High Density Stacking Capability Drives Productivity in End-Use 3D Part Production at Decathlon

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Consumer Products and Retail

Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, is using the high-speed Figure 4 platform and new stacking feature of 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint® software to enable direct production of 3D printed end-use parts. The stacking feature enables batch production of one or multiple parts through a combination of user-defined and automated tools, and removes significant time from the print preparation process.

“By stacking parts we are able to print in batches of 100, and have reduced the time it takes to prepare a build from 30-60 minutes to just 6-10 minutes. The combination of stacking and production-grade materials makes Figure 4 ready for production.”

– Gregoire Mercusot, Materials Engineer, ADDLAB, Decathlon

Decathlon eyeglass component designed to connect the lens to the frame

Decathlon used Figure 4 to solve an injection mold problem for a small component for shooting glasses that connects the frame to the lenses.

The Challenge

VALIDATE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION WITH ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

When faced with a mold injection problem on a small component for shooting glasses that connects the frame to the lenses, Decathlon opted to test the new 3D stacking solution developed by 3D Systems to evaluate additive manufacturing for production. After conducting a feasibility study on the Figure 4 solution and stacking feature, Decathlon’s teams confirmed the productivity and economics of additive manufacturing and decided that this solution could be considered for batch-run production of the final product.

Figure 4 build plate full of stacked 3D printed parts

Figure 4 solution with 3D Sprint stacking feature enables batch-run production.

The Solution

01 Part Stacking Feature in 3D Sprint Software

Decathlon’s additive manufacturing lab (ADDLAB) uses 3D Systems’ Figure 4 3D printing solution across a range of applications (including mold master patterns), and is now considering using the new high density part stacking capability of 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint software to facilitate direct production. 3D Sprint is an advanced, all-in-one software that streamlines the file-to-pattern workflow with tools for print file preparation and optimization, including automatic support generation, and optimized part placement to maximize productivity. The new stacking feature helps users print high volume batches with an efficient file preparation workflow.

To use the stacking feature, users import a part and base file, define the stack in terms of orientation and part quantities, and use automated tools to replicate consecutive vertical stack layers and supports. According to Decathlon engineer Gregoire Mercusot, stacking has reduced print preparation time by as much as 80%. Builds that used to take 30 minutes to an hour to prepare can now be completed in six to 10 minutes.

Mercusot says the utility of this function goes well beyond production: “I use this feature several times a week whenever I need multiple parts. It’s incredible for production, but it’s also very useful for prototyping,” he says.

Screenshot from 3D Sprint software demonstrating strut feature for stacked manufacturing

The stacking feature of 3D Sprint helps users print high volume batches with an efficient file preparation workflow.

02 Production-Grade Materials

Decathlon is using the Figure 4® PRO-BLK 10 material for this functional eyeglass component, citing the material’s strong rigid properties and fast print speeds (62 mm/hr) as key benefits. This high precision material produces parts with smooth surface finish and sidewall quality, and has excellent long-term mechanical properties and environmental stability, bringing a new level of assurance to 3D production. From its production feasibility study, Decathlon confirmed reproducibility across print batches and full functionality of the part.

End-use part produced at Decathlon using Figure 4 stacked manufacturing

The stacking capability of Figure 4 brings efficiencies of scale to post-processing as well as part building.

03 Print Speed

Figure 4 is a projection-based additive manufacturing technology that uses a non-contact membrane to combine accuracy and amazing detail fidelity with ultra-fast print speeds. Decathlon uses the Figure 4 Modular system to print stacks of 100 parts in 85 minutes, which is equivalent to just 42 seconds per part. The Figure 4 Modular is a scalable, semi-automated 3D production solution comprised of a central controller that can be paired with a single printer-module up to 24 printer modules, making it a flexible option that poises businesses for growth.

04 Post-Processing

The high-density stacking capability of Figure 4 brings efficiencies of scale to post-processing as well as part building, allowing Decathlon to treat a batch of parts the same as a single part. This means that the time it would take for Decathlon to clean, cure, and remove the supports from a single part remains the same, even for a batch of 100 parts. For Decathlon’s safety glass application, it takes six minutes to clean all 100 parts, 90 minutes of hands-free time to cure them, and ten minutes to remove supports from the entire batch

Same-Day Silicone and PU Parts Speed Development at BWT Alpine F1® Team

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Automotive and Transportation

Speed is the name of the game in Formula One (F1) racing, both on the track and for everything behind the scenes. Using 3D Systems’ innovative eggshell molding solution, BWT Alpine F1 Team has gained the production speed, quality and flexibility it needs to innovate and accelerate development on silicone and polyurethane parts like never before.

“With the Figure 4 eggshell molding solution I’m  seeing things every day that I’ve never seen before. I can’t think of another way we could make this many different components in this many silicone and PU materials at this relentless of a pace.”

– Pat Warner, Advanced Digital Manufacturing Manager, BWT Alpine F1 Team 

RAPIDLY PRODUCE MOLDED ELASTOMERIC PARTS FOR WIND TUNNEL AND ON-CAR APPLICATIONS

Example of a universal gasket used in wind tunnel testing, designed to print in a batch of 36 on the Figure 4 Standalone.

Example of a universal gasket used in wind tunnel testing, designed to print in a batch of 36 on the Figure 4 Modular.

Conventional tooling methods for molding silicone and polyurethane parts are time consuming, often excluding them from consideration for F1 development. With only a few months between racing seasons and a push for nonstop progress year-round, speed of production, testing and iteration is paramount. Given the grueling environment of the track and wind tunnel, there is no negotiating part performance either.

Shortening development and manufacturing time

3D Systems’ Figure 4 solution for eggshell molding enables BWT Alpine F1 Team to produce a diverse range of high-quality molded silicone and polyurethane parts in record speed, providing unprecedented access to one-off and iterative parts using conventional molding materials. The straightforward workflow keeps up with the aggressive pace of Formula One, making it a tremendous asset to the team. For example, casted grommets or seals that would take multiple days or weeks using conventional metal tooling or vacuum casting can now be delivered in a single day using Figure 4.

