Stratasys (SSYS) Message Board

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Stratasys (SSYS)

SSYS 9.450

-4.0%

3:59 PM EST

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next

To: Stratajema who wrote (90)	2/28/1997 10:53:00 AM
From: Brian VanHiel	of 316

David, The slicing and support generation is not completely automated. It still requires that a person sit in front of a workstation and make choices regarding part orientation, any special supports, etc. While the process can take as few as 5 minutes for a simple part, it is not automatic. I think the office modeler arena demands a simple (to the point of being invisible) user interface. The Actua is there. All you have to do is send it the file and the part is oriented, supported and sliced without user intervention. FDM should be able to follow pretty easily, but it requires some assumptions being made about orientation and supports. These assumptions may not always be optimal, which will effect part quality and speed. Actua is less sensitive to these nuances and I think that why they're there first: it was easier. As for support structure in FDM: I was unprepared for the amount of frustration removing the supports can cause. Most of my experience has been in SLA where the supports are not there to resists the force of gravity (because the part 'floats' in the resin) but to keep it from shifting. FDM must support the part closely enough to keep the hot extruded material from drooping. Supports must be very closely spaced, and is further complicated by the fact that the extrusion head is limited in its ability to draw thin lines. This means you have many supports that are closely spaced and have thick sections. Small details are frequently broken while trying to remove supports. SSYS sends sculpting tools to help remove supports, but I've found the best tool to be a pair of pliers. The reason that SSYS isn't using wax as a support material is that it would melt when plastic was extruded over it. The support material needs to have similar thermal characteristics to the extrusion material so that it can be extruded in the same environment. If the properties of the materials are too different then unequal shrinkages and warpage may result. I think that SSYS's future market is definitely in large plastic parts. Objects like automobile fenders which do not require the accuracy/surface finish of SLA and require few copies. To be successful in this arena they will need more speed (FDM is painfully slow in parts with large material volume). I think the best way to do this is with a print head that is capable of extruding different thicknesses of material on the fly. -Brian

Report TOU Violation

Share This Post

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next