“3D Printing on Every Engineering Network” - Bet on it!
By Robert A. Konczal, Chief Technical Officer, CATI
 
This quarter, CATI has added a very exciting new product offering for 3D users – 3D Printing by Z Corp!  As it was years ago, when very few users had access to 2D printing and plotting technology, access to a plotter or printers was a major investment and administrative hassle.  Today we all have these printing and plotting tools at our fingertips, even at home!   As history has taught us to “never say never”—now you can have a 3D Printer on your office network. Select File|Print and get a 3D part or assembly, in Color, accurate, economical and fast! You can accomplish all this by looking at the Z Corp product line of ZPrinters at your local Computer Aided Technology office.

The traditional Rapid Prototyping (RP) machines and services out there differ in many ways from 3D Printing but the end result is common—to have a physical representation of your 3D-digital database.  In comparison, this is truly exciting and practical technology for many reasons.

Practical and Versatile:
The machines are like DeskJet printers in many ways.  They are inexpensive, they can do color or monochrome, support multiple materials, and use common HP print heads.  Most of all they are FAST!    The parts that result from the printing process are very versatile for downstream applications.  Some applications include: flexible parts, machinable parts, investment casting parts, electro-plated parts and casting molds for pouring molten metal.  This is just a glimpse of how flexible this technology has become in five short years.

Unique and Simple:
There are other unique qualities to this process.  You can print an assembly all in one session without the need to work with “support structures” that is needed with more complex RP techniques.  This will give you the ability to build products that could not be built with other RP approaches. Eliminating the “tearing effect” while removing these structures during the post-process also makes the process simple and insures delicate features from breaking.     

Safe and Quiet:
A ZPrinter is similar in size to a typical Xerox machine or small plotter. These machines are designed for the engineering office and to be placed on a network. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about any bio-hazardous materials, heat/oven-type device, or light sensitive processes sitting in your office.  They are standalone units that roll right in the door!

Cost of Ownership—Materials and Waste:
This is where the story gets really good.  The cost of ownership while considering materials and maintenance can add up quickly for most RP technology--Not for Z Corp! The materials are very inexpensive and can do a variety of functions downstream.  Utilizing this technology, parts may be constructed for as little as $1 per cubic inch. There is almost zero waste because the material used to support the part during creation can be reused for the next session!  To understand more about developing an ROI for your needs please contact your CATI Representative or Brad Snow (CATI-Z Corp Product Manager brads@cati.com ).  You will be amazed!

SPEED!

Why speed?  “Because, I need it this afternoon!”  In order to become the mainstream leading product, ZPrinters had to be FAST!  In addition to the items discussed above, speed is the #1 factor that makes this a practical reality for every engineering network!  They sum it up very simply with a catch phrase, “The World’s Fastest 3D Printer”!

Cool! But, it’s just a toy!?

It may be hard to believe that something so simple can be a strategic tool for your company – but don’t be fooled!  Years ago, early critics of SolidWorks lost touch with “cost/simplicity vs. capabilities”.   They just couldn’t understand that something so cheap and easy was going to do the task at hand (we saw how accurate they were?).  Well, I challenge you to avoid this mentality and at least investigate before you pass up this opportunity to gain a competitive edge!  We’ll be the first to tell you if your application is inappropriate!  

The technology that Z Corp can bring to your engineering process can turn into real results!   There are applications you’ve never dreamed of… or maybe you have but could not justify.  The investment to have physical prototypes at sales meetings, marketing studies, and manufacturing feasibility reviews, etc is practical with a ZPrinter. To learn more about the Simple, Economical, Versatile, and Fast 3D Printing from Z Corp contact your CATI Representative or visit http://www.zcorp.com/ and tell them Bob K. at CATI sent you!