The Desktop Metal Printing process allows you to produce solid metal parts, in-house, in an office environment. The entire process is based off the metal injection molding process, or MIM. The MIM process involves making tooling to inject a metal powder/polymer/binder mixture into the desired shape. The parts are in a ‘green’ state and not full strength yet. Then the part is put through a debinder tank of liquid, to remove the binding agent from the metal, leaving the […]
The roller waste collector, also referred to as the roller bath, is a container that collects waste material off of the Stratasys Objet 3D printer roller by using a long, flat blade. Typically a user who receives regular maintenance from a certified technician will rarely have to worry about this part as it is replaced during every yearly Preventative Maintenance visit. The PM kit will come with two collectors, leaving behind a spare for the customer. On occasion a customer […]
F120 Filament Recovery With the Stratasys F120’s huge filament boxes holding 200 cubic inches of 3D print material we can build lots of parts without worrying about running out in the middle of a build. Stratasys has gone to great lengths to maintain the long-term quality of this large amount of material by sealing it from humidity. But it happened… I lost the filament in the feed tube when swapping from ABS to ASA. You could break the seal on […]
With this year’s new version, Magics 24, comes some great improvements to help your model preparation even further. These new features include the ability to apply chambers as well as fillets to the edges of part files. The fillet tool was also improved to work with more contours in a single operation. The honeycomb tool now allows you to define a depth from surface. In the sintering module, the controls for nesting parts have been improved. Parts orientation can be […]
Most users know that keeping the mechanical side of their Stratasys Objet 3D printers is important. Just as important though is keeping the embedded computer and software healthy. The “Reinitiate” option is one way to do that, plus it’s relatively hands-off and easy. This option essentially clears any cache or buffer of print job information the printer has built up over time. Clearing this extraneous information from memory can greatly improve the user experience and lead to more consistent prints […]
In the last blog post we discussed the ability to apply and manipulate 3D textures in SOLIDWORKS to create more natural and organic shapes. In this continuation, we will discuss creating your own 3D textures to create more custom geometry. To get caught up on how to apply 3D textures check out the previous blog post in this series. The most important thing to keep in mind when creating 3D textures is that when SOLIDWORKS applies the texture, different heights […]
When 3D printing with TPU material on the Stratasys F123 series printers, we need to do things a little differently than with the other materials. While ABS, ASA, PC-ABS, ABS-ESD and Diran have one type of print head, TPU has it’s own to create elastomer parts on an FDM printer. Here’s how to calibrate your printer for optimal TPU 3D Prints. Instructions Initial Set Up First, install the blue TPU head and connect the ribbon cable and material tube. You […]
Occasionally model or support filament can get stuck in an FDM(Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printer head because the tip of the material strand expanded and is too large for it to back out of the head. Below is a guide to removing that filament from a Stratasys Dimension 3D printer. First, use the LCD display to put the machine into “Head Maintenance” mode. From “Idle”, press “Maintenance” then press, “Machine.” If the printer is not fully warmed up it may […]
Stratasys FDM thermoplastic materials will maintain proper product performance over an extended period of time when handled and stored according to recommended procedures. Like other thermoplastics, the filament within canisters can absorb moisture when exposed to ambient humidity. Stratasys canisters are designed to minimize moisture exposure while unopened and opened. When a canister’s filament absorbs moisture, a finished part’s surface quality, seam quality and overall part aesthetics can be affected. Care should be taken to ensure filament remains dry by […]
Hello and best-wishes from us at Computer Aided Technology. Anyone who has been paying attention to the news, and especially our industry, has probably seen 3D printed face shields in the last few weeks. We at CATI have committed to assisting our partner Stratasys in building these masks. So far we have made over 600 for various hospitals and police/fire departments. Here’s a news story as well as what the face shields look like if you want to get caught […]