Rapid-prototyping & small scale production

[miahallen]

I'm the R&D guy for a small company in Belize (Central America). This is an extremely small (country population ~340K) and poor (3rd world) economy. I moved here three years ago and I have been working with one of the largest glass companies (window & door manufacturer) in the country. We employ about 30 people and manufacture approximately 1000 products per month, with minimal automation consisting of punch machines, uPVC frame welding machines, and an Argon gas filled multi-glazed window pane assembly line.

We purchased our first M2 back in 2015 and last year added a second machine. I have used Sketchup for rapid prototyping for approx 50 parts towards product development, and we currently use the machines for small scale manufacturing of approximately 11 different models. We have produced in excess of 50,000 parts total thus far.

We have been extremely happy with the products, and it has revolutionized the business. So, I just wanted to chime in with a thank you! And to encourage the community here with more success stories

Video here: https://www.facebook.com/petersglasssho ... 793574028/

[Jules]

What a great story! Thanks for sharing it!

[theboz1419]

I used to work in a vinyl extrusion place making parts for Windows and doors. Very neat video.

One question. How in the worlcd were you able to get prints so close to the edge? I have used micrometer and use mic6 plate/PEI and I still can't get that close to the edge without parts coming off.

[rpollack]

Excellent!

[miahallen]

I used to work in a vinyl extrusion place making parts for Windows and doors. Very neat video.

One question. How in the worlcd were you able to get prints so close to the edge? I have used micrometer and use mic6 plate/PEI and I still can't get that close to the edge without parts coming off.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that not all Kaplon tape is created equal. One roll we bought from amazon was terrible. Prints refuse to stick to it.

Also...the best after print treatment we have found is NOTHING...cleaning the bead with ANY cleaner...or adding any treatment (glue stick, hairspray, etc) never helped us at all.

Lastly, the M2's bed leveling system has been redesigned within the last year or so. We discovered this when we bought our second machine last year. The new system is FAR superior and we bought a extra build platform for our older machine.

[zemlin]

How in the worlcd were you able to get prints so close to the edge? I have used micrometer and use mic6 plate/PEI and I still can't get that close to the edge without parts coming off.

Some printers have a small bow to the X-Axis rail. This may be something that develops over time, as I checked my machine carefully when it was new, but more recently I started having issues when printing thin layers. I used a dial indicator and MIC6 plate on the bed and found a bit of bow to the X-rail so it was low in the center. I removed the rail and cut pieces of shim stock to correct the bow at each bolt. Now I get precise layer thickness across the full width of the bed.

Another factor is that they are running large nozzles and likely pretty thick layers, so small deviations in the x-rail would go unnoticed.

In S3D the first layer can be made thicker. That is often useful to improve the first-layer success rate.