Maintenance in Rapid Prototyping Maintenance http en wikipedia

Maintenance in Rapid Prototyping

Maintenance @ http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Maintenance may refer to: – – – • Non-technical maintenance: High-maintenance, slang expression Maintenance of an organism Child support or alimony, also called spousal support Maintenance as defined in champerty: assistance provided to a litigant by one who does not have a bona-fide interest in a lawsuit. • Technical maintenance: Car maintenance Maintenance of way Software maintenance Software maintainer • General types of technical maintenance: Maintenance, repair and operations Predictive maintenance Preventive maintenance Page 2

RP System Maintenance Service Providers @ Castle Island The list is available at http: //home. att. net/~castleisland/maint. htm 3 D-Tech Gmb. H 3 D-Tech, based in Switzerland (Basel area) is manufacturer authorized with over 7 years experienced in repair-, maintenance- and installation service of Z-Corporation & Contex 3 D-Printers. 3 D-Tech's service experience covers all Z-Corporation & Contex printers from the Z-400 - to all current models, including the Z-810 System. We mainly offer our services all over Western- and Eastern Europe in the German, English, French and Hungarian languages. (in German with some English) Absolute Geometries provides 3 D Scanning Services for Reverse Engineering and Computer-aided Inspection. Also offered is RP Equipment Optimization. All we need is an RP part and the original STL file that was used to build the part. Absolute Geometries will scan the part and then overlay the point cloud data with the original STL file. We'll then make recommendations as to which parameters to adjust on your equipment to build better and more accurate parts. [Based in Texas. ] Ballistic Fluid Technologies, LLC provides print heads and materials for users of the "Sanders Prototype" Ink Jet RP technology. This technology has been used by Solid. Scape, Inc. , and Sanders Design International, Inc. , for all of their product lines. BFT principal member, Kempton Philbrook, one of the principal inventors on the Sanders Prototype patents, provides users of this technology with replacement and refurbished printheads, heated lines, and replacement BFT proprietary build and support materials. Equipment Service Professionals LLC [Mainly services photopolymer-based inkjet technologies. Based in Michigan. ] Integra Services International [Selective laser sintering equipment repair and maint. ] Contact Information PO Box 2388, Georgetown TX 78627; 254 -933 -2970; Email: integra@integra-support. com Layer Grown Model Technology Services (LGM) Layer Grown Model Technology Services provides technical support 24/7, repairs, service consumables/parts and sales assistance (resale of machines) on used "Solidscape" and "Sanders Prototype" ink jet RP technology machines. LGM principal member, James Mc. Mahon, travels and is known worldwide for ink jet technology and service support, training and installations. National RP Support, Inc. Located in Pella, IA USA. With ten years experience in the RP industry, National RP Support provides maintenance, technical support, replacement parts, and upgrades for Stereolithography equipment. SIBCO Inc. Provides service for LOM, FDM and SLA equipment, and solid state lasers for SLA equipment. Total C S Team, Inc. We are a California-based company with a combined experience of over 34 years in rapid prototyping. We specialize in maintenance and repair of stereolithography equipment as well as process control and 6 -sigma techniques to help customers transition into rapid manufacturing. Page 3

Maintenance @ Wohlers Associates Link is at http: //wohlersassociates. com/Mar. Apr 02 TCT. htm As with most machinery, preventative maintenance is a good idea, but it comes at a cost. An annual maintenance agreement from 3 D Systems (Valencia, CA) - an RP company - can cost up to $75, 000 for its SLA 7000 machine. A one-year service agreement for a $200, 000 FDM Titan machine from Stratasys (Eden Prairie, MN) - a manufacturer of RP systems - is $19, 000. As a rule, budget about 10 percent of the purchase price of the machine for full annual maintenance. Many of the components in an RP machine will wear out or fail. If you choose an option other than fullservice maintenance, determine the expected life of the major components and budget accordingly. For example, a solid-state laser for stereolithography is warranted to last 5, 000 hours - seven months of use running at 70 percent of capacity. At this rate, you would need to account for at least one new laser for your Viper si 2 or SLA 7000 at a cost of $40, 000. Without a maintenance contract, software maintenance and upgrades will be an additional charge. When using the SLS process, software maintenance costs $6, 000 per year per machine. In general, replacement parts are expensive, especially considering that many of the system manufacturers require that you buy the parts from them to maintain warranties. Many of these parts are specifically manufactured for the technology, so you may have no options other than buying them from the vendor. With no economies of scale, these replacement parts can be pricey. Page 4

