All posts tagged: realize

Realize the first in US to install Somos PerFORM

somosperform

At Realize we are always looking for the latest new products and technologies to provide our clients with the best and most effective tools for their projects. So it’s no surprise we are the first company in the US to use the new Somos PerForm material.

 

Somos PerFORM offers heat resistance and stiffness unlike anything currently in our portfolio. It’s the first composite material we’ve installed and we’re looking forward to seeing the applications our diverse clients find for it.

– Todd Reese, President- Realize, Inc.

 

For more information about Somos PerForm CLICK HERE

 

When your project calls for parts that require thermal stability, extreme accuracy and a quick turnaround, turn to our latest composite material — Somos® PerFORM. Available for both 355 and 365 nm photopolymer-based machines, parts made with this material exhibit superior sidewall quality, along with excellent detail resolution. In addition, Somos® PerFORM is exceptional for parts that are designed for wind tunnel testing and unique applications in rapid tooling.

Excellent detail resolution, Faster, easier processing & finishing Superior high heat tolerance Expanded applications, Ideal for a variety of applications.

With its excellent high heat tolerance, outstanding detail resolution and stiffness, Somos® PerFORM is the ideal material for applications including:

• Tooling • Electrical Casings
• Wind Tunnel Testing • Automotive Housings
• High Temperature Testing


Somos PerForm image

mereedRealize the first in US to install Somos PerFORM
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Realize Employee Profile: Elliott Dixon

Realize Sales Representative Elliott Dixon

Every Tuesday

Wedding Crashers on repeat

Jay-Z is where it's at for ED

 

Realize is expanding our sales staff and we would like to introduce you to Elliot Dixon.

 

What is your role at Realize?

 

Elliott: Sales Representative for the west coast territory.

What interests you about additive manufacturing and 3D Printing?

 

It’s interesting. With anything we use in our daily lives, it all started with an idea, so to bring peoples ideas to life is a really cool process.

Name some of your favorite things in the world.

 

My Daughter Sophia she is 4.  The Colts, Summer Shandy in the summer and hanging out my with friends.

Favorite meal?

 

I’m a taco Tuesday kind of guy, I make them at home. I prefer corn tortilla hard shells. I always eat tacos on Tuesdays.

 

What music are you listening to right now?

 

I mainly listen to ESPN 1070 The Fan. I love sports radio. My favorite artist is Jay-Z. I have been to every one of his concerts since 2004. I like R&B too. My Favorite Jay-Z song is “Song Cry.”

 

You are permitted to take only two movies with you for a long voyage out in space…which two do you bring?


Wedding Crashers and The Dark Knight

 

What are a couple random items people would be surprised to find out about you?


I don’t have a middle name. It is a family tradition of E.D. initials. I have been 6’1 since 8th grade. I’m still the same height!

 

When you were little you wanted grow up to be?


A lawyer. I liked the movie Liar Liar a lot with Jim Carrey when I was a kid.

 

One word that describes you?

 

Easy.

 

One personal thing you would like to Rapid Prototype?

 

A really cool cell phone case. One nobody had but me.

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Realize partners to educate students about 3D Printing

Science and Engineering made exciting through 3D Printing Technology!

 

Realize Inc. is very proud of our industry and we are always looking for new ways to help create excitement and deliver knowledge about additive manufacturing. The process of informing a new generation of students and creating better awareness about the technology, and how it can be utilized moving forward, is important to us. Recently we partnered with Brad Lowell, a Science teacher at Fall Creek Intermediate School in Fishers, Indiana to help him reach the goal on the project: Science and Engineering Made Exciting Through 3D Technology! We interviewed Mr. Lowell about the project and how he thinks 3D Printing technology might be applied in classrooms around the country.

 

Realize: Why is the addition of a 3D Printer important for students and the school?  

Mr. Lowell: As our school is moving into our One 2 One initiative this next year where every student has an iPad, the 3D printer is another tool that will better prepare them for their futures. We have researched printers in the field of medicine that can print cell after cell to create sheets of skin and in the future maybe even replacement organs. 3D metal printers are being used to create car parts. We have seen printers that can produces incredible chocolate sculptures and another that builds 3D pancake creations. Like student imagination, the possibilities of the printer are limitless.  

 

How did Realize help you reach your goal?  
Through a sizable donation, Realize was an amazing partner in making our 3D dreams a reality. Realize also sent some great video examples that excited students and really illustrated how incredible the industry is.
 
