Online manufacturing network 3D Hubs has launched a new business entity based in the U.S.
Part of its new B2B strategy, the move has been made to implement the company’s “Fulfilled by 3D Hubs” service in the region.
In addition to this development, 3D Hubs has announced a new tool for its 3D printing checkout to help customers get the most out of FDM, SLS and SLA objects.
3D Hubs Manufacturing LLC.
In the U.S. 3D Hubs will now operate as 3D Hubs Manufacturing LLC. For the customer, this means that order invoices will be sent within the U.S., and local customers won’t incur any international credit charges.
This also means that all orders have been fully switched over to the Fulfilled by 3D Hubs service.
Announced in September 2018, following the “death” of 3D Hubs, the Fulfilled by 3D Hubs service automatically routes manufacturing/prototyping orders to its approved list of partners.
Previously, the customer was given the choice of which service provider, or “hub”, would fulfill their order. The company opted for this strategy in favor of “faster lead times and reliable quality.” Orders to this platform now require a minimum spend of $35 too, “to maintain quality standards,” and the range of previously available materials has been cut until the company can reach appropriate standards for each of them.
One further addition through the Fulfilled by 3D Hubs service is that all Manufacturing Partners have an implicit NDA with any customer submitting an order – providing industrial customers with added security.
Print Orientation & Cosmetic Side Dictation
At present, 3D Hubs’ services cover 3D printing, CNC machining and injection molding. In 3D printing, the company offers a variety of different options. For plastics, there is FDM, SLA, SLS and HP Mult Jet Fusion Technology. In metals, the company offers DMLS/SLM.
In a new update to its 3D printing service, 3D Hubs is now allowing FDM, SLA and SLS customers a degree of further control over end part quality. With the Print Orientation & Cosmetic Side Dictation tool, customers can now decide the placement of support structures on FDM and SLA parts and, for SLS, determine the surface which comes into contact with the print bed. By amending these settings customers can maximize the quality of specific parts of an object, a useful tool when high detail is required.
Print Orientation & Cosmetic Side Dictation will soon be available through 3D Hubs’ new checkout tool. When this goes live, the company is also promising to launch the Manufacturability Analyzer tool, which will provide feedback on the printability of a submitted file, and make recommendations for the optimal manufacturing process.
Other new features in the future include the ability “to select the type of support material (soluble or not), the post-processing method and many other design requirements” for projects.
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Featured image shows 3D Hubs 3D printed Marvin mascots. Photo via 3D Hubs
