Grind and welding process:  How to Remove the Weld Seam

Both the Grind and welding process of metal steel sheet needs to be conducted with extreme care. After all, these processes would have a direct impact on the quality of components or products. After welding your products, you would have to provide a seamless finish.

In case, you are looking for ways to finish your product. You have come to the right place. In this article, we are going to provide you with details on how to remove and finish your weld seam.

Guide on Grind and Welding Process

Before you start with welding, you need to focus on a couple of factors. For starters, you need to understand that every process required different types of finishes. The type mainly depends upon the material and their innate finishing requirements.

For instance, carbon steel would require a different type of finishing in comparison to stainless steel. In this article, we are going to be focusing on these two materials. So, without any further delay, let us get started!

Different Types of Welds

Of course, it is important to learn about different welding types. Below, we are going to focus on these weld types for both carbons as well as stainless steel.

Carbon Steel

Metal Inert Gas Welding

If you are looking for a low-cost welding process for carbon steel, we suggest the metal inert gas welding.  People often call this method as Gas Metal Arc Welding process. Despite being cost-effective, it is possible to use the technique on almost all common alloys and metals.

It is popular because it yields outstanding results. For the filling material, the technique uses a semi-automatic wire feed and the inert shielding gas. Industries around the globe consider MIG welding is the best option for thick and heavy items.

However, it tends to produce a fat weld seam. Due to these properties, MIG welding is effective for carbon steel. So, a good idea is to discuss it with your manufacturer, and they will guide you in a proper way.

Stainless Steel

For stainless steel, you would be using the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process. TIG is more precise in comparison to some other welding processes. It makes use of a tungsten electrode for the welding purpose.

In addition, you will not find a lot of TIG expertise in the industry. It is a fairly difficult skill set to master. But, that does not mean there aren’t any out there. You just need to reach out to a reliable manufacturer and you will find the TIG expertise.

The process also takes more time in comparison to metal inert gas welding. However, it offers better and finer results. Due to these advantages, the stainless industry is prone to using TIG instead of any other welding process.

Finishing Differences

In addition to focusing on the grind and welding process, you also need to focus on the finishing of the materials. Like their welding process, both stainless steel and carbon steel have different finishing methods. In

See below to learn the difference between finishes of stainless steel and carbon steel.

Carbon Steel Finishes

The finished piece’s application has a direct impact on the type of finish you choose. After all, you need to have a clear purpose of what you plan to achieve with these finishing at the end of the day. Also, not all types of finishes are compatible with every base material.

Therefore, you need to focus on the base material as well before finalizing the finish of your product or components. We will be talking about removing the weld seams, but the important thing to understand here is not that you do not have to remove all the welds seams.

There are certain weld seams that are important for the metal’s functionality. Keeping these weld seams would help the metal function more seamlessly and in a better manner. This holds true for most carbon steel applications as the seam would be invisible in most cases.

For instance, undersea applications. Even for the projects that would not be hidden from the human eye. In these cases, it is better to have unfinished welds. After all, these unfinished welds offer more strength in comparison to the finished ones.

The reason being, for finished welds, you actually have to remove a certain amount of material because of the grinding process. When it comes to finishing weld for a carbon steel process, you will be surprised by its simplicity.

You would not have to prepare the entire part or component. On the contrary, you would just have to focus on places where you plan to apply the paint. Moreover, if you want the paint to last long, we recommend having a well-scratched and rough surface.

Experience shows that well scratched and rough surfaces adhere to paint better especially when you want them to have a highly finished shine.

Stainless Steel Finishes

By now, you must know that stainless steel is stronger in comparison to carbon steel. In addition, stainless has a thinner gage in case of usage. Something modern electronics require. After all, these appliances are becoming compact day-by-day.

Stainless steel works well with commercial applications. In addition, its welding finishes have a multitude for these applications. Therefore, it is recommended to use stainless steel for modern, compact, commercial, and sophisticated applications.

For example, to add an aesthetic sense to the application, you can enjoy a highly-refined finish.

Note: In case, you are working with both materials. It is important to keep them separate especially in the finishing section. This would ensure that there is no cross-contamination when you are going from stainless steel to copper.

Initial Grind and Welding Process

The initial grind and welding process is usually the same. The objective clears the weld from all the excess stock. You would have to grind the joint down to a certain level. After that, you will work with the remaining parent metal.

If finishing is not your aim, then you can remove the initial stock using a simple grinding wheel. However, make sure that you wheel has an angle grinder.

Grinding Wheel

It is possible to use a grinding wheel to remove stock form both materials. However, do bear in mind that in the case of stainless steel, you need to have highly skilled workers even to achieve a passable quality result.

On the other hand, with carbon steel, you can achieve the desired results with little effort while using the grinding wheel. Just make sure that you adopt the right angel during grinding. After all, you do not want to experience pitfalls such as undercutting or gouging.

Flap Disc on Weld

For effective weld finishing, we recommend using a flap disc. They show impressive results for both carbon steel as well as stainless steel. Since they ensure long product life, therefore, they have an edge over their counterpart, standard grinding wheel.

In addition, flap disc offers superior operating control as well as comfort. They generate less noise and the quality of surface finish that they offer is outstanding. For carbon steel, you would save give and have effective results if you use the P40 coarse grit.

Take Away

A great manufacturer would always focus on the grind and welding process. After all, the manufacturer does understand its importance in terms of product life and finish. There are certain elements that contribute to deciding the right welding and grinding process.

For instance, the type of material you are planning to use, and product finish that you require among others. Like a lame man or a non-professional, you might not have the required knowledge to make this decision.

So, what are you to do? Simple, you need to reach out to consumers to us and we will answer all your queries in an effective manner. We will help you choose the right process to ensure great results. After all, it is our aim to please ours in every possible way.

Plastic Extrusion Manufacturer: A Basic Guide on Plastic Extrusion

Being a plastic extrusion manufacturer, we often come across questions like what is plastic extrusion? Is it useful? Are there any subcategories? We understand the concept might be alien for people outside the industry.

After all, it does involve some technicality. Thus, making it off-limits for people who do not have a taste for it. Nonetheless, having general knowledge is never bad. So, today, in our blog post we are going to focus on the basics of plastic extrusion.

By the end of the blog, you would be familiar with its basic idea, types as well as its advantages. So, without any further delay, we should get started!

Introduction to Plastic Extrusion

For starters, you need to know what plastic extrusion is. In the technical world, people define this concept as the transformation of solid plastic mass into usable products. The manufacturer would take the plastic mass and turn it into the desired shape.

It is possible to either use these shapes to create additional products, or you can use them as end-products. It all depends upon your requirement. We hope, you now get the basic idea regarding plastic extrusion.

Now, let's dig a little deeper.

There are three main plastic parts producing processes that incorporate plastic extrusion. These processes include blow molding, injection molding, and extrusion. Each process is important and different in its own way.

Extrusion

It is a continuous process. Something, which the other processes lack. In extrusion, you would continuously convert pellets, solid plastic mass, or powder into a melted form. You would also be pushing the melted form into a shape using a die.

The shape is the one that you want the plastic to attain eventually. However, it is not the final part. This shape does go through multiple other processes to achieve the respective results. Some of these operations include pipe, profile, cast film, blown, sheet, or pelletizing.