What do you love about 3D Printing?  
I love that with 3D printing really anything is possible. It will allow them to take their 2 dimensional ideas and create real 3 dimensional working prototypes.
 
How can you see 3D Printing helping students in the future?  
I see a future where when something breaks around the house or in their classroom, students could merely go to their computer and print a replacement part.   
 
How have the kids reacted and what projects have you worked on?  
Students were so excited to see the MakerBot box show up at school! Unfortunately, with the arrival so late in the year we were not able to do much in the way of our own designs but did really explore what the printer was capable of. We successfully created a working prosthetic hand and some parts for our water rockets engineering lab activity. Some students also came in and worked during lunch with me and created their own cell phone cases.
 
Looking into next year and beyond, how will you use additive manufacturing in the classroom?  
This next year I am hoping to spend a great deal of time at the beginning of the year teaching the kids 3D CAD designing on their ipads so that all of our engineering activities can be built on the printer. We will build prototype gravity racers, plastic boats to test Archimedes’s principle of buoyancy, bio engineer surgical tools to assist us in our Frankenstein-style  ‘open heart’ surgery lab, design rocket fins and parts for our rocketry labs, and countless other activities. We’re hoping this next year to look into the possibility of the MakerBot 3D scanner where students can scan and replicate parts.
What do you think students need more information on regarding the additive manufacturing industry?  
We are still really learning about the additive manufacturing industry and would welcome any additional information that could be provided on the industry. We’d love to have future communication with Realize.
 
If you could 3D Print anything, what would that be?
The kid in me would love to create, print, and build  a working R2D2 droid. My son, however, absolutely fell in love with your outdoor ukulele and was trying to convince me to try to make one of those.

 

 

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Realize and FSAE

Realize Intake Prototype for FSAE

Realize enjoys working with FSAE Teams. What is an FSAE team? It’s a collegiate design series competition where students build cars and compete against other schools. 

Realize has worked with many schools including: Rose Hulman, Purdue, Washington University, University of Akron, Carnegie Mellon, LSU, Missouri S&T, University of Pittsburgh, and Dalhousie.

Rose Hulman Team

We enjoy working with young minds and educating the students on the latest 3D Technologies and how they can apply them to their team goals.

Formula SAE gives student design teams the task of developing a small Formula-style race car. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules.

Brandon Hasenour from the Rose Hulman FSAE team enjoyed his experience working with Realize:

“RoseGPE turns to Realize for our intakes because of their dependable build quality, quick turn-around time, and their ability to create parts that we couldn’t normally manufacture. Realize is always easy to work with and we know that they will get the job done right.”

How do FSAE use 3D Printing?

Check out our video and contact us if you are looking to gain an advantage at your next event.

[youtube JHVXKyIVGlY nolink]

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The Realize Q&A with Buddy Byrum

 

Realize is always seeking out conversations with experts in the additive manufacturing industry. For this Q&A we interviewed Buddy Byrum, 3D Systems’ vice president of product and channel management, personal and professional 3D printers.

What do you feel is the most groundbreaking piece of equipment you’ve introduced? Why?


I think there are a couple, to be honest. We released the ProX 950 at EuroMold 2013, and it’s the type of machine that can vastly increase the capabilities of manufacturers (aerospace, medical devices, automotive, turbine production, casting applications) and service bureaus because of three factors: it’s huge, it’s highly accurate and it’s fast. With PolyRay™ we’re talking print speeds up to ten times faster than other 3D printers. And it can print models as large as a full engine block, so users can spend less time on assembly, produce huge casting patterns faster, produce test models faster and get end products into production and ultimately to the customer.

I’d also say the ProJet 4500 is a big development in 3D printing also because it’s the industry’s only photorealistic, full-color 3D printer that creates durable plastic parts. The 4500 gives consumer products designers, healthcare companies, toy makers, architects, etc. the ability to make gorgeous, true-to-life prototypes that stand up to the real world. They can even make end-use parts quickly, allow manufacturers to customize them and enable whole new product lines.

 

Of the technologies you offer, which is currently receiving the most attention in-house for future development and why?


We cannot really comment about specific developments, but we are always working on new materials for our technologies to expand their use. Today we 3D print with over 100 different materials ranging from food ingredients to waxes to various plastics and even metals so we continue to grow the range of functional materials to bring the benefits of 3D printing to more and more applications.

