Plastics News Show Daily - April 5, 2012 - (Page 12)

12 PLASTICS NEWS, April 5, 2012 ACT NOW E n t e r t o w i n a n New Automatic Cut and Transfer (ACT) series of coilers reduces labor by utilizing one operator to coil or spool from several lines at speeds up to 1000 fpm. Automatic design eliminates product floor pile-ups, saving time, minimizing scrap, improving wind appearance and product quality. Designed for tubing, profile and cable extrusions. RedEye remains nimble with digital manufacturing process By Frank Antosiewicz PLASTICS NEWS CORRESPONDENT ACT NOW. Contact Tulsa Power today for more information. Innovative Flexible Material Spooling & Coiling Solutions 913 N. Wheeling · Tulsa, OK 74110 U.S.A. 800.548.6227 · 918.584.1000 · Fax: 918.584.3421 sales@tulsapower.com · tulsapower.com i P a d a t N P E B o o t h #8 6 7 7 ORLANDO, FLA. — Whether it’s a life-sized statue of Thomas Jefferson for the Smithsonian or a battery holder for a Marine’s flashlight, RedEye on Demand (Booth 44065) has developed its digital manufacturing process to get parts out quickly. “We’re a product development solution provider for our customers,” said Jeff Hanson, business development manager for RedEye during an interview at tooling, did 100 and shipped it NPE2012. He said RedEye can be used at out. The orders started coming in the start of product development 100s and we were able to get the and even for low-volume runs so parts out and they started assemthat demand and even changes bly right away to meet their comcan be made prior to full-volume mitment,” said Hanson. He said that customers have runs. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based the wrong impression of rapid direct digital manufacturing com- prototyping, and that it can be pany is a business unit of Strata- used to make low-volume numsys Inc., and recently added cast bers of parts. Thus, tooling and a switch to injection molding or anurethane molding to its services. Hanson said that RedEye was other process is not needed undeveloped as a way to sell parts less the project is ready for highto customers of Stratasys and er volumes. It can be used with a that it evolved as much more and variety of resins such as ABS, PC proved to be a profitable busi- ABS, polycarbonate and others. “We can mitigate risk, cost and ness unit. The Jefferson statue is at the time restraints,” he added. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit titled “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty,” which runs through Oct. 14 in Washington. The project took about 2½ weeks, as compared to a normal several month estimate for a traditional bronze statue. Once assembled, it was treated with primer, paint and wax to give it a realistic bronzed patina. The company said that it used three-dimensional laser scans of an already-existing statue created by StudioEIS that resides at Jefferson’s home in Monticello near Charlottesville, Va. The data was sent as a digi- Jeff Hanson, business developement manager of tal model and the stat- RedEye, with a sample of his firm’s work at ue was produced in NPE2012 four parts using Stratasys’ patented Fused Deposition RedEye on Demand was Modeling technology. It was made launched in 2005 and has created from production-grade thermo- a global digital factory worldplastics. wide. Besides Minnesota, it has “We are expanding the reach of factories in Melbourne, Australia; our services beyond traditional Istanbul, Turkey; São Paulo, design firms and product devel- Brazil; and Leuven, Belgium. opment and our work demonWhat’s unique, according to strates our ability to offer cus- Hanson, is it can share data worldtomized parts and products for wide with its Internet Communicaunique, one-off applications in an tions Technology and through its affordable way,” said Richard online search engine can provide Garrity, vice president of RedEye quick quotes once numbers wanton Demand in a news release. ed, material desired, XYZ axises, Hanson used another example and surface are entered. of the company’s nimbleness, The system allows it to deternoting that in 2004 when U.S. mine capacity at any factory, troops were fighting in Fallujah, maintain consistency worldwide Iraq, a customer needed a battery and provide quick turnaround. holder to finish production of a Garrity said that pressure from Marine flashlight, but found that the medical, automotive and it would take a supplier about 12 heavy machinery industries to weeks to deliver the goods. Han- decrease time and costs to bring son suggested rapid prototyping a product to market, encouraged and found the undisclosed cus- RedEye to come out with the lowvolume cast urethane molding. It tomer skeptical. I said, “If you send us a pur- provides a bridge between rapid chase order for 100, I will send prototyping and injection molding, combining the durability of a you one tomorrow,” he said. Hanson said that they used a FDM additive-manufactured part layered manufacturing process with the surface finish of a tradiand the customer saw it, called tional manufactured part. Parent company Stratasys, back and said that they had forgotbased in Minneapolis, is a maker ten to put a flange in the design. “So, I said, ‘Send us a new file of additive-manufacturing maand we’ll do another,” he noted, chines for prototyping and prosaying that if tooling had been ducing plastic parts. It markets created, the change would have under the brands uPrint and Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus stalled the project. “We eliminated the need for Production 3D Printers. Plastics News photo by Michael Marcotte  http://www.tulsapower.com http://www.tulsapower.com http://www.gala-industries.com http://www.gala-industries.com http://www.gala-europe.de

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Plastics News Show Daily - April 5, 2012

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