BWT Alpine F1 Team runs multiple builds a day on its Figure 4® Modular 3D printer for a wide range of casting tools for on-car parts and testing. Pat Warner, BWT Alpine F1 Team’s advanced digital manufacturing manager, estimates that most 3D printed eggshell molds print in just 90 minutes, with the largest builds taking up to three hours.

Workflow of the Eggshell Molding or Digital Silicone Tooling Process

Eggshell molding is a sacrificial manufacturing technique that uses 3D printing to produce a thin, single-use mold that is injected with the final production material and then broken away.

Flexibility across multiple applications

The team’s productivity gains extend beyond same-day parts to the ability to address a wide range of applications using the Figure 4 eggshell molding process. The process relies on 3D Systems’ Figure 4® EGGSHELL-AMB 10 material, a process-optimized material for producing sacrificial tooling with the flexibility to deliver final parts in a range of silicones, polyurethanes and other materials such as metals and ceramics. Figure 4 EGGSHELL-AMB 10 is a rigid plastic specifically engineered to withstand injection at high temperature and pressure, but which breaks away easily after casting.

According to Warner, this flexibility has been a major benefit: “We have a huge array of materials, and we can basically use all of them in the period of a day.” This allows the team to look at a broad range of applications varying in stiffness, elongation, color and other properties. “I can’t think of another way we could make this many different components,” Warner said. Most applications currently addressed using 3D Systems’ eggshell molding solution fall into the categories of grommets, seals and gaskets, which are used throughout the car.

Suspension seal and frame produced using Figure 4 EGGSHELL-AMB 10 and DuraForm PA, respectively

Suspension seal and frame for testing produced with polyurethane casting using Figure 4® EGGSHELL-AMB 10 and selective laser sintering in DuraForm® PA, respectively.

03 Straightforward workflow

The straightforward CAD to casting workflow begins with sending the file to print within 3D Sprint®, an all-in-one software for polymer 3D printing. The software’s extensive toolset includes options for adding supports as well as managing the printing process. Once printed, BWT Alpine F1 Team post-processes the casting shells, which involves cleaning the parts and post-curing them in the LC-3DPrint Box post-curing unit. This process takes roughly two hours and primarily consists of a 90-minute, hands-off post-cure.

After UV post-curing, BWT Alpine F1 Team coats the 3D printed casting shell in a chemical releasing agent and the shell is ready for polyurethane or silicone pouring. Cure times vary depending on the material used and can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours.

Silicone bellows for car braking system

Silicone bellows like the above are being produced at BWT Alpine F1 Team for the car’s braking system.

04 Performance in a grueling environment

The performance demands on Formula One parts are extreme. Races take up to two hours, during which the entire vehicle is subjected to wildly varying temperatures, intense vibration and brutal forces. “It’s a horrible environment to put something you haven’t seen before yesterday,” said Warner, “and we are always striving for perfection. We must ensure that all our parts perform the tasks they are given.” The parts produced using 3D Systems’ eggshell molding solution meet this high threshold for performance. Warner says the surface quality is very good, which is especially important for aerodynamic parts. The ability to rapidly produce high quality, high performance parts also makes it possible for the team to now modify parts that were previously deprioritized due to the extreme time constraints of the sport.

Bottom line, the benefits of 3D technologies along with dedicated software are direct and substantial over conventional metrology. Components were positioned in hours, rather than days. Time savings on measurements, increased accuracy, removing user error and unmatched traceability, are just some of the benefits of state-of-the-art measurement technology.

MRO: How to Choose the Best 3D Measurement Solution?

To choose the right 3D measurement solution for your maintenance, repair and engineering project, start by mapping out your current 3D measurement or inspection process, and identify the major, most recurring problems of your workflow and opportunities for improvement.

Of course, accuracy, portability and price all make great impact on decision making, but the more information you can get about the target application and the results you want to generate, the better your choice will be.

Considerations with respect to object dimensions, environment, processing speed and software compatibility will help you find the solution that best fits your needs. That way you will probably be able to start simple and scale things up along the way.

For instance, decision-makers in the aerospace MRO industry will tend to orient their choice based on the fact that the objects to scan are relatively large, that the environment greatly affects the surfaces, and that time is of the essence: the longer aircraft are grounded, the more stakeholders lose money.

Do not hesitate to reach out to various providers to ask for a demonstration and discuss your current challenges with 3D measurement specialists. Creaform offers a full suite of 3D solutions for this type of work: metrology graded, truly portable, fast and versatile. We maintain an ISO 17025 accredited in-house calibration laboratory and can provide unmatched support across the world. Creaform offers traceable solutions that will provide you measurements you can rely on.

Figure 4® 3D Printer adds Precision and Productivity for Swedish Design Agency, Splitvision

Product: Frigure 4
Industry: Electronics and Semiconductors

The Stockholm-based product design agency, Splitvision Design, is among the first Nordic companies to invest in 3D Systems’ Figure 4® Standalone 3D printer. With its investment, the company can now evaluate fitting and assembly with incredible accuracy before moving in to serial production. At the same time, the Figure 4 Standalone gives the company a productivity boost in prototyping.

Splitvision, a Nordic industrial design agency, adopts Figure 4 3D printing

Splitvision, a Nordic industrial design agency, adopts Figure 4 3D printing

Since its inception some 30 years ago, Splitvision Design (then named Formbolaget), has done a wide variety of design work – from point-of-sale solutions to bespoke truck cabs. Today, it works almost exclusively with industrial design for technology-intensive companies in the medtech and automotive verticals. The thing that makes Splitvision unique is that it offers services that stretch beyond the average design agency – with a focus on manufacturing and logistics.