Below, we have listed the outputs from these processes.

You can turn plastic sheets into either food storage containers or drinking cups.

Plastic pipes that help in delivering water safely to your phone. You do not have to worry about lead contamination.  In addition, these pipes do not clad the sides of your house, giving it a less pleasing overview.

For grocery bags, you would be using films. They not only increase the shelf life of the product but at the same time protect it from any sort of harmful contamination.

Every sub-process is different and one of a kind. It requires different downstream equipment, post extrusion, or dies in order to manufacturer the respective product. No matter, what type of process you use, all sub-processes do have one common component, the extruder.

The job of an Extruder

The main job of the extruder to turn the food stock or the solid plastic mass into a melted form. For this purpose, the plastic extrusion manufacturer tends to rely on two different extruding technologies. They can either go with the twin-screw technology or the single screw technology.

Single Screw Technology

Plastic extruding manufacturers around the globe prefer the single screw technology over the twin-screw one. It is most common in the industry. The great thing about this technology is that you can apply is to a wide range of polymer types.

In addition, the technology is applicable to almost all common extrusion processes.

Twin Screw Extruder Technology

On the other hand, we have the twin-screw extruder technology. This is a more sophisticated form of technology. The manufacturers further break down the technology into two parts, the co-rotating, and the counter-rotating technologies.

With the counter-rotating extruder incorporate 2 screws. These screws rotate in opposite direction to each other and they intermesh as well. The co-rotating twin screws also use 2 screws. However, these screws rotate in the same direction and they intermesh as well.

Regardless of the type of technology you use, single or twin, their main objective is the same. They want to turn a solid mass plastic into a melt. Both of these technologies use slightly different mechanisms to serve the same purpose.

Note: The beginning of the intrusion process is the transformation process. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful as it does have a great impact on the entire process.

To highlight its importance, manufacturers call extruder as the heat of the extrusion process. Likewise, they label the extruder screw as the heat of the extruder. After all, the lack of extruder screw performance would have an adverse impact on the entire extrusion process.

The screw needs to perform at the optimal level in order for the extrusion to become a great success.

Plastic Extrusion Manufacturer Categories Extrusion as below

Film/Sheet Extrusion

This particular extrusion process uses a flat die to extrude the molten plastic material. In order to find the sheet or the film’s thickness, the process uses cooling rolls. These rolls are also helpful for determining the texture of the material’s surface.

It is possible to attain the sheet thickness between 0.2 to 15 mm. However, the thickness does depend upon your product or component requirement. It is possible to make a thin flat film or sheet. For effective results, plastic extrusion manufacturer recommends using polystyrene plastic as raw material.

Blown Film Extrusion

This process also uses a die, however, instead of flat the die is like a vertical cylinder. It also comes with a circular profile. A pair of nip rollers would pull the molten plastic from the die in an upward direction. To inflate the tubes, you would be using compressed air.

Moreover, there is an air ring installed around the die. The reason for the air-ring is to cool down the film as it moves upwards. To force the compressed air into the center of a circular profile, you will notice an air inlet.

This air inlet helps in creating a bubble. It is possible to increase the cross-section around two to three times the die diameter. To collapse the bubbles, you would be needing the collapsing plate. Later, the lay-flat comes into action for flatting the bubbles into double layer films.

Over Jacketing Extrusion

Another name for over jacketing extrusion is the wire coating process. From the center of the die, you will be pulling a bare wire. For coating over the wire, you can either use the jacketing or pressure tooling.

These two processes are different; however, they serve the same purpose. Nonetheless, we do recommend jacketing tooling if you require adhesion or intimate contact between coating and wire. In case of pressure tooling, you would retract the wire into the die.

It would then come in contact with the molten plastic. Do remember, that there needs to be a high pressure while the wire is coming in contact with molten plastic. On the other hand, for jacketing tooling, the die comes first, and then the molten plastic would cover the wire after it tends to extend.

You would be feeding the bare wire using the die. It would not come in contact with the molten plastic until it is within the die. The major difference between these processes is that wire positioning with respect to the die.

Plastic Extrusion: Advantages

If there are two or more machines available to feed the single die, it is possible to have co-extrusion. This is highly effective if the product requires multiple layers of different materials.

With co-extrusion, you can add a top layer of high-end material to give the product an expensive look, while using low-cost material underneath to save the overall product cost.

It is a cheaper plastic manufacturing technique. It is possible to improve product durability, properties, fire resistance, static, etc. using different additives.

With plastic extrusion, it is possible to achieve complex shapes with different textures, thickness, colors, etc. You can have access to numerous different shapes and colors, all because of the state-of-the-art technology.

The process is highly effective for producing shapes continuously.

Steel Metal Manufacturer: Types and Uses of Steel Metal

In today’s world, Steel Metal Manufacturer offers endless benefits. Industries around the globe have been using them for almost every kind of application. You can see them in the automobile industry, furniture, fences, and even computers.

What more is that these sheet metals have different types and ranges. Therefore, further enhancing their overall versatility. You can choose the one that would suit your product needs to perfection. Before you finalize the steel metal, it is important to have the basic knowledge about its types.

In this course, of this article, we are going to talk about different types of steel metal. The objective is to provide you basic information so that you are able to make a well-informed decision.

So, without any further delay, let us get started!

Different Types of Steel Metal Sheets

Below, are the different types of steel metal sheets along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Cold Rolled Steel

The first in our list is the cold-rolled steel sheets. For these sheets, you will have to place the metal alloy between two rollers i.e. you take a roll-on top, then place the sheet and then again place the roller.

The objective is to shape the metal into a thinner sheet or piece in comparison to its original size. The interesting fact is that cold rolled sheets starting procedure is that of the hot-rolled steel. However, towards the end, the manufacturer tends to rinse the metal using a certain acid.

The washing of metal with the acid turns it into a cold use. In addition, the final step is providing heat treatment to the sheet, naming annealing. The fact is that cold-rolled steels are robust in comparison to hot-rolled steel.

Also, the cold-rolled closed Annealed steel is among the most affording materials. However, these sheets are very prone to corrosion. To improve the corrosion resistance, the manufacturer applies annealing oil. The only problem is that oil is effective for a couple of weeks.

We have listed different CRCA grades according to the IS 513.

CRCA Material Grades

CRCA Material: Advantages

• Deep Drawn
• Extra Deep drawn grades
• Low Cost
• Excellent Dimensional accuracy
• Excellent weldability
• Good Strength
• Superior Surface Quality

CRCA Material: Disadvantages

• High Weight
• Cost of the Final Finish is high
• It is extremely prone to corrosion.

Hot Rolled Steel

Next, we have the hot rolled steel sheets. The difference between cold rolled and hot rolled sheet is the temperature. In hot rolled steel sheets, the manufacturer takes the temperature up to 1400-degree Fahrenheit.

In some cases, the manufacture might have to take it even higher. To increase the metal temperature, the manufacturer tends to use multiple methods. For instance, some of them might use the soaking pit of induction heating.

Doing this will help increase the temperature to great lengths. Thus, making it possible to heat the metal before the start to roll. Doing this makes it easier for them to achieve the desired shape.

The process can shape metal sheets with different thicknesses. For instance, it is effective with sheets having a thickness between 1/6 inches to 5/6 inches.

