Objective3D | BLOG

A recent story by Juho Vesanto on the 3D Printing Industry blog highlights how 3D printing can inspire students to consider a career in engineering.  The latest news from 3DPI reports on Loughborough University in the UK, where the university has launched an initiative that is designed to give primary school children a glimpse into the world of 3D printing with a specific purpose – to get children more interested and involved in engineering from an early age. What could be a better way to do that than with inspiring demonstration and use of 3D printing technologies. Read the full story by clicking here.

CSIRO is pleased to announce a new titanium additive manufacturing facility at their largest site in Clayton , Victoria . The facility, which will host the southern hemisphere’s first Arcam Electron Beam Melting (EBM) facility, will be showcased at an open house event on December 5, offering a rare opportunity to see inside this cutting edge centre. Additive manufacturing is not a new concept and there are several bureaus within Australia, such as RapidPro, however the CSIRO ARCAM facilty will offer complementary technologies to those already provided by RapidPro - specifically Electron Beam Melting (EBM). Arcam Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is an additive manufacturing technology that uses an e-beam to melt and fuse metal powders, layer-by-layer, into 3D parts. The resulting quality of these metal parts is high, as the process is conducted in a vacuum and held at high temperatures during the entire build. “Additive manufacturing is an emerging technology capable...

RapidPro, inc Redeye Australasia, is pleased to announce the arrival of ULTEM 9085 Black! Adding to the already extensive list of medical and food grade thermoplastics on offer at RedEye Australasia, Black ULTEM 9085 brings all the benefits of traditional ULTEM: being lightweight, flame-retardant and suitable for aircraft apparatus, automotive components and military application for : End Use Parts Form, Fit and Function Testing Jigs & Fixtures ULTEM is an ideal material for designers seeking strong, lightweight materials for their digital manufacturing projects, and being available in black, eliminated unsightly staininga nd discolouartyion presne tin teh cream version of ULTEM 9085. ULTEM carries a variety of exceptional thermoplastic propertie including its strength to weight ratio, V-Ø rating for flame, smoke and toxicity (FST), flight certification, and high heat deflection temperature (320° F / 160° C.  ULTEM 9085 is ce...

We are again proud to be associated with the  F1 in Schools™ Technology Challenge. What is the F1 in Schools™ Technology Challenge?  It is the world’s largest secondary school technology program which involves over nine million students from 17,000 schools in 31 nations. Each year the world championship team is presented with the solid crystal Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools™ World Trophy.  REA Foundation has been involved in the development of the program since its inception and manages the the program in Australia and New Zealand. Each year the program engages more than 40,000 high school students in Australia and delivers industry-standard technology into schools which is made available to a further 300,000 students outside the program. Students as young as 10 are designing, testing and making miniature F1™ cars capable of 80km/h. But it is not about fast cars. F1 in Schools™ is a holistic action learning program which focuses on developing ...

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Slide fins are set to revolutionise small wave surfing Slide fins are the newest innovation to hit surfing, and they are proudly Australian! Scott Peberdy from Outereef at Phillip Island came up with the idea that it would be easier to carry out slides on a surfboard if there was no fin resistance to the slide, while still maintaining the directional advantages of a traditional fin setup. The result is Slide Fins - spring loaded fins available for either left or right breaking waves. To read the entire story, click here. To watch the slide fin video, click on the link below: 

"R apidPro’s quick response and quality finish are the primary drivers for regularly selecting Simon and his team for these packaging projects. With timing and pressure so tight on this launch, we still undertook his advice on the FDM Beta model and it more than paid back its investment with the client." Michael Grima, Outerspace Design Group. This innovative juice bottle design for the Heinz Golden Circle brand of chilled juice recently won a WorldStar packaging award - Beverage at the gala presentation ceremony in Croatia. Submitted by Outerspace Design on the heels of the bottle’s commercial success; PCA, AIDA awards and Powerhouse Museum Collection piece,  this is the first entry, on behalf of the Australian Institute of Packaging, to achieve a WorldStar distinction in 44 years of the event history. So how did this new innovative packaging come to fruition?  Heinz wanted to grab consumers’ attention at the grocery store. In order to achieve this, Heinz ...

