Ohio-based contract manufacturer The Technology House (TTH) has purchased an SLA 750 3D printer from 3D Systems to enhance its manufacturing workflow.
Compared to other available SLA printers, 3D Systems’ Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer offers high levels of throughput and reliability, says the company. Incorporating the SLA 750 printer’s high-speed production, generous build area, and extensive materials portfolio enables The Technology House (TTH) to broaden the range of services provided to its customers. TTH has been a customer of 3D Systems since its establishment in 1996, initially starting with one SLA 500 3D printer and subsequently integrating additional 3D Systems SLA printers such as SLA 5000s, SLA 7000s, and Vipers, along with other 3D Systems technology.
“We’ve been a customer of 3D Systems for over 25 years,” said Lauren Good, VP, Finance, The Technology House. “We’ve found their solutions, service, and overall partnership invaluable to our business. After our thorough evaluation of the competitive landscape, we chose to add the SLA 750 to our manufacturing workflow not only due to its speed and accuracy which allows us to produce both large parts as well as fine feature detail, but also for the number of production-grade materials that we can now offer. 3D Systems’ material portfolio expansion with the SLA 750 allows us to offer better solutions to our customer base faster. We can complete jobs much more efficiently with very little post-processing. Having the SLA 750 is helping us get more throughput out the door which means we are able to complete the job in half the time and offer a better cost to our customers.”
SLA 750 3D printer provides speed, accuracy, and finish
The SLA 750 by 3D Systems is engineered to provide an “industry-leading combination” of print size, accuracy, resolution, and speed, resulting in final parts with high-quality finishing and mechanical performance. This 3D printer offers print speeds up to 30% faster and possesses a 15% larger build envelope compared to previous models, enabling manufacturers to optimize and scale their production processes. The system incorporates a self-calibrating dual-rail recoater that enhances the reliability of the printing process and improves the mechanical properties of the final parts.
Furthermore, the SLA 750 incorporates Hyper-Scan vector technology, a proprietary scanning algorithm specifically developed to cater to the unique requirements of production additive manufacturing applications. This technology optimizes crucial elements of speed and productivity, including laser focus, power, and vector motor kinematics, resulting in significantly improved 3D printer speed and throughput. The 3D printer is equipped with downstream automation readiness and is compatible with robots, facilitating 24/7 lights-out operation through fully automatic printer turnover, job-offloading, washing, and on-boarding. Additionally, the SLA 750 comes with 3D Sprint, an all-in-one software solution that prepares, optimizes, and prints 3D CAD data. This comprehensive software package eliminates the need for multiple software tools, allowing for a streamlined and efficient workflow from design to high-quality, true-to-CAD printed parts.
Accelerating production with 3D printers
3D Systems announced that BWT Alpine F1 purchased four of its SLA 750 3D printing systems. These systems have been procured by Alpine F1 to support the production of components specifically for wind tunnel testing. Notably, the team already employs 3D Systems’ SLA and SLS technology to successfully 3D print approximately 25,000 parts each year. The acquired 3D printers utilize the Accura Composite PIV material, which aids in reducing preparation time and enhancing performance. The 3D printers enable the creation of components with superior sidewall and surface quality, feature detail, and high geometric accuracy. Consequently, this results in reduced reliance on post-processing and finishing, saving valuable time.
Tooling & Equipment International (TEI) and Voxeljet, a manufacturer of binder jet 3D printers, furthered their collaboration with the purchase of a third sand 3D printer, the VX4000, by TEI. As a supplier of General Motors, TEI utilizes the world’s largest sand 3D printer to create cast cores for the series production of structurally significant, lightweight components for the Cadillac CELESTIQ. By integrating 3D printing into parts development and construction, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can achieve new, function-optimized designs. Vendors benefit from the swift and adaptable integration of 3D printed cores into existing manufacturing processes.
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Featured image shows the combination of the SLA 750’s high-speed production, large build area, and broad materials portfolio is allowing The Technology House to expand the services offered to its customers. Image via 3D Systems.