“Even though we set out as a traditional design agency, over the years, we’ve seen that we get a better and more controllable manufacturing process when we focus on these steps,” says Lukass Legzdins, R&D manager at Splitvision Design.

“We went from just working with design, up to engineering, planning, purchasing and logistics,” adds Legzdins. We also have offices in China that handle the day-to-day contact with manufacturing over there. Here, we also perform quality control and monitor the supply chain. All in all, this creates really good results, and enables us to add a lot more value to manufacturing even at the concept phase.”

Better prototyping with Figure 4 3D printing

Product designs include cases for delicate electronics such as hearing aids

Product designs include cases for delicate electronics such as hearing aids

This type of turnkey commitment is also reflected in prototyping. With its new Figure 4 Standalone 3D printer from 3D Systems, installed by PLM Group, the company is expanding its services portfolio and adds competence to product development. Now, Splitvision can offer better physical prototypes, printed inhouse. At the same time, with the help of its high-quality 3D printed parts, they can optimize the data needed before ordering injection molding tools.

Before using 3D printing, prototyping was tedious and manual work. The company worked with materials in foam and plastics to explore geometries and ergonomics, sometimes in full scale. Prototypes for functional tests or for customer review were bought from a third party supplier, either from Sweden or China.

“Then, all of a sudden, there was this period when we had a massive amount of products under development, and everything basically piled up as we waited around for our 3D printed prototypes,” said Legzdins. “That’s the moment we decided to invest in an inhouse 3D printer, and luckily, it coincided with us discovering the Figure 4.”

Splitvision had no prior experience with Figure 4 technology, which is an offshoot of SLA, stereolithography. It had previously gone under the radar, as SLA parts rarely displayed the mechanical properties the company needed. But with the Figure 4, the technology suddenly became very interesting.

Additive Beyond Expectations

Splitvision has worked for several years with a number of innovative medtech companies, including several hearing aid brands. The production often consists of associated products, such as hearing aid casings, as the companies have optimized their production lines for their core products. But hearing aid casings can be tricky to design and manufacture. They need to protect the hearing aid, be of excellent quality and reflect the brand, and be durable over time.

“3D Systems’ Figure 4 ELAST-BLK 10 material has the same properties as rubber. It’s beyond our expectations,” says Lukass Legzdins, R&D manager, Splitvision.

“3D Systems’ Figure 4 ELAST-BLK 10 material has the same properties as rubber. It’s beyond our expectations,” says Lukass Legzdins, R&D manager, Splitvision.

The casings that Splitvision design and manufacture are partly made of TPE or silicone. The soft lining keeps the hearing aids in place and protects them from everyday wear and tear. But 3D printing TPE and silicone is next to impossible if you want good results. The only option is to mold, which is a big challenge when you want to evaluate design and investigate potential assembly challenges.

“After receiving a number of print samples from PLM Group, we realized that 3D Systems’ Figure 4 ELAST-BLK 10 material had the same properties as rubber. It was beyond our expectations,” Legzdins. “The material enables well-defined surfaces. We can see detailed shapes and facets. But most importantly, it allows us to evaluate the assembly process to identify potential challenges. Overall, it’s an excellent way for us to get confirmation of the geometry, while at the same time enabling our customers to do their own user tests.”

Combined with using the rigid Figure 4 TOUGH-GRY 15 material, Splitvision can add more detail to their parts. With the high resolution of the printer, there’s rarely any need for finishing.

“One could say that our Figure 4 takes us one step closer to reality,”said Legzdins. “Previously, we added more margin to our CAD files before ordering tools. Now, we can skip one or two steps in the development phase, as we have much more geometrical data from the 3D printed prototypes. The result is fewer incremental changes and adjustments to the tool.”

The Figure 4 printer also reflects Splitvision’s core values in product development.

“When we work with customers, we want to add our competence in design and manufacturing, wherever we see that we can optimize function. We use this knowledge to raise the quality of the product to new levels,”said Legzdins.

Drastically reduces costs and shortens lead times with 3d systems’ large-format pellet-extrusion 3d printing

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Automotive and Transportation

Duo Form, a leader in thermoforming for a wide variety of industries, advances its production capabilities with polymer pellet-extrusion additive manufacturing (AM). By collaborating with 3D Systems to integrate AM into its manufacturing processes and leveraging its Titan 3D printer, Duo Form is drastically decreasing costs, shortening lead times, and becoming more agile by 3D printing representative samples, production molds, and tools for thermoforming and vacuum forming processes.

“We have gained a lot of business with our Titan 3D printer. The turnaround time for parts, molds, and formed parts has put us leaps and bounds above our competition.” 

– David Rheinheimer, Duo Form Product Development Manager

Time, Cost, and Delays in the Production Process

In the competitive thermoformed plastics market, Duo Form continually works to innovate its manufacturing process, shorten lead times and reduce costs to better serve its customers and win new business. At the same time, maintaining mold quality and durability is key.

Time and cost savings are not the only challenges, thermoformers like Duo Form face. They also need to innovate quickly with design iteration and produce full-scale prototypes to avoid delays in the approval and production process.

Producing Molds with AM

3d systems titan customer duo form thermoform mold

Duo Form now 3D prints thermoforming molds using polymer pellet-extrusion on its Titan 3D printer, replacing traditional CNC methods to create ceramic or metal molds. Large-format pellet-extrusion AM uses cost-effective thermoplastic pellets that are common to other extrusion manufacturing such as injection molding, and which cost up to 10X less than traditional FDM filaments. 3D Systems’ pellet extrusion systems also enable high-throughput printing, with print speeds up to 10X faster than filament systems. 

3D Systems and Duo Form identified a grade of glass-filled polycarbonate pellets as an ideal material for printing thermoform molds, as it is affordable, easily procured, and has proven to withstand the thermoforming process as a durable and dimensionally accurate material.

