paint

• Metal Plating

2. Levels of finishing

• Parts can be finished to the level of the final series part

• Coating with fabrics

• Leather

• Textile

• Texture

• Depending on pressure and distance of paint gun

• Coarser texture at lower pressure and larger distance

• Texture printed into the part

• Prints, labelling

• Tampon printing, …

3. Tolerances

• Layerthickness and tolerances of primary techniques

Layerthickness Accuracy

NextDay Stereo 0,15 - 0,2 mm +/- 0,20 % (*)

Standard Stereo 0,1 - 0,15 mm +/- 0,20 % (*)

Mammoth Stereo 0,1- 0,12 mm +/- 0,20 % (*)

LS 0,1- 0,15 mm +/- 0,25 % (*)

FDM 0,13 - 0,25 mm +/- 0,10 % (**)

Objet 16 - 32 µm +/- 0,20 % (**)

(*) minimum 0,2 mm

(**) minimum 0,1 mm

4 Applications

• Stereolithography

• Show and tell, visual models

• Large parts

• Fast run-through times (NextDay)

• Master for Vacuum Casting

• LS

• Functional parts

• Additive Manufacturing

• Cosmetic aspect less important

4. Applications

• FDM

• Strong functional parts

• Cosmetic aspect less important

• Additive Manufacturing

• Polyjet

• Small, detailed parts

• Rubber parts

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases

Low Volume Manufactering

• The technologies:

• Additive Manufactering:

• Layer by layer

• Moulding Technologies:

• Using different kind of moulds

Using the „layer by layer‟ technologies.

•Intigrated functionallity

•Production parts in a few days

•Redesign possible in production stage

•Freefrom design

1. Additive Manufactering

2. Moulding Technologies

• Small investment

• Choice of mould depends on the amount of parts wanted

Silicone mould Ureol mould Aluminium mould

Upto 25 parts/tool Upto 500 parts/tool Upto 10.000 parts/tool

Customer: Sonowand AS

Bergen, Norway

Project: Small series of housings for

intra-operative brain scanner

Series size: 50 sets per year

Low Volume Manufactering: Medical case

1. Additive manufacturing

Probe holders have

Inserts in additive manufacturing

(laser sintering)

Low Volume Manufactering: Medical case

2. Moulding technologies

Probe holders from silicone mould

Front cover from ureol mould Bumpers from aluminium mould

Pedals from aluminium mould

Low Volume Manufactering: Medical case

• Eindproductie via additive en low volume

manufacturing

• K-scan mmdx (Nikon Metrology)

• VC met soft-touch finishing

• Complexe SLS handle

Low Volume Manufactering: Nikon Metrology case

• Complexe handle via Laser sintering:

current design is not possible to produce

with a moulding technology

Low Volume Manufactering: Nikon Metrology case

1. Additive manufacturing

• VC met soft-touch finishing

Low Volume Manufactering: Nikon Metrology case

2. Moulding technologies

• A few examples – Low Volume Manufactering

• A few examples – .MGX Design Products

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases

• Reviving Pier Luigi Nervi’s art forms with additive

manufacturing technology

• Making architactural scale models

• Models who will travel the world.

• A unique way of presenting Nervi‟s creations

• A cutting-edges technologie for a cutting-edge architect

• Solution

• Using a white Stereolithographie material to obtian a optimal surface

quality with minor finishing

• Spliting up the files in a smart way to be able to paint the parts.

Cases

• Reviving Pier Luigi Nervi’s art forms with additive

manufacturing technology• Materialise Vs Nervi

Cases

• Concept Cars: Pininfarina Sintesi

Cases

• Hearing Aid

Point cloudShell generation

Trim planeDe-aeration channelAssembly check

Battery door

Cases

Consumer Goods Case StudyWaste Compactor

• First phase: Prototype of preliminary design

• Customer needs: Single, representative and functional prototype

• To present new concept of compressing trash

• To convince jury during selection rounds of TV show

• Materialise solution: Mix of in-house technologies

• Stereolithography, laser sintering and fused deposition modelling

• Resulting in visual and functional prototype

Consumer Goods Case StudyWaste Compactor

• Second phase: Prototype series

• Customer needs: Small series of functional prototypes

• To test concept on the market

• To present product during TV show

• Materialise solution: 60 fully functional prototypes

• Combination of laser sintering and vacuum casting

• Resulting in visual and functional prototype

Consumer Goods Case StudyWaste Compactor

• Third phase: Production series

• Customer needs: Small production series

• To launch product on the market

• Materialise solution: Tooling and moulding

• Assisting customer with tool design

“From the beginning it was clear that a lot of

prototyping would be involved: verifying the

design, showing the product in a TV show and

performing long term application tests. As we

believe Materialise is always able to select the

best prototyping solution for every application,

it was obvious for us to turn to them.”

Sveinung Åkra, Vik-Sandvik IDE

Architecture Case StudyDesigner Chair

• Customer needs: to manufacture a line of related chair forms

to exhibit and offer for sale that are:

• Unique

• High quality

• Functional (end use product)

• Have non-conventional geometries

“Our experience in providing the perfect

tailored solution was in full force for this

project. We paired our unrivalled knowledge

of additive manufacturing with exclusive

technologies and produced a fantastic result

for KOL/MAC. They really made an

impression with their design.”

Joris Debo, Materialise

Architecture Case StudyDesigner Chair

• Materialise solution: in-house software tools & patented

large-scale stereolithography

• Mammoth stereolithography

• Designs hollowed and custom internal reinforcement structure added

• Chairs filled with PU foam

• High quality finishing and painting

Architecture Case StudyDesigner Chair

Architecture Case StudyDesigner Chair

4. Examples

• More cases... Have a look at:

http://www.materialise.com/materialise/view/en/98176

Cases.html

• Materialise Onsite:

http://www.materialiseonsite.com

• i.materialise

i.materialise.com

Agenda

• Materialise…?

• Use of prototype models

• Overview different techniques

• Low Volume Manufactering

• Cases