Mild Steel

Mild steel is another famous, yet affordability type of sheet metal. Manufacturer categorizes it as the sub-category of the cold-rolled steel. The reason being, the steel alloy in the process does not have a high level of carbon in comparison to other steel sheet metal.

Due to the lack of carbon, mild steel sheets are flexible. They adapt well to a number of manipulation processes such as the formation or the welding. You will often find mild sheeting in a number of industries.

For example, they are extremely common in the formation of the body parts of automobiles. You can find mild steel in different thicknesses. They are mostly available in the thickness ranging from 2391/1000 inch to 76/1000 inch.

Mild Steel: Advantages

• Cheaper in comparison to some other metal types.
• Great Conductor
• Exhibits ductility
• Easy to manipulate

Mild Sheet: Disadvantages

• Prone to Corrosion without galvanization
• Not best for products that would come constantly in contact with water.
• Offers less strength especially in comparison to stainless steel.

Aluminum

Even if you do not belong to the industry, you would be familiar with aluminum. After all, it is the most common sheet metal material, but not in comparison to steel.

There is no denying that steel is the most common sheet metal material in the industry. Due to its numerous advantages, a steel metal manufacturer is more likely to use steel.

However, this in any way does not imply that aluminum has no worth. On the contrary, the choice of material mostly depends upon the product requirement. There are many reasons for choosing aluminum.

However, the most common is its innate ability to be soft. When the manufacturer adds elements like magnesium, silicon, copper, or icon, they are able to increase the overall strength of aluminum steel sheets.

The manufactures also use a heating process to further enhance the strength of aluminum metal sheets. Another reason they are famous is due to their corrosion-resistant ability.

They are naturally corrosion resistant. Therefore, manufacturers use an aluminum sheet for a number of processes such as electronic chassis, jewelry, household appliances, and fan blades among others.

Aluminum Steel Sheet: Advantages

• It is soft.
• Aluminum has a natural corrosion resistance capability.
• To add strength, manufacturers can incorporate other materials into it.
• Aluminum is lightweight
• It is possible to recycle it.
• It is a good thermal conductor
• Has an excellent electrical conductivity capability

Aluminum Sheet: Disadvantages

• Weldability is not strong.
• It is 3x timing costlier in comparison to the CRCA.

Aluminum Grades for a Steel Metal Manufacturer

• 5251-H22: Works well for marine environments
• 6061
• 1050-H14: This grade tends to offer Good Weldability
• 5052-H34: outstanding corrosion resistance, Fair Formability, and great Welding characteristics
• 5052-H32: The most common aluminum grade in the industry. It has good formability.

 Perforated Steel Metal

Under this category, you have a wide range of sheet metal ranging from bronze to stainless. These are different when you compare them with other sheet metals. The reason being, the steel metal manufacturer has to cut holes into the metal sheet.

The size of the hole depends upon the requirement of the application design. The same rule applies to the shape of the holes. Nonetheless, you will find holes either in square or round shapes.

The slotted holes are very common. Also, manufacturers often design these holes in either an even pattern or asymmetrical pattern. This is also the case with the enclosure sheet metal.

Furthermore, you may come across with holed sheet metals that have a decorative pattern on them. These sheets are even more complex than the regular ones.

Stainless Steel Sheets

The stainless-steel sheet is a corrosion-resistant alloy. It contains around 10.5% of chromium. One of the reasons that stainless steel offers great corrosion resistance is that there is a film formed on the surface of the steel that is rich with chromium oxide.

Stainless: Advantages

• The material offers good weldability.
• You can have access to good grades.
• It is easy to fabricate.
• It has outstanding corrosion resistance.

Stainless Steel: Disadvantage

• It is expensive.
• It comes with limited finishing options.

Common grades of Stainless Steel Available in the Market

• SS-316
• SS-304-H
• SS-304-L
• SS-304

Take Away

A steel metal manufacturer believes that selecting the sheet metal material process is imperative for your product design. Therefore, you should consider all types and how these types would affect your design.

When choosing the material, you need to focus on the required product strength, the cost constraints, desired corrosion resistance, and weight resistance.

Focusing on these elements would help you make the right decision. In addition, if you are still having trouble deciding the material type. You can always reach out to us any time you want. Our learned staff would ensure that you make the right decision, the first time.

Sheet Metal Fabrication: Everything That You Need to Know

The term “Sheet Metal Fabrication” would seem alien to people outside the respective industry.  The first impression would be that it is highly technical. Project requirements, processes, and terminology are not common among the general audience.

Yes, we agree that the concept does have a technical aspect to it. However, it is not like, a lame man cannot understand the basic concept of steel fabrication. All they need to have is the foundational knowledge of those methods.

Once, you have the basic information, it won’t be difficult for them to expectations that are real. They would also get an idea of when to fire a metal fabricator for their application. In the course of this article, we are going to provide you a brief introduction to metal fabrication.

Introduction to Sheet Metal Fabrication

Numerous tools come into action when you decide to hire a metal fabricator in order to create an application, product, or series of products. Moreover, you would need highly skilled professionals in order to complete the job.

These professionals along with different tools will help you achieve your target. Below, is a breakdown of what all is involved in the fabrication process of sheet metal.

Blueprints

The first thing that comes into action is working with the blueprint. The engineer would spend time on perfecting a blueprint. After all, this blueprint provides the basics for the specifications of the sheet metal product. With the blueprints, you will have the essential rough drawings.

Final Shop Drawing

For the end product to meet the required requirements and specifications, it is important for the calculations and drawing to be error-proof. To ensure the accuracy of these drawings, you will have to double them.

Continuous checking will eventually lead to final shop drawings. These drawings are more than the first draft. They will contain all the required in-depth calculations regarding the sheet metal. These fabrication process uses these calculations and specifications to manufacture the desired product.

Metal Fabrication Process

The metal fabrication process involves a couple of steps such as joining, forming, cutting, etc. We will talk about these steps in more detail below.

Product Finishing

Even after the completion of the fabrication process, the product would require additional finishing in order to use it commercially. There are several techniques and tools that manufacturers use to provide the product its final finish.

An important thing to remember here is that every step of the fabrication process needs to be handled with utmost care. Complete one step before moving onto the other one. If you rush through all the processes, you are more likely going to compromise the quality and integrity of your work.

This is something, manufacturers who take pride in quality would avoid at all costs. We hope, this general overview did help you get started. Below, we are going to provide information regarding the fabrication process in detail.

So, without any further delay, let us get started!

Metal Fabrication Overview

Cutting

The first stage of steel metal fabrication is cutting. The name itself is self-explanatory. In this step, the manufacturers fabricate the metal either in a plate or a rectangular shape. The shape greatly depends upon the thickness of the plate.

So, we can say that the first step is actually cutting the meta sheet as per your specification. It involves turning the metal sheet into the desired shape. There are two different methods for cutting the sheet.

Cutting with Shear

The first method involves using the shear force. The shear force would cut the sheet metal while using three different operations. Shearing, blanking, and punching are these three main techniques. Every operation is responsible for serving a specific purpose.

It is not possible to miss any one of these operations. So, make sure that you go through with them properly.