Duo Form also leverages 3D Systems’ printing experience to achieve optimal printing parameters to print molds with the right porosity to function as vacuum passages. This unique ability of additively manufactured molds eliminates the need for special tools to properly form cavities into the thermoformed component, further reducing time and labor costs for producing molds. 

Innovation and Design Iteration with AM

Incorporating AM goes beyond the mold-making process for Duo Form. As a leading innovator in its industry, Duo Form also utilizes its Titan 3D printer to quickly print sample parts of final products to present to customers ahead of making the tool. Directly printing parts for design approval before proceeding to the mold-making process has opened the door for faster design iteration and overall shorter lead times.

Significant Cost Savings and Reduction in Lead Times

3d systems titan customer duo form thermoform part closeup

Duo Form saw immediate results with the first thermoform mold the company printed on its Titan pellet-based 3D printer, a shower pan for a recreation vehicle. 3D printing the small shower pan reduced costs by more than 50 percent and printing took less than 20 hours, resulting in a high-quality mold with similar longevity to traditionally manufactured molds. Duo Form Product Development Manager David Rheinheimer reported that this 3D printed mold went into production and has been pulled over 1,000 shots without showing any significant wear and is still producing 100% quality parts. 

Duo Form and 3D Systems also partnered on a project to produce a train interior panel using the Titan pellet extrusion system to demonstrate AM for large-format mold production. 3D printing this 1,294 mm x 410 mm x 287 mm mold shows the potential for up to 88 percent estimated cost reduction and up to 65 percent reduction in lead time compared to traditional ceramic mold methods and even greater savings when compared to traditional aluminum mold methods.

worker carrying duo form thermoform part

Since implementing AM as part of its manufacturing process, Duo Form says the company has won more business and now closes deals faster thanks to the speed and agility of pellet-extrusion 3D printing. As an example, Rheinheimer shared how Duo Form 3D printed a sample part to present to a customer along with a quote for forming the part. The customer, impressed with the speed and ability to see the final design first, awarded Duo Form the bid that same day. This is now standard practice for Duo Form and brings added value to its customers.

Rheinheimer says he can also see another value AM brings to manufacturers when it comes to storing molds, especially for products that are out of production but may need to be formed in the future for spare parts. With AM, a digital inventory means you can eliminate the need to store legacy molds, and instead quickly print a new mold whenever the need arises.

Additive manufacturing complements conventional production processes. Duo Form’s adoption of large-format pellet extrusion 3D printing exemplifies how AM and traditional methods can work together to achieve optimal manufacturing speed, cost management, and quality part production. 

Hankook Tire

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Automotive and Transportation

Hankook Tire & Technology is more than a tire manufacturer. With a focus on automation and technology that will enable “The Future Driving Innovator,” the Seoul-based company has put electrical vehicles at the center of what they do. Recently, Hankook needed a way to quickly and cost-effectively drive innovation by iterating multiple plastic and elastomeric designs with complex geometries for its i-Flex nonpneumatic tire (NPT), which would eventually become a key component in Hankook’s award-winning HPS-Cell autonomous mobility platform. By leveraging 3D Systems’ plastic and elastomer additive manufacturing technologies, Hankook’s Design Studio was able to quickly iterate designs and share production-grade parts among their designing, and testing teams while reducing costs. 

“The main purpose of using 3D printing is to communicate better with R&D before they build the actual mold to produce the tire. The traditional molds are machined and cost a lot of money and time to develop, but that’s also been the conventional way to figure out a new design, shape, and even volume. Now, using additive manufacturing technologies from 3D Systems, we can work faster with R&D to figure out the shape or structure using small portions of the structure and then test our prototypes for safety, noise, and other parameters.” 

– Rosa Youn, Design Innovation Studio Manager, Hankook Tire & Technology
 

Hankook display tire showing intricate details

The Challenge

Expedite multimaterial, complex tire and wheel designs and testing while cutting costs

Hankook Tire & Technology understands that autonomous mobility solutions of the future require a new generation of tires that combine minimal maintenance with maximum safety and comfort. With their low maintenance and increased safety, NPTs are predestined for this field of application but developing an NPT that checks all these boxes presented a complex and costly design challenge. Hankook designers believed that a biomimetic design that mimicked biological tissues would provide internal support for the NPT, but with a nearly infinite number of possible cellular structure designs, Hankook’s Design Studio needed a way to quickly evaluate partial parts as well as scale complete models. 

Traditional prototyping methods for new tires often started with a 2D sketch, transitioning to a 3D CAD design that would be translated into an aluminum mold through skilled human machinists. The entire process was too costly and too slow, with each iteration taking potentially weeks or months. 

Furthermore, the NPT’s biomimetic supporting “spokes” matrix challenged even the most capable machining stations due to its complex hollow, interconnected structures. After exploring multiple additive systems for rapid prototyping and low-volume production, Hankook chose 3D Systems’ Figure 4 technology platform for the plastic support structures and rubber tread. Hankook also turned to 3D Systems’ partner CP Tech for selective laser sintering (SLS) for conepting the metal tire structures and hinges, which turbocharged the development of their i-Flex NPT prototypes. The result, as Hankook designers like to say, is the future of mobility. 

The Solution

1 – Spoke Structures for Nonpneumatic Tire i-Flex

Hankook 3D printed tire parts

Various iterations and concepts of spokes printed with 3D Systems additive manufacturing technologies (r) that led to the final design of the Hankook HPS Cell (L)

Hankook’s NPT tire includes a complex biomimetic plastic matrix for internal support, an elastomeric external tire tread, and metal parts that perform some of the support functions of a tire rim plus additional functions necessary for autonomous vehicles. Machining these hollow structures in plastic would be nearly impossible. 

