Our Insight video series will help you master digital manufacturing. Every Friday we’ll post a new video – each one giving you a deeper Insight into how to design better parts. We’ll cover specific topics such as choosing the right 3D printing material, optimising your design for CNC machining, surface finishes for moulded parts, and much more besides.
Below is a recap of our latest Insight videos, which you can also view alongside all of our previous videos on our website. Never want to miss an Insight video? Subscribe here!
Insight: Industrial and Heavy Industry
Digital manufacturing technology can be a great support for industrial equipment and machinery manufacturers. The pace of change, with the Industrial Internet of Things and the ability to create replacement components have made the sector even more competitive and reliant on innovation. In this video we explore how digital manufacturing can help provide the support needed in this area through various production technologies: 3D printing, CNC machining and injection moulding. And we cover material options, from superalloys to thermoplastics – taking a look at their characteristics and suitable applications.
Insight: SLS Materials
There are a number of different 3D printing technologies and which one you choose depends on what you want to achieve. In this video we explore Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) materials and their suitability for functional parts that require greater toughness and higher impact strength. We cover a range of materials including: PA12 white, PA11 black, PA 12 40% glass filled, polypropylene, PA 12 flex black, PA12 carbon filled, and TPU 88A black; assessing what each one can bring to your project.
Insight: TPU MJF
Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) is a new industrial grade 3D printing technology that has certain advantages over other additive manufacturing processes. Recently, a new material has become available for MJF 3D printing, Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). In this week’s video we start with a recap on why you would choose MJF rather than other 3D printing technologies and explore TPU, looking at the advantages of the material and how it can be used.
Insight: Nylon 3D Printing
One of the great plus points of 3D printing is that you can design pretty much any shape or geometry that you want, and Nylon is a great general-purpose material to use. It’s true that you have more freedom to do what you want when you are designing your 3D printed parts, but in there are also some key considerations to keep in mind when designing nylon parts to make sure you get the parts you want. In this video we talk through these considerations, looking at minimum feature size for plastic 3D printed parts, minimising part warpage and differential shrink, designing to remove powder, and the orientation of your parts during production.