Cutting without shear

Contrary to cutting with shear, we have cutting without shear. We are pretty sure that the name is self-explanatory. This process is dedicated to industrial metal fabrication projects. With this, you can enjoy faster processing times as well as optimum precision cutting.

Something, that lacked in the above technique. For cutting without shear, you would have to use other tools. Such as the waterjet cutting, plasma cutting, and laser beam cutting. Every type of cutting method does come with its merits and demerits.

So, you need to analyze all these methods before you finalize on the one that would work for you. Despite the method you choose, do remember all these methods work best for large scale industrial product precision cutting.

Bending and Forming

After cutting, comes the bending and forming. Like cutting, you have several equipment and tools at hand. These tools will help you bend or form the sheets as per your requirement. In order to achieve V-bends or U-bends, you would be needing rolling machines, press brakes, or similar tools.

These tools can also cater to a number of other custom forms that you specify in your project’s blueprint. Regardless, what you use to create these bends, may it be machining, folding, stamping, do remember that this stage is important.

After all, all the transformation of the sheet metal takes place at this stage.

Joining

Joining is another important aspect of metal sheet fabrication. After all, it is vital to join the ends after you have conducted cutting, and bending on the desired metal sheets. There are several projects that require the joining of multiple parts in order to be completed.

For these projects, accurate joining is imperative. After all, you would not want those parts to fall apart once the products come into action. So, make sure to use a robust technique for the fusing of these parts. Manufacturers of use adhesives, riveting, brazing, or welding for this purpose.

Also, make sure that the welders have experience. They need to be skilled and should have the proper training to ensure precision at this stage.

Finishing

Finishing is the final stage of metal fabrication. Although, the product is almost ready, yet this stage holds great importance. After all, the overall look of the product would depend upon this stage. For a consumer base product, you would have to pay close attention at this stage.

No one wants to have an ugly product, even if it performs well. So, once the cutting, bending and forming is completed, it then joined and is ready for the final surface finish. There are several ways of adding finishing to the final product.

For finishing, manufacturers use a paint coating, powder coatings, or silk screening. These finishes also add possible sealants or similar protection layers to the product. To either enhance or improve the certain properties of the sheet metal, there are other finishing treatments available as well such as the resistance or the conductivity.

Why Choose Us?

Essaii is an excellent sheet metal fabrication manufacturer. They have years of experience in this respective field. Their vast experience makes them the epitome of their competitors. Since they take pride in delivering only high-quality products, thus they will never compromise on quality of the fabrication process.

Their highly skilled professionals would pay close attention to every stage of the fabrication process.  After all, their objective is to satisfy the consumer by manufacturing high-quality products.

Take Away

The metal fabrication process is an imperative part of any product development. Therefore, it is important to pay heed to all its aspects such as cutting, bending, joining, etc. A reliable manufacturer would never try to hurry through these processes.

On the contrary, they would spend their time to ensure that every stage is completed in the best possible way. After all, timely correction is better than the rework. Thanks to technological advancement, we now have different types of fabrication processes as well.

So, to choose the right type of process, you would need to reach out to a component manufacturer as it would be able to provide assistance in the best possible way.

How to improve the Sheet Metal Prototyping Design?

Sheet Metal prototyping has become an imperative part of the modern industry. If we say that both fabrication and sheet-metal prototyping is the back of the industry, we would not be wrong. This prototyping holds great importance in the aerospace, automotive, and several other industries.

Manufacturers around the globe have been using sheet metal for manufacturing parts like chassis, panels, enclosures, brackets, appliance, and panels. To ensure the quality of the product, it is important to have a strong and high-quality sheet metal prototype.

The quality of these parts would make a great difference. Moreover, having the right and error-free sheet metal design is important. After all, the correct design would add to the robustness of the prototype.

This blogpost would focus on some important tips to improve the design of your sheet metal prototype.

Tips to Improve Sheet Metal Prototype Design

There are several factors that need consideration. These factors play an important role when it comes to defining the quality of the prototype. For starters, it is important that you partner with a professional and experienced prototyping manufacturer such as the Essaii.

A reasonable and accurate design holds great importance as well. If the design meets the required expectation, only then will it serve its purpose to perfection. The design lacking its ability to meet the requirement, you eventually cause the downfall of its respective product.

According to researches, manufacturers spend about 30% of their time fixing the problems that were in the design. The reworking of the parts leads to heavy, but thanks to modern prototyping, this all can be resolved at a minimal cost and within budget.

There is no denying the importance of correct design, achieving it is a different story. Here are some effective designs tips that would improve the overall quality of your prototyping.

Clear Design Purpose

It is crucial for engineers and designers to have a clear purpose for their design. In addition, they need to have a proper plan in place to make sure that the sheet metal design is easy for the manufacturer as well as cost-effective.

Several factors need consideration during the designing phase including the thickness, mechanical properties, function, tooling methods, features, and tolerance. All these factors need to be in accord with the actual application.

Focus on Sheet Metal Prototyping Hole Designs

Manufacturers mostly use sheet metal to make a metal prototype. They understand that the sheet metal would need slots for screw, holes, interlocking sections, bolts, among others. These things would be part of the design.

The engineers would specify the size, alignment, positions of the holes during the design phase. All these things are extremely important. Below, are some rules that you should follow:

Sheet Thickness

It is important that the thickness of the sheet is less in comparison to the hole’s diameter. A thicker sheet would lead to higher punch loading, something you would want to avoid. In addition, it would require excessive burr and a longer time to burnish. Also, a thick sheet would lead to slug-pulling. Thus, having an adverse impact on the metal sheet’s punch and lifespan.

Hole Spacing

Another important rule that you need to follow is having the right spacing between holes. A good rule of thumb is to have space equaling to twice the thickness of the sheet between each hole. After all, the correct spacing between holes ensure the robustness of the metal sheet, as well as prevents its deformation. It also prevents the bending process.

Holes on the Edge

When you are incorporating holes on the edges of the sheet, make sure that the correct spacing. For these holes, the space between every hole should at least equal to the thickness of the sheet.

The right Partner

When you partner with the right prototyping manufacturer, you are less likely to make mistakes in the design phase. After all, they experienced and knowledgeable staff would be there to ensure a mistake-proof steel metal prototyping design.

Manage Tolerance

For a metal sheet, tolerance is important. Therefore, as an engineer, you need to pay close attention to this aspect of prototyping. When we talk about managing tolerance, you need to understand that it is just not one element that requires attention.

On the contrary, there are several factors that come into play. For instance, the material, features, thickness, function along with the capability of the prototyping manufacturer. It is vital to consider the die accuracy, along with the wear during the punching process.

You also need to pay heed to the fabrication process. After all, this process is majorly responsible for turning the sheet into prototypes and parts. The spacing between parts also has an impact on tolerance. So, the designers need to focus on this aspect as well.

Zero Clearance

If there is zero clearance between parts, it would lead to tolerance stack-up. Thus, it would lead to sheet parts finished, yet not matching the other parts during assembling. This is something that needs to be avoided at all costs.

Tooling Options

Tooling plays an important role, after all, they determine the shape of the sheet metal prototyping. For example, the straight-line bend is a common problem with conventional press-brake tolling.  So, sheet-shaped using this tool ends up with the straight-line bends.

However, if you want to achieve the lowest cost, then a good idea is to constrain your design using this particular shape. Likewise, if you are interested in more detailed features, a good idea is to use the punch press.

