Jul 7

Jul 7 STEM Outreach - How I Built a Device for STEM Education

Additive Manufacturing, Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers, Solidworks

During my time operating the Machining Blog business, I have visited a few schools. I noticed one thing that was the same about their programs, and that was their 3D printers were just used to produce trinkets and not mechanical parts. I decided to create a project that could create many learning opportunities from it, and that project was to design and build a mechanical clock. The clock that I designed was based on a mechanical watch design, but I scaled the part size up by six times their actual size. I started the project by reading books on watch design and by taking apart watch movements. I learned along the way and then started designing watch movement parts in Solidworks CAD software. I then purchased a small 3D printer and started printing the parts. Once the gears started to mesh properly, I built a few prototypes along the way. With all my time that I invested in the project, it probably amounted to a couple thousand hours. The result was a clock that is pretty accurate for being printed, not machined.

May 15

May 15 Transforming Robotic End of Arm Tooling with 3D Printing

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Additive Manufacturing, CAD CAM, Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers

The use of 3D printing for making robotic end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) is a significant advancement in manufacturing. These components are crucial for industrial automation as they help robots boost factory production.

Oct 25

Oct 25 Print at the Point of Need: How 3D Printing Reduces Reliance on Outsourced Manufacturing Aid Components

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Additive Manufacturing, Engineer, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers, Professional Engineer

In the realm of manufacturing, the production process often relies on various aids such as jigs, fixtures, and specialized tools to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and quality. Traditionally, manufacturers would outsource the production of these components, which could be costly, time-consuming, and limit flexibility. However, with the emergence of 3D printing technology, manufacturers now have the ability to reduce their reliance on outsourced manufacturing aid components.

Oct 6

Oct 6 3D Printed Mechanical Clock Video

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT

Additive Manufacturing, STEM

This mechanical clock in the video was made with over two dozen 3d printed parts. It has brass bushings and steel shafts. It was inspired by a mechanical watch design, but the parts are laid out in-line and scaled up six times larger than a mechanical watch.

Sep 30

Sep 30 3D Printed Clock

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT

Additive Manufacturing, Manufacturing

I have designed and built a 3D printed clock that has over two dozen printed parts in it. My aspirations for doing this started when I bought mechanical watch movements and disassembled them to see how they work. The clock that I printed was inspired by a mechanical watch movement, but it is scaled up in size by six times.

Jul 5

Jul 5 HellermannTyton Boosts Efficiency and Cuts Costs with Markforged

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Additive Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers

Amy Vasey is an Automation Design Engineer at HellermannTyton. She has been with the company for 20 years and recently helped introduce and implement 3D printing in their Automation department.

The product development group at HellermannTyton, familiar with additive manufacturing technology, approached Amy’s team, asking if they’d ever considered 3D printing some of their many aluminum parts.

At the time, Vasey and her team weren’t familiar with the technology or where to start. “The product development team was really good at pushing us to start with something small, and that’s what we did.”