“For us, because of [3D Systems’] additive manufacturing technologies, we can design or make anything we want to or anything we can imagine. This technology can eliminate the limits of manufacturing, which is really great for us. With traditional product design for example, building and machining, there are a lot of limits. Machine tools have limits. Additive manufacturing does not have these limits,” said Hee Sung Jang, Design Innovation Studio Designer, Hankook Tire & Technology.

Using the Figure 4 platform, Hankook designers are able to quickly iterate different support matrices using Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10 plastic with its thermoplastic-like mechanical properties. The Hankook Design Studio team could quickly turn 3D designs of different biomimetic matrixes into partial or scaled prototypes that maintain the same cellular spacing ¬— which is critically important to downstream testing — all while constraining development costs. With partial parts that include full-scale cellular structures, Design Studio designers could quickly gauge relative strengths among candidate designs using physical testing before proceeding into full tire assembly. 
 

2 – Noise Control Testing on Tire Segments

Tires, including NPT tires, need to be safe and durable, but they also need to be aesthetically and acoustically pleasing. In short, people won’t buy ugly tires, and they won’t keep buying loud tires. After developing the NPT support matrix, Hankook Design Studio designers were able to develop partial and scaled tread designs using Figure 4 RUBBER-65A BLK elastomeric materials. 

“By using those materials and partial parts, we can evaluate the part for noise and safety,” said Mrs. Youn. “The test system flows air or water into the channel or groove, [and] we measure the noise to understand if the structure is correct or not.” She added that in the future, building these treads in translucent Figure 4 material will make the process even easier, allowing engineers to see how fluid travels down the tread grooves, a key part of tire safety in adverse weather.

Additionally, printing tire treads makes it easy for manufacturing engineers to evaluate new NPTs for stability and potential cracking and reduced reliability.  
 

A close up of a hankook tire

Hankook’s NPT design includes plastic components for internal support, rubber materials for tire tread, and metal components for tire rim and support. All three elements are shown here.

3 – Moving Parts on New Concept–Type Tires

Additive manufacturing’s ability to develop complex shapes also allowed Hankook designers to develop internal grooves and structures that help connect the tires’ three primary elements: tread, NPT support matrixes, and moving thermoplastic rim components. The thermoplastic components were manufactured by CP Tech, using 3D Systems’ SLS  technology. This was new to Hankook, as traditional tires don’t consist of any moving parts.  

“One of the main reasons we chose 3D Systems over the competition is that their material selection is so broad,” said Rosa Youn, Design Innovation Studio Manager, Hankook Tires. “It covers all the material requirements we have. In addition the Figure 4 is fast. Time saving, reliability, service, best troubleshooting, and also availability of the system and reasonable price were our key decision factors. We believe in the value of 3D Systems’ Figure 4. For me it is one of the best additive manufacturing systems in the world.”
 

4 – Standard Visual Prototypes of Tire Profiles

Hankook Design Studio has already expanded the use of the Figure 4 platform, using it to develop traditional tire treads and profiles for testing. This is allowing for faster iterations of all new product designs, not just the revolutionary but the evolutionary as well.

un primer plano de un neumático Hankook que muestra las texturas de la banda de rodadura
In addition to helping Hankook’s Design Center quickly develop and test NPT tire designs, the company can also use it to quickly evaluate new tread designs for road noise and other key factors, reducing time to market and costs for all new tire designs at Hankook.
Centro de diseño de Hankook que muestra una fila de impresoras Figure 4
In addition to helping Hankook’s Design Center quickly develop and test NPT tire designs, the company can also use it to quickly evaluate new tread designs for road noise and other key factors, reducing time to market and costs for all new tire designs at Hankook.

Hearing Aid Company Solves Manufacturing Challenges with Rigid and Rubber 3D Printing Production Resins on Figure 4 Solution

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Consumer Products

WS Audiology, a leading hearing aid company, has adopted 3D Systems’ Figure 4 high-speed 3D printing solution to improve the quality and function of its injection molding manufacturing processes with the 3D printing of production-grade grippers, fixtures, and prototypes at its Lynge, Denmark, site. A pioneer in 3D printing for the manufacturing of hearing aid shells, WS Audiology has expanded its use of 3D printing to solve a range of manufacturing line and product development challenges, citing the quality, performance, and material versatility of Figure 4 as key benefits of the solution.

“We saw early on that the Figure 4 had the right qualifications in terms of output quality, production performance, and [breadth] of materials.”

– Henry Frederiksen, Tool Designer, WS Audiology

IMPROVING QUALITY AND FUNCTION OF SMALL PARTS TRANSPORTATION

There are many different injection molded parts within WS Audiology’s Widex brand hearing aids. These parts include encasings, contacts, and blocks for electronics that are fitted in each hearing aid, some of which are as small as 8mm x 3mm. Due to their size, this category of parts requires robotic rather than manual handling, involving suction cups for larger parts, and metal grippers for small parts. However, these handling methods have shortcomings. The suction cups have difficulty properly orienting parts, which leads to loss of grip, and the metal-based grippers are prone to leaving marks on the parts in addition to having long manufacturing lead times.

Figura 4 parte impresa con regla para mostrar precisión

High Accuracy 3D Printing

WS Audiology experienced several major benefits of using 3D printing to manufacture hearing aid shells, including both a final product with substantially higher-quality and an eight-fold productivity increase. Following this success with the technology, the decision to extend the company’s 3D printing applications to solve its workflow transportation problems was an easy one.

3D Systems’ Figure 4 solution is a projection-based additive manufacturing technology that uses a non-contact membrane to combine accuracy and amazing detail fidelity with ultra-fast print speeds. WS Audiology uses the Figure 4 Standalone, an affordable and versatile solution that offers speed, quality, and accuracy with industrial-grade durability, service, and support, as well as quick material changeovers for enhanced application versatility.