It offers features like bridge lances, round embosses countersinks and many more. In the case of punch, we offer the standard sizes. Also, in terms of cost, these tools are the best option.  When you choose experienced manufacturers such as the Essaii, you will have access to state of the art equipment.

Note: When you use the configuration of common tools, it would save you a lot of money in comparison to the part-specific tools.

Bends of Sheet Metal Prototyping

In sheet metal fabrication, bending holds great importance. Thank to modern and sophisticated technology, it is possible to turn flat sheet metal into a number of shapes. However, you do need to follow a certain set of rules to prevent flaws in the design of sheet metal bending parts.

Radius

It is extremely important to ensure that the radius of the inside bend is not more than the sheet metal’s thickness. Doing so will stop any sort of deforming in the future.

Consistent Bending Direction

Another rule that you really do to focus is to guarantee that the bending direction is consistent. With consistent bending direction, along with the correct bending radius, it is possible to cost fabrication. Also, the overall cost of making parts would come down.

Proper Bend Designing

Instead of relying on exclusive parts machines, it is a good idea to design bends while keeping in mind the standard forming process and tools. Doing this would ensure that the bends are cost-efficient as well as effective.

On the other hand, when you use specialized bending tools, it not only increases the cost significantly but also slows down the manufacturing process.

Take Away

Following the above rules would improve the sheet metal prototyping design. Of course, a flawless design would lead to an error-less prototype and eventually to a successful product. However, to achieve this there are several factors that require consideration, robustness, weight, component assembling, and much more.

NOTE: If your sheet metal prototype is of a complex design, the above rules might not be effective.

In addition to focusing on all these elements, you also need to join hands with a reliable manufacturing partner. Essaii is among the leading steel metal prototype manufacturer. They will provide complete assistance from scratch. Their vast experience in the industry allows them to deliver high-quality, yet cost-efficient prototypes.

For further information, reach out to them on Essaii.

Professional Rapid Prototyping: 5 Technique Selection Factors

A professional rapid prototyping manufacturer fully comprehends the fact that the failure or success of the prototype greatly depends upon the selection of prototyping techniques. When it comes to rapid prototyping, you have several ways to make up the product design.

You can either go with the simple cardboard mock-ups or the full functional machine assembled product. For modern-day products, prototyping has become imperative. This is crucial for new product development.

Rapid prototyping offers the facility to validate your design. It provides you with a rough model, thus allowing you to test its functionality. Moreover, you would get a précised idea of how your product would look, feel, and work in a real-time environment.

In this blog post, we are going to talk about part-base prototypes. In simpler words, we will tell you how you can use individual parts to create a system-level prototype.

Five Key Factors for Professional Rapid Prototyping Process

Since every product is unique, thus it will offer unique prototyping experience. The difference in every product, project, and product design elements, needs proper consideration.

A certain prototype that worked well for an XYZ product, might not generate the same effective results of your product. Therefore, you need to consider the five key factors below to make the right decision.

• Purpose
• Quality
• Quantity
• Complexity
• Cost

Let’s look deep into these factors and understand why they are important for choosing your next prototyping process.

Purpose

According to Ulrich and Eppinger, there are four reasons for creating a prototype within the engineering and development of product design as well as the product.  These four reasons include communication, learning, milestones, and integration.

The purpose of prototyping varies depending on the development stage of the product. Generally, there are four different product development stages. Every stage of product development has its own features as well as the functionality required to eliminate any sort of risk.

This would give away the fidelity type of the prototype i.e. low-fidelity or high-fidelity. The first aspect of the project prototype purpose would depend upon either the risk mitigation exercises or the planned tests.

For instance, customer interaction feedback, or test types, etc. In case, the prototype is going to go through rigorous testing, then it is important to focus on the material. After all, the material would be a deciding factor in choosing the rapid prototyping technique.

Next, you need to focus on the functional aspect of the prototype. The selection and assembling would greatly depend upon the functional expectations of the prototype. Such as, do you want any moving part of your plan to perform functional testing.

It is highly less likely that your prototype becomes successful without any tweaks. Thus, you need to consider the changes and modification factors in your mind. It is important to consider how easy or difficult it would be to make changes to the prototype.

Doing this would also aid in deciding the right prototyping technique.

The Product Development States

Product Clarifying and Planning Task

This is the stage where you will have to provide early proof of concepts. Use industrial design prototypes, demonstrations or mock-ups.

Prototyping Technique

• 3D Printed Parts
• Carboard Mockups
• CNC Machined Foam Models
• Assemblies (SLS, SLA, FDM, etc)

Conceptual Design

At the conceptual stage, you generally require scaled parts. In some cases, you would need assemblies of the design as well as limited functionality and user interface.

To get the shape, and feel of the product, you can use the FDM part. In case, you want more accuracy, you would have to move to the next level of 3D printing. Either choose the SLS, or go with the SLA. You also have the option of poly jet parts.

In case, you want metal parts, then using CNC machine at this stage would be an excellent thing to do. Furthermore, you can even consider sheet metal fabrication. However, sheet metal fabrication works in limited situations.

Embodiment Design

In this phase, you would be exploring the full functionality of the prototype. A professional rapid prototyping manufacturer would be looking into its fit, form, and functions. Therefore, focusing on details is imperative. At this stage, the prototypes would be as similar to the final product as possible.

They would be containing several parts. Also, the testing phase expands here. You cannot limit your self to just a single testing technique. On the contrary, you would be needing different units for different testing purposes.

You would also be considering the final technique for manufacturing at this stage. The reason being, you would have to stimulate it eventually. Also, focus on high-resolution printing such as SLA and SLS for plastic parts.

Paying heed to vacuum casting is also important. Both the DMLS and SLM parts are perfect for simulating casting parts.

Detailed Design

Any prototype developed in this phase would go for functional testing. Moreover, it would be used for pre-production pilot runs.

Professional rapid prototyping manufacture would use vacuum casting to prototype injection molding parts. In the case of machined plastic parts, they would be using the 3D printing technique.

Quality

As we mentioned above, the product accuracy and fidelity required would dictate the type of post-processing or process, you would need for the prototype. You need to focus on the quality of your prototype as well.

Although, high-fidelity prototypes are expensive, however, professional rapid prototyping manufacture consider them as a return on investment. For instance, you want to have a thread feature, we recommend using SLA in instead of the FDM. Unfortunately, SLA would cost you more.

Prototype Usage

The type of technology you use would also depend upon prototype usage. For example, if you plan to use the parts frequently, you should not consider self-tapping holes or 3D printed threaded holes. On the contrary, it would be used to opt for the metal inserts or machined inserts.

Material Selection

The quality of the prototype greatly depends upon the raw material. So, you need to pay close heed to the material selection aspect of the development phase. We would not recommend additive manufactured parts, especially when there is a link between the certain material properties and the functional elements of the prototype.

See the table below for the basic material choice for different manufacturing techniques.

 

3D printing	CNC	Vacuum casting
TPU, ASA, ULTEM, ABS, PLA, Nylon	PEEK, Polycarbonate, Nylon, ABS	Nylon HT, ABS ABS, Nylon Nylon HT
Inconel, Titanium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum	Brass, Titanium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum	N/A

 

It is important to consider the tolerance of prototypes parts especially when a certain prototype compromise of more than one. Tolerance consideration will also offer ease of integration.

