20230717-Making Plastic Injection Molded Parts with 3D Printed Molds

Kubi Kara

15 Jul, 2023

20230717-Making Plastic Injection Molded Parts with 3D Printed Molds

3D Printed Molds for Keychain Creation! Unlock your creativity with custom-designed 3D printed molds, crafted using the Form 3+ printer. Take it a step further with the APSX-PIM injection machine, which effortlessly injects a variety of materials into the 3D printed molds. From vibrant colors to durable materials, the possibilities are endless!

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Additive Manufacturing in Orthopedics - Lattice Structures

See how Amplify Additive focuses on fusion and osseointegration to manufacture implants.

Jonathan Buckley

fromnTopology

16 Jul, 2021

We at Amplify Additive are focused on fusion and bone ingrowth (i.e. osseointegration) when we manufacture implants, as that is a critical function that must be optimized at all costs. By definition osseointegration is the connection between bone and the surface of an implant; therefore the degree and rate of fusion directly correlates to a more effective implant for the end user.

In traditionally manufactured orthopedic implants (i.e. fully machined implants), coatings such as TPA and sintered coatings are applied after machining to ensure osseointegration occurs between the implant and the part. Coatings such as these have been applied since the 1970’s and while they have proven effective in promoting bone to implant integration, implant failure and the need for revision surgeries have been known to occur from time to time. Coatings such as TPA require line of sight to coat an implant, which can be difficult with inner surface features and may require multiple applications to get the desired thickness. Sintered coatings require an additional heat treatment for proper adhesion, which also can weaken the overall strength of the implant.

With the newest innovations from additive manufacturing, we at Amplify Additive use 3D printed lattice structures to promote improved osseointegration vs traditional implants. Lattice structures are 3D printed as part of the implant design, allowing for seamless integration between both. These lattice structures have the appearance of a porous grid, comprised of thin struts overlapping with each other while maintaining small spacings in between which are known as pores. Unlike coatings, the pore size, strut size and % porosity can all be changed according to the individual implant needs, which allows us to generate the most effective implants to date.

Stochastic, Trabecular and Engineered Lattice Structures printed using EBM Technology

Image: A selection of meshes of parts with intricate lattices, gyroid structures, and topology optimized shape generated in nTopology.

Meshing in FEA, CFD & Manufacturing

Accurate mesh generation is a critical step of every engineering design workflow that involves FE analyses, CFD simulations, or Additive Manufacturing.

Alkaios Bournias Varotsis

fromnTopology

23 Jun, 2021

3D Printing

- product design

- prototyping

Accurate mesh generation is a critical step of every engineering design workflow that involves FE analyses, CFD simulations, or Additive Manufacturing. Here, we give you practical tips and design considerations for meshing parts with complex geometries, like lattice structures, using nTopology’s powerful meshing capabilities.

Meshing complex geometry is one of the most critical factors for simulation and manufacturing. However, there is a delicate balance between generating an accurate mesh and creating a file that is too large for practical application.

In this blog post, we share practical tips to generate robust meshes for parts with complex geometries. Follow the links to jump to the relevant section:

Introduction to meshing
Design considerations for meshing
The meshing process
Practical meshing tips & rules of thumb

What is Meshing?

Meshing is the process of dividing a 3D model into thousands of elements to properly define its shape — the more detailed the mesh, the better the approximation. Meshes are used to run engineering simulations, communicate manufacturing data, or for rendering.

There are two main types of meshes: surface meshes and volume meshes:

Surface meshes use two-dimensional elements — typically triangles or quads — to approximate the outer surface of a 3D body. Surface meshes are used in manufacturing or rendering applications.
Volume meshes, also known as solid meshes, use three-dimensional elements — typically tetrahedrons or hexahedrons — to define both the surface and interior structure. Surface meshes can be converted into volume meshes to run FE or CFD simulations.

Simplified meshes are suitable for manufacturing, while more refined meshes are more suitable for FEA and CFD and can be converted