Rapid Design Iteration

The task was assigned to WS Audiology’s Tooling Department. According to tool designer Henry Federiksen, taking on this project with Figure 4 gave him a lot of confidence, and the speed of the solution enabled more parts to be produced, tested, and confirmed in a shorter period of time.

 Production Speed

A key benefit to using the Figure 4 solution is the ability to produce parts without tooling. WS Audiology is able to go directly from a digital file to a physical part, removing a significant amount of time from its typical processes. According to Frederiksen, 3D printed grippers are usually available in a day or two, leaving a lot of happy customers in the injection molding department.

 Production-Capable Materials

For WS Audiology’s production tooling applications, it is taking advantage of Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10 and Figure 4 RUBBER-65A BLK. The range of materials available with the Figure 4 platform makes it possible to address a broad set of applications with greater diversity in material properties, with material chemistries that have been engineered for long-term use, up to 1.5 years for outdoor parts and up to 8 years for indoor parts (per ASTM testing methods). Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10 is a production-grade rigid material, and Figure 4 RUBBER-65A is a mid-tear strength, production-grade rubber with Shore 65A hardness and a high elongation at break.  

Placa de construcción de la impresora 3D independiente Figure 4 en WS Audiology llena de piezas

ACS Custom Develops, Produces Custom Products in Days with Figure 4 Standalone

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Electronics and Semiconductors

UK-based digital production house Advanced Communication Solutions (ACS) Custom specializes in soft silicone custom hearing protection and in-ear monitors. Answering customer needs for audio enhancement, hearing protection, and communication, ACS Custom has built its business around a 100% digital workflow that provides customers with quick access to one-of-a-kind articles.

ACS Custom’s digital workflow is comprised of digitization, design, and additive manufacturing. Using 3D Systems Figure 4® Standalone 3D printers and production-grade Figure 4 materials, including Figure 4® PRO-BLK 10 and Figure 4® EGGSHELL-AMB 10, ACS Custom is able to produce accurate, customized products at unmatched rates of speed. Thus, when a local Formula One team approached the company for help bringing better fit and function to its headsets, ACS Custom was able to confidently promise and deliver a custom, high quality, fully 3D printed solution within just a few days – including customer design reviews.

An ideal workflow for custom products

Setting up a print on Figure 4 Standalone at ACS Custom

ACS Custom specializes in products that solve problems for its clients, and founder and managing director Andy Shiach says the digital workflow is ideally suited to its business: “When we decide we want to make a product, we can design it and print it within the space of a couple days. Then, if we realize we need to revise our design, we can do that immediately.”

This manufacturing approach and responsiveness is only possible through additive manufacturing. “If we had to tool and injection mold the products we make, the time and costs involved would be prohibitive,” Shiach adds. Instead, a digital workflow with Figure 4 Standalone makes it possible for the company to go from a design concept to a final product in as little as three to four days.

“Our digital workflow helps us quickly and accurately answer the wants and needs of our clients,” says Shiach. For instance, ACS Custom has developed several creative products for a UK Formula One team to achieve a top-level communications system. Developed and produced within a week, each product responds to the demands and environments of the target staff, from helmeted pit crews to hospitality agents touring VIP guests around the facilities. However the utility of ACS Custom’s products extends well beyond the racetrack: “Wherever there’s a noise environment, our products can offer a solution,” says Shiach. “And a lot of our products don’t exist yet. It’s really exciting to have this technology at our fingertips to be able to fill needs for our customers.”

Prototyping and production at top speeds

ACS Custom uses its digital workflow for both prototyping and production parts. The company is continually exploring new applications for its Figure 4 Standalone printers, and has had success with a variety of housings for PC boards and earphones as well as earphone jacks and adapters. The printed features ACS Custom achieves likewise demonstrate the breadth of this manufacturing technology’s capabilities, with wall thicknesses from 0.3 millimeters to 1-millimeter, smooth surfaces, knurled surfaces, and even functional, fine threading. “We’re using the printers pretty much full time and the components are fantastic,” Shiach says. “The quality, repeatability, materials – all fantastic.”

In addition to direct production applications, ACS Custom uses its 3D printers for eggshell casting. This technique takes advantage of the ability to print ultra-thin walls with Figure 4 to create molds for injecting silicone with Figure 4 EGGSHELL-AMB 10 material. Once injected, the 3D printed mold can be broken and peeled away like an eggshell to reveal a silicone part that ACS Custom post-processes, marks, and finishes.

Beyond the efficiency of the digital workflow, Dan Bennett, technical director at ACS Custom, says the technology allows the company to tackle larger and more complicated projects than it could before: “We can now print geometries inside the silicone molds, whereas before we would have to drill it all out by hand. What’s more, the dimensional accuracy of the Figure 4 printer ensures we don’t need to do as many iterations or build tolerances into the parts.” 

Speed and accuracy enable innovation

3D Systems Figure 4 Standalone uses a non-contact membrane that builds parts by projecting full design layers. In addition to delivering exceptional surface quality, this process dramatically reduces total print time for a faster time-to-part. “Speed is one of the best things about these printers,” says Bennett. “It allows me to do five or six revisions in a day if I need to, rather than waiting hours for a single print job as I’ve experienced on other systems.”

The combination of Figure 4 accuracy with the properties of 3D Systems materials makes it possible for ACS Custom to transition to final part production using the same system already in place for prototyping. For final production parts in black, ACS Custom uses Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10, a high precision, production-grade material with long-term environmental stability and thermoplastic-like behavior. 3D Systems’ plastic 3D printers also include 3D Sprint® software as part of a complete additive manufacturing solution. 3D Sprint is an all-in-one additive manufacturing software that enables file optimization, preparation, and printing with a suite of advanced features for design, file correction, analysis, and more.

“3D Sprint is very intuitive in terms of layout, and the support features are really good,” says Bennett. “When the outside surface quality is important, we can reduce the touchpoint size and position of supports really accurately.”

