in a word, it's a game changer. it can create parts ingeometries that you can't do in an injection molding. that's going to create arevolution in the near future, and this technology will beadopted as a major process
ppt on 3d printing technology, for manufacturing components. so fdm stands for fuseddeposition modeling. it's a fancy word for layingdown a small bead of plastic. what's really cool is youcan have a real engineering
grade thermal plastic. so the same stuffyou'd injection mold. when someone needs anabs or polycarbonate or a high temperature ultem, wecan actually print it directly as opposed to a casting,a part, or having the injected molded parts done. you're getting closeto the same quality in mechanical propertiesand aesthetics as you would in aninjection molded part,
but you're getting itin an additive process. our software takesa 3d data file and it slices it into layers. then that creates a tool paththat's sent to the machine. the raw material is producedinto a filament-like fishing line type form. that filament iswrapped around a spool, so that's your cartridgeof raw material that's going to beused to build parts.
that material then getsfed up through the machine all the way to the head whereit's liquefied and extruded in fine layers. the support material isextruded at the same time, and then layer by layerthe part is growing. when the part iscompleted then, it's removed from the build platform,and then the support material is removed. we also offer pulsefinishing operations that
can smooth out those layers. so whether it's a handfinishing or cosmetic paint, we can still can providesmooth-looking parts. we've developed atechnology to fit a full breath of geometry sets. we've seen it use anywherefrom small prototypes for mock-ups andtest-fitting parts to really largestructural pieces that go on airplanes or uavs.
we've gone from that we'rejust doing real easy concept models-- onesy-twosies--to now we're doing production runsof 5,000, 10,000 parts that-- it's the actual partcoming from the fdm technology. and so with it, we cando things that i have yet
to even think of. but that youngergeneration, they're going to take this fdmprocess and turn it into something that's goingto blow me away someday.