Quantity

Another important factor that plays a vital role in deciding the type of prototyping technology is quantity. There are certain techniques that would be cost-effective for smaller quantities and vice versa.

See the following rules that apply.

Plastic Parts

Prototype processes
Plastic parts		Quantity
		Low (1's)	Medium (10's)
Size	Large	3D printing	CNC Machining Vacuum Casting
	Small	3D printing	CNC machining (simple) 3D printing (complicated)

 

 

Metallic parts

Prototype processes
Metallic Parts		Quantity
		Low (1's)	Medium (10's)
Size	Large	CNC machining	CNC machining
	Small	3D Printing CNC machining	Investment Casting CNC machining

Complexity

The complexity of the product would help aid the rapid prototype process selection process. Different processes offer different complexity. You just need to focus on the one that would suit your prototype requirement.

Cost

Lastly, you need to focus on the resources available. After all, the prototype and the resources go hand-in-hand.  You need to consider the man-hours, the money, and the time you would require to create a high-quality prototype.

Focusing on these aspects would also help you choose the right prototyping technique.

Take Away

As a professional rapid prototyping manufacturer, we keenly focus on the above 5 key factors. We fully understand that choosing the right prototyping technique would yield high-quality results. Therefore, we pay close attention to the purpose of your prototype.

In addition, we would pay close attention to the quality especially when it needs to be performed in a real-time environment. Our state-of-the-art technology helps us in handling prototyping of all sizes and shapes.

We have the ability to handle low-volume prototyping as well as mass production without having any difference in terms of quality and perfection. What more is that we choose the prototyping technique while keeping in mind the cost and the complexity of your design.

After all, every technique cannot produce high-quality, sophisticated, and complex designs. To learn more about us click here.

How to Choose the Right Rapid Prototyping Manufacturer?

A rapid prototyping manufacturer would decide the future of your product. If you reach out to a trusted prototyping company, you would have a prototype that would perfectly depict your final product. You would have a better understanding of how the product would look and work.

However, in case, you end up with an unreliable prototyping company, you will suffer consequences. As there is a high probability that their prototype lacks the finish or the functionality that you would want in your final product.

It might not be able to validate your idea in the best possible way. Therefore, it is imperative that you choose the right manufacturer. The important question here is how to find the right manufacturer? You need not to worry about that.

In the course of this article, we are going to the things that you should look at a manufacturer. So, without any further delay, let us get started!

Tips on Choosing the Best Rapid Prototyping Manufacturer

Do indebt Research -  Rapid Prototyping Manufacturer

Start with searching for different companies. To shortlist a couple of manufacturers, you should use multiple resources, but first, you need to decide whether you plan to go with an international company or a local manufacturer.

After finalizing the type of manufacturer, you need to use multiple sources to create a smart list. Search the internet for leading manufacturers. Check out different business journals, blogs, or listing to find the top manufacturers.

Write down the common names on a paper and then start looking into those names.

Check Social Media - Rapid Prototyping Manufacturer

For the companies, you have shortlisted, look out for their social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or any other platform. If the company is active on their social media, it shows there are passionate about their business.

In addition, you will be able to learn a lot about the company’s profile via their followers, comments, and reviews.

Check out the testimonials

In addition to the social media platforms, check out their testimonials. Most of the websites have testimonials on their website. Read those reviews to learn more about the prototyping company.

Ask for reference

You should never miss out on this particular step. Ask for references from all the companies that you have shortlisted. If any company is reluctant to give away its reference, cut its name on the list. A company not giving a reference is a red flag.

Avoid doing business with these kinds of shades companies.

Specialized in Prototyping

When searching for different companies, focus on the ones that provide specialized prototyping services instead of offering generalized services. Also, pay heed to their experience. After all, the amount of experience would have a direct impact on the quality of the outcome.

Since every prototype is unique, thus it helps in the building experience. You can use this experience to your advantage provided by allowing them to work with you.

Prototyping Technique

With so many different prototyping techniques available, you need to choose a one that would serve your purpose in the best possible way. An experience rapid prototyping manufacturer will be able to guide in the best possible way.

In addition, it is important for the manufacturer to specialize in more than one technique. For instance, make the manufacturer should excel at fabrication, machining, casting, or 3-D printing. Ask them regarding their specialty and see if that meets your product requirements.

When a company specializes in multiple techniques, it means it can be your one-stop solution for all prototyping needs. You can reach out to them in the future as well.

Technology Upgrade

In the modern world, technology is always changing. This advancement leads to increased demand for complex designs and the workability of the material. It is important for you to go with a company that incorporates the latest technology trends and equipment.

They should not be afraid to look out for state-of-the-art technology. Regularly updating their technology would help them high-quality, complex prototypes. Advance technology would be beneficial even if your current design is not sophisticated.

There is always a probability that you would need a more complex and sophisticated prototype in the near future. Therefore, choose a company not just for the present, but also for the future.

After all, you would not want to spend a lot of time and energy on finding another prototyping company. Just because the present one lacks the skills and technology for an upgraded prototype.

Management Processes

An important thing to understand is that prototyping designs will change over the process. They are not set in stone. A great rapid prototyping manufacturer would understand this concept. Thus, they would have a rapidly changing management process intact.

Their process would allow engineers, designers, and project management staff to adapt to all the required changes in real-time. Thus, reducing the wait time significantly. In addition, this allows the prototyping process to go on without any trouble. It increases the speed of prototyping in an effective and efficient manner.

Materials for prototyping

In addition to offering multiple prototyping techniques, the prototyping manufacturer should offer prototyping a variety of materials. Generally, metal and plastic are the top choices, so it would be a great way to start.

Ensure that the company you want to work with offers both metals as well as plastic prototyping. At the moment, you might need just one material prototyping. However, choosing a prototyping company is a long-term decision.

So, it would be wise If you go with a company that has more to offer. Make sure that the company offers variety within plastic and metal. Meaning, it should have the capability to handle different types of metals as well as plastic.

For instance, if you want a metal prototype, go for a manufacturer that offers prototyping in copper, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel among others. So, in case you want to switch material, you still can rely on the same prototyping company.

Low-Volume Production Versatility

The fast-pacing industry has resulted in extremely short development cycles. Sometimes, you might run into a situation where the next in-need manufacturing tool isn’t ready. Thus, making it impossible for you to meet your product launch date.

If that is the case, working with a company that has the capacity to handle low-volume production can be beneficial. However, not all companies have the capability to produce bridge tooling that has the ability to deliver production-grade parts. Thus, it is critical for you to choose with care.

Experienced Staff Onboard

Another important thing that you should be keen about is the professionalism and diversity of the team, the manufacturer has on board. For instance, they should have reliable design experts. These experts would have enough experience to fully comprehend your product concept and then come up with viable elements to prototype.

Likewise, the manufacturer should have an engineering team as well. The teams should excel in participating in not only the development of the model but also its design. Furthermore, machine technicians should be experienced.

Their capability of handling the tools would eventually define the quality of the prototype as well as how close it is to the actual product. The professional needs to be well-acquainted with all sorts of prototyping equipment including 3-D printing machines or CNC machining.