Using 3D Sprint to plan a production run on Figure 4 Standalone

Digital process protects life of purchase, drives innovation

ACS Custom’s use of a digital workflow gives the company and its customers the anytime assurance that lost or damaged products can be replaced precisely to original specifications. This is an advantage over traditional production alternatives for custom products such as manual methodologies. “ACS Custom offers you a custom-made product that delivers superior comfort, fit, and sound-tightness with a perfectly reproducible file,” says Shiach. “If we did this by hand and you ever needed a replacement, it would never be identical to the one you lost. With 3D printing, we can absolutely recreate the same article.”

Beyond benefiting ACS Custom customers, Bennett says the digital workflow drives business success: “Thanks to the 3D technology we’re using, we’re at the forefront of our industry. It allows us to keep ahead of the competition by innovating and creating new products.”

High Density Stacking Capability Drives Productivity in End-Use 3D Part Production at Decathlon

Product: Figure 4
Industry: Consumer Products and Retail

Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, is using the high-speed Figure 4 platform and new stacking feature of 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint® software to enable direct production of 3D printed end-use parts. The stacking feature enables batch production of one or multiple parts through a combination of user-defined and automated tools, and removes significant time from the print preparation process.

“By stacking parts we are able to print in batches of 100, and have reduced the time it takes to prepare a build from 30-60 minutes to just 6-10 minutes. The combination of stacking and production-grade materials makes Figure 4 ready for production.”

– Gregoire Mercusot, Materials Engineer, ADDLAB, Decathlon

The Challenge

VALIDATE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION WITH ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Componente para gafas de Decathlon diseñado para conectar la lente al marco

When faced with a mold injection problem on a small component for shooting glasses that connects the frame to the lenses, Decathlon opted to test the new 3D stacking solution developed by 3D Systems to evaluate additive manufacturing for production. After conducting a feasibility study on the Figure 4 solution and stacking feature, Decathlon’s teams confirmed the productivity and economics of additive manufacturing and decided that this solution could be considered for batch-run production of the final product.

The Solution

01 Part Stacking Feature in 3D Sprint Software

Captura de pantalla del software 3D Sprint que demuestra la función de puntal para la fabricación apilada

Decathlon’s additive manufacturing lab (ADDLAB) uses 3D Systems’ Figure 4 3D printing solution across a range of applications (including mold master patterns), and is now considering using the new high density part stacking capability of 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint software to facilitate direct production. 3D Sprint is an advanced, all-in-one software that streamlines the file-to-pattern workflow with tools for print file preparation and optimization, including automatic support generation, and optimized part placement to maximize productivity. The new stacking feature helps users print high volume batches with an efficient file preparation workflow.

To use the stacking feature, users import a part and base file, define the stack in terms of orientation and part quantities, and use automated tools to replicate consecutive vertical stack layers and supports. According to Decathlon engineer Gregoire Mercusot, stacking has reduced print preparation time by as much as 80%. Builds that used to take 30 minutes to an hour to prepare can now be completed in six to 10 minutes.

Mercusot says the utility of this function goes well beyond production: “I use this feature several times a week whenever I need multiple parts. It’s incredible for production, but it’s also very useful for prototyping,” he says.

02 Production-Grade Materials

Decathlon is using the Figure 4® PRO-BLK 10 material for this functional eyeglass component, citing the material’s strong rigid properties and fast print speeds (62 mm/hr) as key benefits. This high precision material produces parts with smooth surface finish and sidewall quality, and has excellent long-term mechanical properties and environmental stability, bringing a new level of assurance to 3D production. From its production feasibility study, Decathlon confirmed reproducibility across print batches and full functionality of the part.

03 Print Speed

Placa de impresión llena de piezas impresas en 3D apiladas de Figure 4

Figure 4 is a projection-based additive manufacturing technology that uses a non-contact membrane to combine accuracy and amazing detail fidelity with ultra-fast print speeds. Decathlon uses the Figure 4 Modular system to print stacks of 100 parts in 85 minutes, which is equivalent to just 42 seconds per part. The Figure 4 Modular is a scalable, semi-automated 3D production solution comprised of a central controller that can be paired with a single printer-module up to 24 printer modules, making it a flexible option that poises businesses for growth.

04 Post-Processing

The high-density stacking capability of Figure 4 brings efficiencies of scale to post-processing as well as part building, allowing Decathlon to treat a batch of parts the same as a single part. This means that the time it would take for Decathlon to clean, cure, and remove the supports from a single part remains the same, even for a batch of 100 parts. For Decathlon’s safety glass application, it takes six minutes to clean all 100 parts, 90 minutes of hands-free time to cure them, and ten minutes to remove supports from the entire batch.

Rapid Diagnostics Device Developed Using Figure 4 Standalone

Product: DLP Print
Industry: Electronics and Semiconductors

The sudden and alarming global rise of COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of accessible and rapid disease detection. The ability to test for disease not only enables better containment to prevent further spread, but enables epidemiologists to gather more information to better understand an otherwise invisible and mysterious threat. From revealing means of transmission to rates of infection, the criticality of testing for infectious diseases has now been felt worldwide.

A team of researchers at Imperial College London, led by Dr. Pantelis Georgiou, is tackling this problem head-on with a project called Lacewing for pathogen detection. Offering results within 20 minutes from a smartphone app synced to a cloud server, Lacewing makes disease testing portable, including SARD-CoV-2-RNA, and automates the tracking of disease progression through geotagging. It is a sophisticated “lab-on-a-chip” platform that promises to fill the access- and information-gaps in the world of diagnostics by combining molecular biology and state-of-the-art technology. Whereas other diagnostics technology requires large and expensive optical equipment, the electrical sensing method and small size of Lacewing is a true evolution in approach.