Just a reminder that RapidPro has thermoforming (vacuum forming) capabilities in-house! We have noticed a recent influx in the use of this service and thought we should remind all our customers that this is a quick, affordable solution to packaging trials prior to full production tooling.  RapidPro utilises the Redeye Australasia build centre to produce inexpensive thermoforming tools which are then instantly available for short run production. These tools can be used repeatedly to produce hundreds of short run packaging containers or parts. For a quote email RapidPro at enquiries@rapidpro.com.au or call RapidPro on 1300 559 454 to speak to one of our experienced engineers regarding your requirements.

Bio-Compatible: For Skin and Mucosal-Membrane Contact Objet Bio-Compatible material ( MED610™ ) is a rigid material featuring great dimensional stability and colorless transparency. The material is ideal for applications requiring prolonged skin contact of over 30 days and short term mucosal-membrane contact of up to 24 hours. Objet Bio-Compatible material has 5 medical approvals including Cytotoxicity, Genotoxicity, Delayed Type Hypersensitivity, Irritation and USP Plastic Class VI* Suitable for :  * Medical and Dental applications * 3D printing of dental and orthopedic surgical guides * Checking the customized fit of surgical guides and delivery trays in the mouth * Monitoring oral soft tissue during surgical guide procedures *Biological Testing: Parts printed by Objet according to Objet MED610 Use and Maintenance Terms (DOC-08242) were evaluated for biocompatibility in accordance with...

NASA Trusts 3D Printing in Space When you're developing highly customized space vehicles that must sustain human life, stock parts and traditional machining simply won't fly. So NASA engineers put around 70 3D printed FDM parts on their new rover. A new video shows the rover enduring desert tests with ABS and polycarbonate parts built using FDM technology and materials. The rover, about the size of a Hummer uses about 70 3D-printed parts made from thermoplastic materials including ABS, PC/ABS and PC using FDM technology and materials created by Stratasys, parent company to RedEye On Demand Australasia. The printed parts include flame-retardant vents, pod doors and many custom fixtures. One ear-shaped exterior housing is deep and contorted, and would be nearly impossible to build without 3D printing. Watch the video below to see how NASA harnessed the design flexibility and durable materials of Redeye On Demand's FDM technology.

  The moment Megan Lavelle saw the device, she knew it would change her daughter’s life. Lavelle is an energetic, unstoppable mom whose youngest daughter, Emma, was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). At a Philadelphia conference for AMC families, Lavelle learned about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), an assistive device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands. It enables kids with underdeveloped arms to play, feed themselves and hug. AMC is a non-progressive condition that causes stiff joints and very underdeveloped muscles. Emma was born with her legs folded up by her ears, her shoulders turned in. “She could only move her thumb,” says Lavelle. Doctors immediately performed surgery and casted Emma’s legs. The baby girl went home with parents determined to provide the best care. Medical experts warned that AMC would prevent Emma from ever experiencing any sort of normalcy. She developed more slowly than an average child and spent ...

If the Objet Deskjet can make parts and prototypes from 7 different materials, imagine what RapidPro can do with our commercial sized Connex Machine and its 107 different digital materials and combinations including overmoulding! Watch the new Objet movie here. It showcases just some of the materials available and the resolution you can achieve. Obviously your parts will not come to life and print their own family, but the individual components at the end are examples of the finish you can expect. Of course RapidPro's Connex Machine does have a higher Z resolution than the parts shown, so you can expect an even finer surface finish when you choose to build with us. To discuss your next project call RapidPro on 1300 559 454 or Email us for a quote at: enquiries@rapidpro.com.au

"At Buzz, we understand the importance of prototyping on products with mechanisms and movement. Within 2 weeks we had made 9 different rounds of prototypes, from a basic cardboard mockup to the sophisticated FDM model from RapidPro. This gave us confidence to push the button on over $300k in tooling, just days after receiving the part from RapidPro." Doug Buckle, Buzz Products When Buzz Products were asked to work on last summer's VB promotion, nobody realised how popular the VB fridge would be! The campaign involved buying 12 slabs of VB to get a free beer fridge which played the VB theme song every time a beer was req uested. 3000 fridges were originally built, but these were sold out with 3 weeks, so more were ordered to cope with demand. Buzz contacted RapidPro to assist in prototyping the internal mechanisms for the bottle dispenser utilising Red Eye Australia's FDM build centre. "The shelving inside the fridge needed to be strong enough to hold ...