 Focus on the Consumers

An experienced rapid prototyping manufacturer would pay extra attention to its customer. The manufacturer genuinely cares to produce a stellar prototype for its respective consumer. Moreover, the right company invests in customer service.

They would have dedicated staff who would go to great lengths to answer all their queries and satisfy you in every possible way. After all, happy customers would ensure a flourishing business.

Take Away

Essaii is the industry leader in rapid prototyping. We would love to have the opportunity of creating a precision component or part that you would eventually replicate into thousands of finished products. You can reach out to our customer service, and gain all the answer.

Rapid prototyping technology

At the stage of designing consumer products (from cars to packaging), developers are faced with the need to visually assess appearance, correct configuration, component collectability, and evaluate sales opportunities and other issues. The answer to them requires a real model (prototype) of the product and is as close as possible to its computer development.

General prototype solution

The traditional model making method is laborious, with low accuracy and poor repeatability. However, modern production has rapid prototyping technology-RP (rapid prototyping), which means that not only prototypes (single products), but also effective methods and equipment for experimental batches, especially in plastic products.

Generally, rapid prototyping technology includes two main steps:

• Get a mathematical 3D (3D) model of the product,
• Prototyping products is one way.

Mathematical modeling. The product model in 3D format can be built using a CAD program, or it can be imported into the PC from the original model using a volume scanner. After scanning, the model must be processed using certain programs (such as the CopyCAD program in DELCAM's Power Solution system) to complete the appearance. Then send it to two directions: to the UE training system (for example, to the Power MILL system) and the prototype (if needed). The work in the first direction is completed by preparing the control unit of the CNC equipment, and the 3D model must be prototyped. Special software modules for CAD systems (for example, CopyCAD's digital module in the system DELCAM's Power Solution) return (give) the 3D model to the grid view (Figure 1) and display it in a so-called STL file (STL format )in. In these documents, the inner and outer surfaces of the model are approximated by triangles (triangulation). The surface quality of the obtained model largely depends on the approximate tolerances (Figure 1, c). In general, in order to ensure good quality, Δ = 0.1 mm with sufficient tolerance. The result description on the model surface will be written to the file.

The STL (Stereo Lithography Text Language) format originally developed for the stereolithography process was later used as the basis for other layered synthesis processes. Currently, STL is a graphical standard for displaying model data of rapid prototyping systems. It is based on the 3D triangulation method of the model surface, which is executed by triangles and can be smoothed by high-order geometric figures, thereby achieving high precision and reproducibility of the composite surface.

In the CAD system, there is usually a software module (such as Trifix in the Power Solution system), which can be used to edit and correct the STL format 3D mesh model. After that, the prototype of the developed 3D model can be obtained.

The first option is traditional. This is the method of processing wooden or plastic blanks (light metals) on CNC equipment according to the available UP. The second is to transfer the 3D model of the product in STL format to the rapid prototyping (RP) installation for synthesis.

Mechanical repair. This is the easiest and most well-known method, in which the manual labor of the simulator is replaced by machining on three or more coordinate CNC machine tools using UP (obtained in a special module and post-processor of the three-dimensional graphics program) of. Advantages: low cost, use general equipment, use special materials-long-term geometric stability.

Disadvantages: Usually, they will form undercuts on one surface of the product without undercuts; it is difficult to manufacture high and thin ribs with sharp inner corners; usually need to be processed from multiple workpiece devices; Obtain the required cavities and holes; if the model is made of metal, etc., manually debug the complexity of the model

The prototype made by mechanical processing can be used for almost any purpose: as the main model for arranging glass fiber products, using special wax to receive casting molds of thin-walled products, control assembly with other products, design estimation, etc. Until recently, such prototypes were usually made of wood, but to ensure stability and accuracy, only on special model materials can be achieved.

Rapid prototyping technology

Rapid prototyping technology is classified as a method based on material addition (as opposed to traditional machining). It is usually subdivided into liquid, powder and flake solids according to the type of consumables.

The process of using liquid consumables is in turn divided into a hardening process by contact with a laser, the hardening of a charged liquid or the hardening of a pre-melted material.

The process with powder materials performs particle bonding under the influence of laser or selective application of binders.

The processes of solid sheets can be classified by their connection method: laser or adhesive layer.

The most commonly used rapid prototyping technology:

• Stereo Lithography (SLA),
• Solid curing-solid ground curing (SGC);
• Thermoplastic applications-Fused Deposition Model (FDM)
• Thermoplastic spraying-ballistic particle manufacturing (BPM),
• Laser sintering of powder-selective laser sintering (SLS),
• Bonding Modeling-Laminated Object Modeling (LOM).

Each RP technology is based on a specific prototype creation method, has its own characteristics, and has certain advantages and disadvantages in solving specific problems.

Hierarchical synthesis methods are the most common. With its help, prototype models of almost infinite complexity can be obtained. In this case, the mathematical model of the product should be transferred to the installation in the form of an STL file. The special software for installation divides the model into a series of plane parallel parts (Figure 2). ), the distance between each other is very small (0.05-0.4 mm), depending on the installation requirements. Moreover, each part has external and internal contours, and the contours can have different complexity. In addition, these parts are made sequentially from various materials through devices (such as flat objects): laminated paper, paper, photosensitive polymer, polymer or metal powder, polymer filament, wax, special silicate sand. The serial connection (layering) of the plane object parts leads to the synthesis of product prototypes.

Stereolithography (SLA) technology. This method is based on hardening the liquid photopolymer by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV). Basically, the technology is used to obtain prototypes to verify the design and assembly, as well as a master model that is subsequently copied in silicone form. The consumables used make it possible to obtain functional prototypes with various physical and mechanical properties, temperature resistance, transparency, etc.

The Rapid prototyping is created on a platform that moves along the axis of the model building (Z) and is located in a bath with liquid polymer. Ultraviolet radiation is generated by fixed emitters (laser guns) of helium-cadmium or argon ions, and is positioned on the polymer surface using a movable mirror. The absorption and scattering of the light beam occur directly near the surface, resulting in the formation of three-dimensional pixels (volume elements).

A layer of photopolymer is coated on the substrate (1) located in the molten pool (3) (Figure 3). The laser beam (2), controlled by the installation computer, moves through the procedures in this section and highlights those parts of the layer where the material should be placed. In the exposed area, polymerization (curing) of the photopolymer occurs. Put the base down, then pour into the next polymer layer to illuminate all parts and illuminate in the same way. The thickness and surface of the layer are calibrated with a special doctor blade. After all layers have been processed, the resulting model is removed from the bath, cured, cleaned and used for its intended purpose. The factory range allows you to obtain parts with dimensions of 500 x 500 x 500 mm. The laser positioning accuracy is +/- 0.25 mm.

In obtaining the prototype, they used the support created during the computer processing phase of the 3D model types of various programs (ie internal or external “bulkheads”).

The advantages of stereo lithography (SLA) technology:

• Possibility of obtaining almost infinitely complex small parts and parts;
• Fully automated installation;
• The fidelity of model replication is high;
• The sharp edges of the model are filled with polymer, which reduces the tendency for delamination;
• This process is very popular.