Key among the technologies behind Lacewing is 3D Systems Figure 4® Standalone 3D printer and biocompatible-capable, production-grade materials. Used for both prototyping and production of microfluidics and functional components, Imperial College PhD student and research assistant Matthew Cavuto says key Lacewing components were designed based on the capabilities he knew he had with Figure 4. “Microfluidics are a tricky thing, and fabrication has traditionally been done through slow, expensive, and labor intensive cleanroom processes,” says Cavuto. “With the Figure 4, we’re now able to rapidly print parts with complex internal 3D fluidic channels for transporting sample fluid to different sensing areas on the chip, greatly improving our microfluidic production capabilities.”

As critical as the design element is to this project, it is just one piece of a highly sophisticated solution. Beyond the part complexity and detail fidelity enabled by 3D Systems’ Figure 4, this 3D printing solution has helped the research team through print speed, print quality, and biocompatible material options.

Microfluidics cartridge for Lacewing diagnostics device 3D printed using Figure 4

Quick iterations to answer the need for COVID-19 testing

The Lacewing platform has been in development for a little over two years now, and is a molecular diagnostic test that works by identifying the DNA or RNA of a pathogen within a patient sample. This type of test makes it possible to determine not only if someone is infected with a certain disease (dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19, etc.), but to what degree, which provides more insight into the severity of the symptoms.

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the impetus for this test was to enable portable testing in remote areas of the world. Although portability is often taken for granted in a smartphone age, molecular diagnostics have traditionally required a large and expensive pieces of lab equipment. Lacewing has replaced the previous optical technique with an electrical one using microchips, and has been quickly prototyped, iterated, and produced using the Figure 4 Standalone and biocompatible materials. Each Lacewing microfluidic cartridge is roughly 30 mm x 6 mm x 5 mm, printed in 10-micron layers.

As the research team began adapting the test to answer the global testing needs of COVID-19, it started printing new designs almost daily. For this, Cavuto said the speed of the machine was a major benefit. “At one point, I was able to print and test three versions of a particular component in a single day with the Figure 4,” he says. This ability to rapidly iterate designs has removed the friction of trying something new, and the resulting experimentation and increased information gathering has led to improvements in the overall system. “We’ve easily gone through 30 versions in the last 2 months,” says Cavuto.

The team designs all its parts in SOLIDWORKS, and uses 3D Sprint® software to set up each build. 3D Sprint is an all-in-one software by 3D Systems for preparing, optimizing, and managing the 3D printing process, and it has been useful to the research team in finding and resolving unexpected issues. “Occasionally we’ll get an STL error that 3D Sprint can solve for us in the prepare tab,” says Cavuto. 

Having worked with many different 3D printers in the past, Cavuto says Figure 4 is different because there are less barriers to printing in terms of time, cost, and quality. With other printers, he would question whether a print was worthwhile in terms of both time and material cost, whereas Figure 4 has removed that friction. “I print a part, and see if it works. If it doesn’t, I redesign and print again just a few hours later,” says Cavuto. “I’m able to iterate super quickly just because of how fast the printer is.”

Truly biocompatible materials do not inhibit chemical reaction

 Microfluidics cartridge 3D printed in Figure 4 MED-AMB 10

Despite the time pressures for rapid testing options, speed was not the most important factor for the research team. Because this application comes into direct contact with DNA, it is only possible with certain biocompatible materials.

The Imperial College team is using Figure 4® MED-AMB 10, a transparent amber material capable of meeting ISO 10993-5 & -10 standards for biocompatibility (cytotoxicity, sensitization and irritation)*, and that is sterilizable via autoclave. This material is used for the translucent microfluidic manifolds. “Figure 4 MED-AMB 10 has shown impressive biocompatibility for our PCR reactions,” says Cavuto. “A lot of materials we’ve tried in the past have inhibited them, but Figure 4 MED-AMB 10 has shown low interaction with our reaction chemistry.” This is critical to the entire project, as any interference by the production materials could delay or prevent the intended reaction from happening.

Using Figure 4’s diverse portfolio of materials

Not only is the team using Figure 4 MED-AMB 10 to print the microfluidic components for Lacewing, but they are also using Figure 4® PRO-BLK-10, a production-grade, rigid, heat-resistant material, for the device enclosure, and Figure 4® RUBBER-65A BLK, a newly released elastomeric material, for gaskets through the device.  One part of Lacewing is even made from Figure 4® FLEX-BLK 20, a material with the look and feel of production polypropylene.  Besides the electronics and some hardware, nearly the entire device is currently produced using the Figure 4 system.  

Fully cleaned and post-processed in under 20 minutes

A clean and smooth surface is critical to the final functionality of the Lacewing cartridges. For this reason, the research team is foregoing any nesting or stacking capabilities of Figure 4 to print the cartridges in single layers. As the project is still in the design phase, the team has not yet fully loaded the build plate, but estimates a maximum build of approximately thirty microfluidic cartridges at a time.

Given the sensitivities of the application, post-processing is critical. Once printed, parts are washed in an IPA bath, cured, sanded, and washed again to ensure the parts are all free and clear of residue or sanding particles. “We want to avoid contamination at all costs,” says Cavuto. “Making sure the parts are clean and sterilized is important for a successful reaction and accurate diagnosis.”

In total, Cavuto estimates that post-processing takes under twenty minutes, and many parts can go through the process at once.

Rapid diagnostics device developed using Figure 4 technology at Imperial College London

New capabilities for development and innovation

“Figure 4 has changed what I can print, or what I think I have the capability of creating,” says Cavuto. “In terms of resolution, speed, surface quality, range of materials, and biocompatibility, there’s nothing that compares to Figure 4, and I’ve probably used every type of 3D printer you can imagine.”

The Imperial College research team plans to have the COVID-19 test validated soon with the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), paving the way for scaled production within the next six months. For a complete look at how Lacewing works, explore this information page by the Imperial College research team.

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