Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing has contributed to every step of our design process: from early rapid- and low-fidelity prototyping, to looks-good feels-good models, to certain elements in final devices, as well as fixtures, testing apparatuses, and metamolds for casting, 3D-printing augments production.

In our lab we have a bank of Ultimaker 3D printers and two Form 2 SLA printers; across the street in Jacobs Design Institute, we have available all of the resources of the Advanced Prototyping Lab, including Fortus, Dimension, Objet, and Carbon printers.

While the Carbon has been useful for some outgoing prototypes, and the Ultimakers have helped us print fixtures and molds for casting, the great majority of our usable parts, molds, and metamolds have been printed on the Form 2:

The Form 2 SLA printer boasts a wide variety of engineering resins. We have used “tough” (blue), “durable” (opaque), and “clear” (translucent) for both prototyping and end-use parts. Post-processing involves washing the parts in an IPA bath, and then curing in the Form Cure UV oven.