Disadvantages of SLA technology:

• Long post-processing time (more than 16 hours);
• The shrinkage of the polymer during curing causes deformation of the surface shape, thus reducing the accuracy of replication;
  Chemical toxicity of polymers and bath cleaners;
• Use of limited types of polymers and their high cost;
• High technical training is required for personnel and equipment maintenance costs;
• Special supports and bulkheads need to be built to obtain protruding elements;
• After the prototype is synthesized, props and bulkheads need to be manually removed, which may cause damage;
  Need surface cleaning;
• Vulnerability, the restraint of the model over time (stability-no more than 1 month);
• Strict requirements for the room where the installation is located;
• Use expensive lasers with a limited lifetime.

Laser sintering technology-selective laser sintering (SLS). The basis of this technology is the sintering of fine particles of consumable materials under the influence of a CO2 laser. The consumables (powder) are preheated to a temperature close to the melting point of the material (or binding element). This technology requires fine powders with good viscosity and rapid hardening, thermoplastics such as polymers, waxes, nylons, ceramics, various special plastics (including glass-filled plastics), sand and metal powders.

Due to the application of this technology, functional prototypes of plastic parts, sand molds and rods for metallurgy, investment casting models, and metal parts of molds or fragments of mold forming elements can be obtained.

This technology is mainly used to obtain a single-function prototype, or to replace it in the form of silicone to obtain a batch of parts in dozens of copies.

The working principle of the device is reflected in Figure 1. 4. The bracket (2) with rollers passes through the base (1) located in the bath (5) and applies a uniform thin powder layer of about 0.15 mm (3). The roller makes the powder even. The laser beam (4), controlled by the installation computer, moves according to the procedure in this section, and sinters the powder where the model wall should be placed. After that, reduce the platform to the size of the next layer, and then select the next part of the consumable from the box, and calibrate it by the roller. Lower the base again, apply the next layer, and then the laser beam sinters the material itself and the junction between the material and the previous layer to ensure the integrity of the part. Then repeat the process.

Finally, the completed model is separated from the green powder. Some installations allow you to obtain parts with dimensions up to 300 x 330 x 430 mm.

When performing laser sintering technology, the model does not require support, because the powder itself can support the sintering model. In this case, the removed powder can be reused. The slow cooling of the powder volume prevents the product shape from being significantly deformed.

In the IF range (1.06 or 10.6μm), the laser power does not exceed 50W. The control of the powder level in the chamber is similar to the stereolithography process. Heating the chamber reduces the cost and deformation level of the laser energy used to heat the powder. Nitrogen (98%) can be supplied to the chamber while heating the powder to avoid oxidation.

The advantages of selective laser sintering (SLS):

The resulting model has the characteristics of the overall material (for example, the elasticity of plastic, the hardness of sintered metal, the heat resistance of sand), thus greatly expanding the scope of application.

• Cheap and non-toxic materials;
• Widely used powders: from found wax to polymers used to join complex and/or large parts;
• No support required;
• Low model deformation and stress levels;
• The ability to produce multiple models simultaneously in one camera.

Disadvantages of selective laser sintering (SLS) technology:

The roughness of the resulting model is very high,
Model porosity
A first layer of similar material needs to be formed to reduce thermal effects,
The model density may change,
Replacing the material requires cleaning the entire camera.
Solid ground curing (SGC) curing technology is a complex multi-step process (see Figure 5). The computer divides the model into several parts (each layer, position 1, figure 5). Then, using a special toner on the glass plate (2), an image of a given layer is created to form its "photomask"-photomask. First, on the table top, then (after constructing the next layer), apply a thin layer of resin on the formed layer and flatten it (photopolymer, position 4, Figure 5). Above this layer and above the photomask (2), turn on the light of the UV lamp (Figure 5, item 3)) Since the lamp is only turned on for a few seconds, only the layer currently using its photomask The resin can be cured. Remove the uncured resin and fill the cavity with molten wax. The wax will harden quickly (item 5 in Figure 5).

Flatten (grind) the resulting hardened resin and wax layer to the desired thickness (position 6 in Figure 5). Next, the part is exposed to ultraviolet radiation again to finally form the layer. Then repeat the process: create a photomask for the next layer (position 1 in Figure 5), distribute a new liquid resin layer along the already formed layer, and so on. Therefore, the number of photomasks corresponds to the number of layers formed. This process is carried out in a vacuum. The build accuracy is 0.084 mm, the build speed is 70 and 120 seconds/layer, and the layer thickness is 0.1-0.2 mm. This process was developed by Cubital Inc. (Israel), production Solider installation. The working volume of one of the devices is 360 x 360 x 360 mm.

Benefits of firm ground curing (SGC):

No post-processing required;
The complexity of the model only affects the time of its complete manufacturing, and does not affect the manufacturing speed of its parts;
Additional lighting reduces the internal stress of the model;
The process can be suspended;
At the center of gravity, the model may be heavier;
No backup is needed during synthesis;
You can create models with mobile components;
You can remove the defect layer and then continue the process;
The ability to synthesize multiple parts simultaneously.
Disadvantages of solid ground curing (SGC) technology:

Overheating of expensive polymers increases their viscosity and cannot be reused,
The material is toxic and requires ultraviolet radiation in a special room;
Large installation weight
Noise during installation,
It requires the constant presence of operators,
The ability to use only a few materials,
The wax needs to be removed after the model is synthesized.

Prototype of Metal Parts Production Methods

Metal Casting Prototypes, Prototype of metal parts 2020

When it comes to completing the manufacture of metal parts, there are many ways for users to open, this is first to use traditional technologies (such as CNC and casting), and finally 3D printers. Choosing the right option is very difficult, but the Xometry team of professional engineers summarizes various technologies and describes their main advantages.

Direct Laser Metal Sintering (DMLS)

With DMLS, users can create rather complex geometric shapes, which cannot be done using more traditional methods. In addition, the strength of metal parts is almost the same as the strength of fully cast, their advantage is that each element can be created at different times.

The most suitable metals for DMLS are Aluminum Extrusion and stainless steel. The technology itself is more suitable for:

• Create parts with complex geometries;
• Production of spare parts for outdated systems;
• Small products and functional prototypes.

Metal binder spray

This option is an economical solution and has several advantages over the previous one. Materials such as stainless steel and bronze inclusions (40% to 60%) can be used here

MBJ is suitable for creating:

• Cheap metal parts;
• Products created by DMLS cannot be used due to size;
• Spare parts with high corrosion resistance.

Rapid  CNC machining

Using CNC machine tools, high-precision parts with high-quality surfaces can be created. Users can use a variety of metals and have precise tolerances and various roughness options. For those who need to quickly manufacture any part and start using it immediately, CNC is a good choice.

Use the machine for the following items:

• High-quality materials are required;
• Have strict tolerance;
• Create in proportion;
• Improvements are needed, including anodizing, metallization and spraying.

Sheet metal processing

With sheet metal, you can create thin-walled parts that cannot be created using milling machines or other techniques. The product itself can be made of aluminum, copper, stainless steel, steel and zinc.

The metal plate is best for:

• Parts with thin metal walls;
• Create brackets, boxes, boxes and chassis;
• Light parts.

People all over the world have been arguing about something better-using traditional production methods or 3D technology. But the answer is always in the middle as usual-each technology has its own advantages and disadvantages, but they can complement each other perfectly and can be used to manufacture truly high-quality parts.