Take a moment to check out Johnny and learn more about a process that can be instantly quoted at www.quickparts.com.

If you would like to watch how Johnny Quickparts saves his company by using instant quoting check out this great piece!  http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnnyQuickparts 

To test out instant quoting yourself, you can create your own quote at www.quickparts.com.

As you can imagine, once you apply a coat of paint, a number of surface imperfections reveal themselves.  This is not good if you are planning to use this part to win a big order or if you want to impress the boss.  Instead, the boss will most likely ask you if your kid painted it…which is not a great feeling. 

Now the way you want to approach painting  your stereolithography part is to prime it first.  Then hand sand it and prime it again.  And then sand it again.  Yes, this is not a very efficient process but it will make the part look much  better when you finally do paint it.  The priming process helps fill in the pock marks and cover up any imperfections.  This is the crucial step in making your stereolithography part a big success.

These are a couple questions we hear in the development phase of a new product.  The brief description according to wikipedia.com is that DFM is the general engineering art of designing products in such a way that they are easy to manufacture. The basic idea exists in almost all engineering disciplines, but of course the details differ widely depending on the manufacturing technology.

DFM is intended to prevent:

• Product designs that simplify assembly operations but require more complex and expensive components
• Designs that simplify component manufacture while complicating the manufacture process
• Designs that are simple and inexpensive but are difficult or expensive to service and support

I think that is a good overview of the general concept of what DFM is.  So the next question is “why is it a problem?”

There are a number of possible answers for this question.  First possible answer is that the manufacturing techologies are continuously changing so it is difficult to keep up with the new technologies available.  This could be true…I am not sold though.  The next answer could be that engineers are not trained properly coming out of college.  This is a possible answer but it seems like it blames the problem on someone else.  Last, the answer could be that engineering is no longer performed at the same facility as manufacturing….bingo! 

With manufacturing moving offshore to locations far away from engineering, the collaboration that existed in the past between design engineering and manufacturing no longer happens.  Designs are created and then passed to manufacturing to make parts.  Sounds great and very efficient…just not as flawless in practice.  How does an engineer learn about the hidden “gotcha’s” of injection molding? Well, unfortunately, they don’t.  Not until they design a part and have it manufactured do they see problems.

With that said, there are now services out there to help with the manufacturing process during the product development phase.  We are Quickparts provide a DFM of every part we review for injection molding.  We saw the void created in the industry and want to provide a free service that helps both our customers and us during the manufacturing process.  We have seen this as a huge success for customer wanting to proceed to injection molding.  This has helped product development companies reduce cost, lead time and ultimately FRUSTRATION. 

To learn more about the service or see an example, give us a call or check Quickparts out at http://www.quickparts.com/ToolingProduction.aspx.

Here is an example of a DFM report: http://www.quickparts.com/UserFiles/File/Design_For_Manufacturing_analysis_report.pdf

A video series with a common character is a very unique approach to marketing in manufacturing. Most manufacturing information is very dull and boring. The video information that is available is typically shots of a machine doing something….great for 10 seconds, then dull after that….some may know the feeling.

There will be another 15 episodes this year and then the execs at NBC/CBS/ABC will decide if they cancel it (if they too busy, then we will decide the future).

Please check out the video and let us know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnnyQuickparts

David’s final conclusion was to select the Perfactory machine because it ultimately provided the best fine feature control on the parts they used as test cases.  If you are interested in reading the full article, you can view it here at: http://www.makepartsfast.com/articles/2322/9/Tips-for-Selecting-a-Rapid-Prototyping-System.aspx

If you would like to know more about the rapid prototyping processes in general, check out www.quickparts.com.

What is Machined Plastic Prototyping?

MPP is a subtractive rapid prototyping fabrication process for creating plastic prototypes. The plastic material is removed from a solid block by Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment that cuts away the unwanted material.

The MPP process is offered for 3 production plastics – ABS – Natural, ABS – Black and Acrylic – Clear. Unlike traditional rapid prototyping processes, the MPP material is a production grade plastic that is durable enough for end-use applications.

Why select MPP process for your prototypes?
MPP offers a more functional prototype part than any of the rapid prototyping processes available. This is due to the process of removing material from a solid block of production grade plastic rather than creating the part through an additive manufacturing process.

If you are interested in learning more, give us a ring at 770-901-3200 or check out our website at www.quickparts.com.

So how it works is that our customers can now email files to an email address: instantquotes@quickparts.comand our system takes the files and uploads them to their account.  Then an automated email is sent back to our customer with a link.  Click on the link and now the quoting process is started.  So, longer does a person need to login and upload their files.  In some cases, this can save our customers 5-10 minutes of very valuable time. 

In the world of instant gratification, we have continued to push the envelope.  We are excited about this new technology and we are even more excited for our customers who will get an even better experience when they use Quickparts.  If you would like to try it, go to www.quickparts.com create an account and start quoting today!

Based on this data, the tolerances can either cause a part to be slightly oversized or undersized. Keep in mind that tolerances are additive, meaning that as the part dimensions get larger, tolerances will have more of an effect on the overall part size.

How much tolerance should I factor into my part dimensions?

For parts fewer than a few cubic inches, you can design a
0.010″ – 0.015″ clearance and receive prototypes that meet your needs. For parts close to the maximum process build space, a clearance of 0.025″ – 0.040″ is needed to accomplish the same success.

If you would to learn more, be sure to visit www.quickparts.com for all your rapid prototyping and injection molding questions.