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Showing posts from May, 2010

Rapid Prototyping with FDM saves months on production

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company decreased Build Time by 75 Percent with FDM® Technology Plastic litter jugs are not glamorous products, but to pet owners they are expected to be ergonomic while holding a considerable load. The Nestlé Purina PetCare Company recently redesigned its cat litter jugs using Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) technology to meet critical deadlines while retaining product quality. The Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (purina.com) was formed in 2001 to create food, treats and litter products for dogs and cats. In April 2009, the company embarked on a redesign of its cat litter jugs. Preparing for Change “This is the biggest cat litter packaging change attempted in years, said Stephen Wurth, designer. “In the past, we’ve changed the materials used to make the product lighter or in ways to save costs, but this is the first big change in consumer-driven design.” “We wanted to improve our existing jug to create a better experience for our customers,” said Wurth.

Rapid Prototyping revolutionizes manufacturing

RedEye on demand , leaders in Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), are revolutionizing manufacturing using FDM to eliminate the need for costly tooling. Innovation No 1: Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) DDM has now become a reality thanks to FDM technology. Parts are built directly from CAD (STL) files in the thermoplastic materials used in manufacturing such as PC and ABS. With RedEye’s FDM technique, it’s easy to produce identical parts in production quantities that you require, with no minimum order requirements. And if a small change is required, it’s as easy as loading a new CAD file and rebuilding the part to the new specs. No wasted tools and shorter lead times. Innovation No 2: Injection Moulding Traditional methods of injection moulding were slow (taking up to 6 weeks to get the mould) and costly. Now with RedEye on demand’s Injection Moulds, you can get a mould within days, and for a fraction of the cost. Capable of producing hundreds of shots, RedEye FDM moulds are accurate,