sábado, 29 de junio de 2013

Impresoras 3D para protección NBQ

 
Entre los diversos usos que la industria militar está dando a las impresoras 3D hay uno que normalmente pasa desapercibido, y es el diseño de sistemas de protección NBQ.
 
 
Haciendo uso de un sistema de impresión 3D multimaterial, los ingenieros Troy Baker y Graham Wilson de la empresa Design Reality (Denbighshire, UK) han conseguido prototipar todas las piezas de una máscara NBQ utilizando una impresora 3D Stratasys Connex 260.
 
 
Lo más llamativo de este caso es que la máscara es un producto muy compleja no tanto por su diseño (que tambien) sino por los materiales que componen cada una de sus piezas, entre las que merecen destacarse la junta de goma, los clips rígidos y el visor transparente.
 
 
El resultado final es una mascara protectora NBQ tan confortable como fácil de usar, que sin duda alguna constituye todo un verdadero reto de diseño hecho realidad gracias a la impresión 3D.

viernes, 21 de junio de 2013

STRATASYS ADQUIERE MAKERBOT

 
Stratasys anunció ayer la adquisición de Makerbot por 403 millones de dólares.
 
Bajo los términos de un acuerdo definitivo de fusión, Stratasys inicialmente emitirá 4.760.000 acciones a cambio del 100% del capital social de MakerBot. Bre Pettis continuará al frente de la empresa que fundó.
 
La combinación de las dos empresas va a suponer una pisada a fondo del acelerador, ya que reúne a una de las principales compañías de fabricación digital directa para el sector industrial, con el líder emergente en impresoras 3D para el sector doméstico. “La asociación con Stratasys nos permitirá llevar la tecnología 3D a más gente y más rápidamente", ha añadido Pettis en la nota oficial difundida por ambas compañías.
 
La compra incluye como guarnición:
 
1) La imprenta digital 3D Thingiverse
2) La imprenta digital 3D Amazon
3) El servicio al cliente
4) La tienda física
5) Los acuerdos estratégicos con Adafruit, Autodesk, el MoMA y la consola Ouya
 
La idea de Stratasys consiste en expandir la impresión 3D hacia los hogares de todo el planeta: “Pettis y su equipo han construido la mayor marca de impresoras 3D y creemos que la estrategia de la empresa de hacer estas impresoras accesibles a todo el mundo continuará,” manifestó Davis Reis, consejero delegado de Stratasys.
 
La firma norteamericana demuestra con esta adquisición su clara intención de mantener el liderazgo en el sector de la impresión 3D, y la compra de MakerBot es la pieza del rompecabezas que le faltaba para entrar en el mercado de impresoras low cost: Stratasys tiene su peso en la industria, mientras que MakerBot se ha hecho un hueco en el mercado doméstico. Una vez se haya cerrado el acuerdo, que se espera se produzca en el tercer trimestre de este año, MakerBot operará como subsidiaria de Stratasys.
 
 

miércoles, 19 de junio de 2013

AUTODESK SIMULATION MOLDFLOW 2014: WEBINAR


Análisis y Simulación (AyS), distribuidor oficial de Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2014, tiene el placer de invitarle a la Reunión de Usuarios que se realizará mediante Webinar el próximo jueves 20 de junio de 2013 a las 10:00

En esta Webinar, un grupo de expertos especialistas en diferentes campos expondrán las novedades y las nuevas capacidades de la herramienta.

Agenda

10h. - Bienvenida de AyS

10:05h - 10:20h. - Autodesk Simulation Moldflow dentro del portfolio Autodesk (Oriol Llort - Autodesk)


10:20h - 10:50h. - Novedades técnicas de Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2014 (Eduardo Calle - AyS)

10:50h - 11:05h. - DIGIMAT: La plataforma de modelado no-lineal de materiales compuesto (Igor Pérez - AyS)

11:05h - 11:25h. - Demostración de Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2014 (Eduardo Calle - Ays)

11:25 - 11:35 - Fabricación Digital Directa con Stratasys (David del Fresno - AyS)

Para recibir los datos de conexión es imprescindible reservar previamente su plaza a través de este enlace:

http://www.analisisysimulacion.com/eventos/

martes, 18 de junio de 2013

3D Printing Advances Design Education At SCAD


SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, prides itself on being “The University for Creative Careers.”

 
They seems to be living up to that mission, as it is ranked as one of the best in the United States by DesignIntelligence.

 
The goal of the university is to produce productive, high-quality designers who combine academic knowledge with design skills and real-world experience. To facilitate this professional experience, the school has developed close working relationships with top companies and organizations, often in the form of Corporate Sponsorship Projects.

 
These relationships offer the students the opportunity to participate in real-world projects, working to solve real problems for real clients. These projects have included construction equipment (JCB), a mobile printing device (Hewlett-Packard), toys (Fisher Price), clothing & accessories, and many others.

 
 
3D Printing in the Rapid Prototyping Lab
 
One of the most celebrated facilities at the Savannah campus is the Rapid Prototyping Lab. It is located in the Gulfstream Center for Industrial and Furniture Design. Included in this lab are more than a dozen Stratasys 3D Printers. These 3D Printers have been named after characters from the Jetsons TV show, as a way of expressing that they’re bringing the designers into the future.


Justin Hopkins is the Manager of the SCAD Rapid Prototyping Lab. Hopkins is himself a graduate of SCAD (Bachelors of Fine Arts in Furniture Design) and has been running the Lab for eight years. His enthusiasm and pride in the Lab are palpable. These sentiments are also echoed by the administration and by potential students. The access that the students have to advanced 3D printers and other equipment in the lab is a huge enticement for prospective students and the Rapid Prototyping Lab is included in every tour of the campus.

