All posts tagged: materials

Realize Video: Medical Applications of 3D Printing

We have noticed some amazing stories recently relating to 3D Printing and the medical industry. As the possibilities of additive manufacturing expand there have been incredible advances in many different areas, but it’s the ones that have potentially life saving/changing affects in the medical industry we are talking about right now. Realize President Todd Reese gives his take on all the buzz.

 

*Realize, Inc. is a Rapid Prototype service provider specializing in Stereolithography, 3D printing, RTV Molding, Cast Urethane Models and Custom Finishing.

mereedRealize Video: Medical Applications of 3D Printing
read more

The 3D Printed Fantasy Football Championship Trophy

We wanted to create something special for the winner of the Realize fantasy football league this season, so we decided to make a 3D Printed Fantasty Football Championship plaque.

The prototype worked out beautifully thanks to our creative staff and custom finishing crew.

It was so nice that we decided to offer up a free download for our friends and clients so you can customize your own trophy for your league.

 

From your friends at Realize, Inc : Please click below for your download and enjoy!

 

3D Printed Downloadable Fantasy Football Trophy

 

FootBallPlaqueDownloadShot

3d printed fantasy football trophy

mereedThe 3D Printed Fantasy Football Championship Trophy
read more

Building a vehicle using 3D Printing

One of the more interesting and exciting projects we have been working on at Realize involves customizing and creating parts for automobiles using additive manufacturing. We talked with the Senior Designer on the project about the creation of these 3D prototypes.

2015-MUSTANG_CONVT CNR_15-0820 Extract Extract.001

 

 

How did you use Realize and 3D Printing to help with your project?

Originally our Product Design and Development teams were looking for ways to replicate automotive sheet metal and trim based on 3D Math CAD data. We wanted something we could mount our actual parts to that would show how our parts were intended to perform on the vehicle if it was built to spec. Eventually our company decided to starting using 3D Prints to replicate changes to sheet metal and trim to show customers how a certain sealing environment changes would be helpful to our methodology. This would help our customers understand why we needed to make environment changes. Then we turned to using 3D Prints to make check fixtures for our sealing environments. During prototype phases, getting actual sheet metal to mount our parts to in the environment it was intended by CAD can be difficult. Also, a vehicle would have to be located for a meeting. Being able to replicate a portions of the body side, door and trim panels and include door swing gave us the ability to bring our sealing environments straight to the customer in an office setting for discussion. I cannot stress enough the complexity of some of the fixtures and jigs we have designed.

2015-MUSTANG_CONVT CNR_15-0820.001

2015-MUSTANG_COUPE-CONVT.001

How do you think you will use additive manufacturing in the future and are there any new directions or capabilities you would like to see in the industry?

Our Teams are always looking into how we can take additive manufacturing to the next level. We strive on continuos improvement and are always fine tuning our fixture and jig designs in CAD to get the most testing possibilities we can out of them. In the beginning we had single parts printed to mount to. Now we are making multiple piece fixtures and jigs that you can simulate glass movement, door closing and a variety of environment possibilities with shims and hardware.

 

What were the biggest challenges with creating the parts we did for you?

Learning the properties of the various materials. Our customers have always demanded fast turn around times and we cannot always wait for our preferred materials for printing. In some cases we have had to choose something different than our normal selection so we can have the parts in our hands by a certain date for a customer meeting. Some times it works out for us and others it does not. We try not to stray away from what we know will work, however, some times we are forced to due to timing requirements.

 

What is something that you personally would like to have 3D Printed?

If I still had the files it would be the CAD parts I made back when I first started learning in CAD design 17 years ago. The only way to really understand what a software is capable of is to log hours on it and explore beyond what you are taught. So I used to stay after classes and design my own ideas and concepts and also on my lunch hours. This was back when SDRC I-Deas was popular and everything was still on Unix. It was also a few jobs ago. I saved a lot of those files on a hard disc many moons ago but couldn’t tell you what happened to it.

2015-MUSTANG_COUPE-CONVT.002

mereedBuilding a vehicle using 3D Printing
read more

The Realize Featured Project: Linka

At Realize we get very excited when an interesting project comes through our doors. One recent prototype we worked on is for a new product that is looking to revolutionalize the concept of locking your bike! We talked with the creator and founder of Linka Mohamed Mohamed.

Linka-46

 

Realize: Tell us about your product.

Mohamed: As I’m an avid everyday cyclist, I realized I needed more security and peace of mind for my bike and regardless of how bulky and expensive other locks were, I needed something that told me if something was wrong so I can address it immediately. If you wait a few hours, it’s too late. The recovery rate for bikes in the U.S. is less than 2%. After some research and asking many people from various environments, everyone seemed to have the same concerns. So LINKA was born! LINKA mounts to your bike in 5 minutes and stays there so you’re always ready to lock up. With a built-in siren and an accelerometer, LINKA can tell when your bike is in danger and will notify your smart phone. Beyond that, LINKA will auto-unlock as you approach making it quicker and easier than ever to ride away.

 

How did you use Realize and 3D Printing to help with your project?

We utilized Realize’s ability to get us finished looking SLA parts to help us with a fit and finish of our end production product. We also utilized the RTV mold process to make rubber gaskets in various colors. This really allowed us to have high quality photos for our shoots.

 

How do you think you will use additive manufacturing in the future and are there any new directions or capabilities you would like to see in the industry?

I wish there was a way to find quick turn solutions to simulate machined parts in aluminum and steel. Local shops have long lead times and the cost is quite high. We will continue to utilize existing additive manufacturing tools to get really quick relatively inexpensive prototypes made.

 

What were the biggest challenges with creating the Bike lock?

Biggest challenge for us is multi-faceted. Balancing bluetooth range combined with designing something with low-power consumption. From a mechanical side, tolerances need to be really well captured as a non-functioning bike lock provides more issues than say a non-functional bike light.

 

With such a cool product coming out is there a follow up idea you have ready to go?

We currently have many products in our roadmap and can’t wait to introduce them all once the time is right!

 

LINKA is currently available on pre-order for $99 with an expected ship date of January 2016. Find our more through our Kickstarter campaign here

Linka-98

 

mereedThe Realize Featured Project: Linka
read more