MenuPlastic Additive Manufacturing Case Studies
Designswarm – plastic AM heats up for Utah Teapot
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino is an interaction designer & entrepreneur and we recently worked with her on the Utah teapot, which is a standard reference object in the computer graphics community. The complexity of the object lies in the different types of curves that make it up, and therefore make it one of the most difficult objects to learn how to build in 3D.
RPG Manufacturing – model success
RPG Manufacturing is a new company that makes miniature models for collectors, wargamers and role playing. They are focusing on producing accurate models and came to 3T to discover if additive manufacturing (AM) could play a part in producing models.
University of Southampton – AM Aircraft takes flight
Professors Keane and Scanlan from the Southampton University worked in partnership with 3T to produce 'the world's first 3D-printed plane'* - The Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft (SULSA) - which has successfully taken flight.
FANUC Robotics – vision engineering solution
FANUC Robotics, one of the world’s leading companies in factory automation, has integrated cameras onto its robotic arms. This “vision engineering system” effectively enables a robot to see an object’s location, orientation, measurement and identity giving the robot the flexibility to handle items of different shapes and size at the same time. On a fast moving production line the expensive camera can be vulnerable to damage. FANUC came to 3T looking for a housing that offered good protection whilst retaining quick access to the camera.
Steri-Spray – prototype appears on Dragons’ Den
Having obtained funding from BBC Two's Dragon's Den, Ian Helmore asked 3T to produce over 20 individual components that make up his SteriSpray shower system including inserts, tubes, back plates, covers, connectors and the shower rose itself. The specialist team at 3T then expertly finished and painted the parts, making them look like the final manufactured product ...
Stewart Golf – functional model and quality finish
Stewart Golf design, develop and manufacture luxury powered golf caddies and is proud to lead the industry through continued product development, innovation and engineering. Their products are built to the highest standards, use the most advanced technology and enjoy a distinctive, individual character.
Jordan-Honda – plastic AM on F1 race car
Mike Stevens, Senior CAM Engineer at Jordan says “During the season 3T probably build around 35 parts a week for us. But when we were developing the 2001 car it might have been as many as 50 or 60. The guys at 3T really did their best to quickly turn parts around for us, and we could be confident that we would get the parts back when we needed them.”
VR Technology – better finished production parts
VR Technology is the world’s most innovative diving technology company. It makes diving equipment such as dive computers and underwater breathing equipment and has a world-wide market and reputation.
Charnwood Dynamics – low volume, many iterations
Codamotion, the world leader in real-time movement analysis, wanted to manufacture ‘marker clusters’ in relatively small volumes and to have the ability to change designs quickly as new requirements dictated. The material utilised needed to be lightweight and robust as well as be able to be handled many times without deterioration of finish.
FutureFactories – Creative Personalisation
Lionel Dean is an Engineer, Designer and Artist at FutureFactories: a digital manufacturing (Rapid Prototyping) concept for the mass individualization of products. In partnership with 3T RPD Ltd, Lionel has taken Philippe Stark's iconic Louis Ghost chair and fitted an alternative back to it, which has been created using the plastic Additive Manufacturing (Selective Laser Sintering) technology at 3T.