 

What stands out as the most outstanding use of your equipment?


That’s a tough question. The beauty of 3D printing is that you can produce virtually anything, regardless of geometry, and do it faster and often more accurately.

But I think the strides that we allow traditional manufacturers to make are really exciting. The fact that we can put one of our machines into a traditional manufacturing outfit and give them a way to optimize a traditional manufacturing workflow or a product development method with 3D printing is amazing. And it shows the versatility of 3D printing, that it can constitute the entire manufacturing process or it can integrate into an existing process. Whether it’s making casting patterns faster and more accurately, producing working prototypes for fit and function in a day, or being able to recognize design flaws early.

We recently had a service provider who helped a natural gas equipment manufacturer create test parts of a regulator housing. With 3D printing, using one of our ProJet 3500 printers, they were able to produce patterns and eventually aluminum test parts in only 9 days. Prior to enlisting this service provider, the gas equipment manufacturer couldn’t even create accurate test parts (using CNC machining) that would fit on their assembly! The geometry was just too complicated. But with 3D printing they not only got test parts that fit but they got them fast.

 

What are your thoughts on 3D food and clothing and all the headline-grabbing posts about our Industry that are daily tech stories online?


As I alluded to earlier, this technology may never find a limit. While we’re still in the early stages of 3D printing food and clothing, there’s no reason to think that these applications couldn’t become mainstream or even the norm down the line. Clothing designers have really embraced 3D printing on fashion runways because it offers a way for them to create some complicated forms and novel new textiles.

 

Are there any new applications for Rapid Prototyping you feel will emerge over the next few years?


With our introduction of the first full-color plastic 3D printer (ProJet 4500), real functional prototypes can also have photorealistic color. With this capability prototypes can be both functional and provide the full customer experience feedback as they can have realistic looking test prototypes directly out of the printer.

 

What are the strangest requests or questions you get about your machines?


The strangest questions often come from people who do not understand digital files or 3D designs. We are asked from time to time if we can print directly from a 2D drawing or photograph. This is not as strange as it used to be though because we do have the capability to create our 3DMe figurines starting with just two photos.

 

If you could make a prototype of anything in one of your machines with no care given to time or cost, what item would you like created?


I would have to say life-saving, or quality-of-life improving items such as new medical devices or replacement body parts. We already have customers doing these kinds of applications and it is rewarding to know we are enabling a growing list of such applications that have the power to change the world and have meaningful impacts on people’s lives.

 

Why has 3D Printing become the buzzword for the entire industry and do you think that is a good or bad thing?


I think it’s a good thing, and it’s a term that we have encouraged because it’s the best descriptor for what we do and it doesn’t make the general public believe that it’s just for manufacturers. Regardless of what it’s called, the fact that it is a buzzword at all is a great thing. If 3D printing is in the public consciousness, that’s a win for everyone: for 3D printer manufacturers, professional users, consumers, makers, manufacturers, artists, museums … everyone.

 

What trends should AM business owners be looking to follow over the next century in your opinion?


Two important trends stand out in my view. First is the democratization of 3D printing that opens new entrepreneurial doors for people to start new businesses, design new inventions and manufacture their dreams within their own means and circumstances. 3D printing breaks down geographic, economic and infrastructure barriers and provides ordinary people the opportunity to create without limits. Second is use of AM in real manufacturing applications, either directly or indirectly. Designers are learning to create new levels of product performance impossible within traditional manufacturing limitations and are now designing end products to take advantage of the limitless geometry capabilities afforded by 3D printing.

 

Where do you think 3D Printing will be 50 years from now? (This is just a fun guess, futuristic question)


I hope my ability to still be 3D printing in 50 years will be helped by the advances in healthcare that 3D printing offers! I could imagine colonization of other planets where 3D printing allows people to make whatever is needed, when needed. Back on earth the word “inventory” may no longer be needed!

 

 


3D Systems is a leading provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and cloud sourced on-demand custom parts for professionals and consumers alike with materials including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles. The company also provides integrated software and hardware tools including scan to CAD and inspection. Its expertly integrated solutions replace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing new products by printing real parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used to rapidly design, create, communicate, prototype or produce real parts, empowering customers to manufacture the future.

mereedThe Realize Q&A with Buddy Byrum
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