 
According to Hopkins, the greatest advantages and value of the Stratasys 3D Printers are that “the Stratasys 3D Printers never fail. We always receive great service and support.”
 
 
Benefits of 3D Printers for Design Students
 
The first set of benefits, from an educator’s perspective, is mainly logistic. The actual equipment is simpler and safer to use than traditional machine shop equipment.

 
Moreover, there is less time wasted working in the prototype shop. This is particularly important at SCAD, where the academic schedule is based on 10-week quarters. Using 3D Printers significantly streamlines the modeling and production process, allowing it to meet those short deadlines.

 
Furthermore, not only are the results produced more quickly, but they are of higher quality as well. Students’ designs are not limited by their knowledge of how to operate each piece of machine shop equipment. Their results are more creative, complex, and precise – making for better presentations as well.

 
Finally, since the SCAD faculty places great emphasis on preparing students as much as possible for the real world, they see great added value in the fact that the students actually see the equipment and directly interact with the technicians that produce their designs.
 
 
What Do Students See as the Biggest Benefits of Having 3D Printers Readily Accessible?
 
Students realize that they are being trained on the forefront of technology and using leading-edge equipment. From the very first day of classes, they are already working on computers and not focusing only on theory.

 
The students also feel that the deep integration of 3D printing into the curriculum provides them with a lot of additional creative freedom. They are free to think out of the box – and outside the limitations of older equipment. They are also not limited by their personal manual dexterity. In addition, they are able to extend and expand their original designs in ways that would not be possible without 3D printing.

 
Students do not need to be concerned that their designs will be too complex to manufacture or even to prototype, because with additive manufacturing “if they can model it – they can make it!” in the words of Justin Hopkins, the Manager of the SCAD Rapid Prototyping Lab.Their process is simply: From imagination to computer to a model in hand.
 
 
From the Lab to the Store Shelf
 
Continuing with their principle of preparing students for the real world, SCAD has established a product development venture to cultivate and promote the work of talented SCAD students, alumni and faculty artists. Certain select products are promoted and sold in retail stores throughout the world. One example of such a student project is the Christy Collection of clocks.
 
 
Continued Integration of 3D Printing into the Design Curriculum
 
When Hopkins look into the future and describe how he sees the ongoing integration of 3D printing into the school’s curriculum, his focus is on more options. He’d like to see the lab expanding into different 3D printing technologies. In addition to their existing Stratasys FDM 3D Printers, he has already put in a request for a Stratasys Objet30 Pro 3D Printer so that students can 3D print models with finer detail as well as with multiple materials and the digital blends that are offered by the PolyJet 3D printing technology.

 
In general, Hopkins wants to have a wider variety of technologies and materials, so that students can truly cater and customize the 3D printing process to the specific task at hand. Without a doubt, the design students at SCAD are learning to design the future using 3D printing. The result is not only higher quality models, but also higher quality designers. Stratasys is proud to play a major role in that.

miércoles, 12 de junio de 2013

Manufactura aditiva para UAVs

 
Las empresas que desarrollan y fabrican aviones no tripulados (UAVs, más popularmente conocidos como "drones") constituyen uno de los sectores industriales que más rápidamente han aprovechado las ventajas de la manufactura digital aditiva. En unos casos, el recurso a la manufactura aditiva les ha permitido realizar con rapidez múltiples iteraciones de diseños complejos, reduciendo extraordinariamente el tiempo de salida del nuevo producto al mercado. En otros casos, les ha permitido realizar series cortas o muy cortas (una sola unidad) en un tiempo record, y a un coste muy reducido. En en todos los casos, el ahorro de costes obtenido les ha permitido a todas ellas ganar una considerable ventaja sobre sus competidores ya que si hubieran utilizado las técnicas de fabricación tradicional (moldeo por inyección, mecanizado, etc.) los costes habrían sido prohibitivos y los desarrollos se habrían demorado hasta hacer inviables los proyectos.
 
Estos son los enlaces a ciertos casos de éxito que conozco sobre esta aplicación:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

domingo, 9 de junio de 2013

EADS vuela hacia Stratasys

 
Stratasys ha anunciado que la subsidiaria de EADS Survey Copter ha usado con éxito la tecnología FDM para producir prototipos y series cortas de piezas pertenecientes a uno de sus mini UAVs.
 
 
Hasta ahora Survey Copter obtenía prototipos y piezas subcontratando su fabricación, pero han llegado a un punto en el que han visto más conveniente adquirir un sistema propio al objeto de producir las piezas en sus propios talleres, asegurando así la producción de prototipos y series cortas en cuestión de horas, garantizando de esta manera que todo "quede en casa".
 
 
En este caso, han optado por comprar dos máquinas: Una impresora Dimension Elite para obtener prototipos rápidos, y un sistema de producción Fortus 400mc para fabricación de series cortas.
 

miércoles, 5 de junio de 2013

Efi Arazi no longer with us



It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Efi Arazi.
 
Efi Arazi passed away last 24th May at the age of 76. Exactly on his birthday. He was the founder of Scitex and the father of Israeli hi-tech. He had a great influence on many of us and touched us all on a professional as well as a personal level. For many of us he was an inspiration as a creative thinker and a magnetic personality. The funeral was hold last Monday 3rd, at Kibutz Horashim.