Laboratory Technologies Inc. (LTI) is a leading manufacturer of laboratory radiation equipment. Since 1983, it has been providing radiation equipment to laboratories in the United States and overseas. LTI mainly serves specialized small laboratories including nuclear laboratories around the world. In the past production process, LTI’s products used mechanical processing mode. Due to the production technology, the product encountered some restrictions when designing, which made it difficult to realize some more complicated line designs.In order to control production costs, no longer relying solely on expensive machining processes, after comprehensive consideration, LTI decided to try3D printingTechnology, instead of high-cost mechanical manufacturing.
High-cost metal processing limits product design
LTI’s word-of-mouth products include Genesys 100 series, Gamma 1 Single Well series gamma counters, and Wiper series wipe test counters. The manufacture of the counter shell is relatively simple, just cut a whole piece of cold-rolled steel into the designed shape and size. But the production of the detector is more complicated. In order to protect the center crystal parameters of the detector from being damaged, a protective device needs to be set on the periphery. The production of the protection device first needs to perforate the solid steel pipe to produce a hollow structure that completely fits the size and contour of the center crystal. Secondly, in order to ensure the tightness, another steel plate needs to be welded on the other end of the steel pipe. In terms of mechanical processing technology, it is more difficult to produce such complex parts, and more tools are needed, so the processing cost is also higher.
3D printingTechnology broadens the freedom of design
In order to control production costs, no longer relying solely on expensive machining processes, after comprehensive consideration, LTI decided to try3D printingTechnology, instead of high-cost mechanical manufacturing.After comparison and testing are different3D printingAfter the branded products, LTI finally purchased the large-size Pro2 Plus from Raise3D Shanghai Fuzhi3D printingmachine. Pro2 Plus’s electric lifting dual-nozzle extrusion system supports the printing of complex mechanical parts. The large-size printing bin can realize the one-time printing of large-size parts. At the same time, Pro2 Plus has a heating capacity of up to 300°C, which is compatible with a variety of printing materials.
After experimenting with different materials and brands, LTI finally found that Polymaker PolyMax™ PC material is the most suitable for its products3D printingMaterial.
After choosing the right3D printingAfter equipment and wires, LTI uses3D printingWith the advantage of customization, it creates complex designs that were difficult to achieve with steel in the past. For example, the traditional right-angled design of the external reinforcement plate was changed to a more modern rounded corner design.
When LTI will3D printingWhen comparing the parts with the parts produced by the original mechanical process, they found that the rounded corner design not only beautifies the appearance, but also increases the safety of the product to a certain extent, which can avoid the damage caused by the collision of the right angle.
In the traditional machining process, a large number of tool holder operation techniques and more advanced solutions are required to make round corner designs, which is difficult to achieve and at the same time, the cost is higher.This is the reason why LTI has been limited in product design, but in the introduction of3D printingAfter technology, this problem was solved. Product designers can design more beautiful and powerful products.
The shape design of the old version of the counter (left) vs the shape design of the new version (right)
due to3D printingAlmost any shape of printing can be achieved, and there is no need to replace additional production tools, which makes LTI’s product development process smoother.Whether it is the product shell, assembly slot, or vents and other functional features, you can use CAD software to accurately create a digital model, and then use it3D printingThe machine is completed.
3D printingFinished machine-made spare parts
In this era of rapid replacement of parts development, Raise can be customized3D printingThe machine can not only complete the production of various complex designs, but also has a good user experience. Although Raise3D Pro2 Plus can achieve large-scale printing, the overall size of the machine is not huge, and it does not need to take up too much space and can be placed in any space. Just as LTI puts it next to the production line, so that engineers can better observe the production process during the printing process and check the problems that may occur in the production in time.
Raise running in the office3D printingmachine
The slicing software ideaMaker can “optimize” the printing process
LTI utilizes the multi-parameter adjustable feature of Raise3D’s slicing software ideaMaker to flexibly optimize the printing process of its own model, especially in terms of achieving the best appearance quality and dimensional accuracy. LTI chose the 0.1mm layer height option from ideaMaker’s template library. The high-precision setting can make the product size more accurate and the appearance is relatively more delicate.
While maintaining dimensional accuracy, LTI makes full use of the advantages of freely deploying material configuration files in ideaMaker. By optimizing printing parameters, the shrinkage of materials can be reduced. Because of the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the actual value of the nozzle extrusion line width is different from the theoretical value. IdeaMaker allows users to control the extrusion process of the material from multiple angles to control the printing process. Improve the effect of the actual model by controlling the printing parameters.
The importance of choosing suitable printing materials
Tested different3D printingAfter materials, LTI found that polycarbonate (PC) is the best choice for making its products. But when testing different brands of PC materials, LTI found that not all PC wires have the same performance and performance.After repeated tests, LTI finally chose Polymaker PolyMax™ PC as its product3D printingWire.
In the existing industrial grade3D printingAmong the wires, PC has become the first choice for materials with good mechanical properties due to its excellent impact resistance and high rigidity. PC prints can absorb impact and prevent product deformation or cracking. In addition to these features of the PC itself, the Polymaker PolyMax™ PC, one of the Raise3D open consumables project (OFP), can better adapt to Raise3D printingThe equipment is easy to extrude, has stable performance, and is not prone to warpage. LTI found that3D printingThe PC parts not only have the same high impact resistance as the original cold-rolled steel, but the density of PC is far lower than that of cold-rolled steel.
Functional car jack printed by Polymaker PolyMax™ PC
In addition, the UL fire rating is very important for the gamma counter and Wiper’s wipe test counter. Polymaker PolyMax™ PC also has good flame retardancy.
3D printingPost-processing
After obtaining the print, LTI also needs to post-process it to make the surface of the finished product smoother and more beautiful. The post-processing steps are mainly: sanding the printed part with sandpaper for 5-10 seconds to eliminate surface burrs. Then apply a primer on the exterior surface to fill in the small corners and cracks caused by the printer’s squeeze. After the paint surface is dry, lightly sand it with sandpaper for 30-60 seconds, and then wipe it clean. Finally, apply a layer of hammering paint on the surface, after such post-treatment, the whole finished product has a metallic texture.
Before post-processing (left) vs after post-processing (right)
3D printingHelp improve product quality and reduce production costs
After months of development, LTI passed3D printingTechnology realizes product optimization. By redesigning the structure, the new external reinforcement plate printed with Polymaker PolyMax™ PC is as strong as the original cold-rolled steel, but the weight is 9.5 kg lighter. The reason is that the density of PC is only 1.2 g/cm3, while the weight of cold rolled steel is 7.8 g/cm3. PC material is 6 times lighter.In terms of production costs, use3D printingLater, LTI reduced the cost to 1/4 of the original, among which, the material cost was reduced to 6% of the original.
(Editor in charge: admin)
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