Maintenance @ T. A. Grimm & Associates, Inc. Link is at http: //www. tagrimm. com/book/resources. html#repair T. A. Grimm & Associates, Inc. Founded by Todd Grimm, a 13 -year veteran of the rapid prototyping industry, T. A. Grimm & Associates, Inc. offers consulting services on rapid prototyping and related technologies, including competitive analysis, benchmarking and educational programs. The company also offers outsourced marketing services that include marketing plan development, Web optimization, copywriting and lead generation. Todd combines his engineering background and technical knowledge with years of sales, management and marketing experience to create and implement strategic and tactical plans. Laser Innovations (www. solidimaging. com) 668 Flinn Avenue, Suite #22, Moorpark, California 93021, USA National RP Support (www. rpsupport. com) P. O. Box 276, Pella, Iowa 50219, USA Sibco, Inc (www. sibcoinc. com) 1100 Hilton Street, Ferndale, Michigan 48220, USA Page 5

A Global Rapid Prototyping Maintenance & Consulting Company and now an Authorized 3 D Systems® Service Provider Link is at http: //www. rpsupport. com/ National RP Support provides the following services on these models of rapid prototyping equipment: SLA-190, SLA-250, SLA-350/3500, SLA-500 on a best effort basis as long as parts are available SLA-5000, SLA-7000, Viper pro, PCA-250, PCA-500, PCA-Viper Pro Maintenance Contracts T&M repairs Co-op Maintenance Laser Sales and Installations Computer and System Upgrades Optics Cleaning Replacement Parts Sales Technical Support Onsite and Phone Part Building / Accuracy Consultation Operator Training Installation and De-installation Machine Purchases Machine Sales and Consultation Machine Appraisals Machine Transportation Resin Exchanges National RP Support can also provide prototyping and tooling services through its network of leading services bureaus. This network can provide services from concept to models to production tooling. Page 6

Dimension Printing Link is at http: //www. dimensionprinting. com/applications/rapid-prototyping. aspx Both rapid prototyping (RP) and 3 D printing technologies build models layer by layer from STL data. The cost difference per part between 3 D printing and rapid prototyping systems can be significant. Including material, machine depreciation, system maintenance and labor, a part built using rapid prototyping technology can cost nearly twice as much compared to 3 D printing. More expensive rapid prototyping systems are often centrally located with a dedicated staff functioning much like an inhouse service bureau. 3 D printers are smaller, more affordable and suitable for installation near an end user providing convenience and ease of use that eliminates "departmental delay. " Page 7

3 D Systems Links is http: //www. 3 dsystems. com/ Maintenance Program Overview 3 D Systems Corporation's array of service programs are designed to meet the diverse needs of its stereolithography (SLA) machine, selective laser sintering (SLS) and solid object printing customers. Their maintenance programs are key elements of far-reaching global support initiatives intended to provide current and prospective customers with new ways to maximize the value, productivity and flexibility of the company's solid imaging products. Take a moment to learn more about their exciting worldwide programs. They are confident that they will agree that their programs offer more options that will increase your productivity and meet your internal business goals. Page 8

Tele. RP - an Internet web-based solution for remote rapid prototyping service and maintenance Link is at http: //www. informaworld. com/smpp/content~content=a 713804878~db=all Authors: Pingyu Jiang; Shuichi Fukuda Published in: International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Volume 14, Issue 1 January 2001 , pages 83 - 94 This paper describes a methodology to create an Internet-based infrastructure to service and maintain RP-oriented tele-manufacturing. One of the most important applications of such an infrastructure is to support the closed-loop product development practice. The Java-enabled solution based on WWW/Internet computing model is used to implement the infrastructure. The main functions include the remote part submitting, queuing and monitoring. Under the control of different access competences, manufacturing sites and queues can be maintained, respectively, in distributed locations. A software testbed has been developed in Java to verify the methodology. Page 9

The Manufacturing Advisory Service: web-based process and material selection Link is at http: //www. informaworld. com/smpp/content~content=a 714029101~db=all Authors: Charles Smith; Paul Wright; Carlo Squin Affiliation: 5125 Etcheverry Hall University of California at Berkeley, California 94720 USA. Published in: International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Volume 16, Issue 6 September 2003 , pages 373 - 381 The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is a concept level manufacturing process and material selection tool, geared toward educating designers in basic process capabilities and informing experienced designers about new technologies. The designer enters a dialogue with the MAS, answering questions about production quantity, typical tolerances, physical size, overall shape and cost requirements. At each step along the way, the user is presented with an updated, ranked list of manufacturing options. The list updates as soon as values are entered, and the underlying criteria that contribute to the rank are not obscured. This list can then be combined with material selection, resulting in an optimized matching of process/material pairs to the total set of requirements. The MAS is interlinked with web pages of instructions, tutorials, and references explaining the program, fabrication processes and material choices. The MAS performs its calculations using capability data from a remote database. The current version of the Manufacturing Advisory Service is located at: http: //cybercut. berkeley. edu/mas 2/ Page 10