Protolabs
Protolabs has launched design for manufacturability (DFM) analysis for 3D printed parts, as it aims to offer ‘peace of mind’ to manufacturers across Europe.
The company says this capability, which is done online in seconds, will provide added assurance that a part is suitable for manufacturing before committing to production.
Protolabs has been supporting customers with this process for CNC and injection moulding offerings. The company says that the development will bring benefits of speed and reassurance to the 3D printing service.
Andrea Landoni, Protolabs EMEA’s 3D Printing Product Manager, said: “Whilst the technology offers great flexibility, there are a few limitations that engineers must be aware of and the Design for Manufacturability (DFM) analysis provides that guidance in seconds. The system will instantly highlight all the issues to the user, whether they are critical, such as parts that are too long to be produced, or non-critical, like dimensions that are close to certain thresholds like wall thickness and may not form completely.”
Protolabs
A screenshot of the DFM process
Landoni emphasises that instant analysis means users can have all the advantages of additive manufacturing with ‘even more certainty’ without sacrificing speed.
Landoni added: “Protolabs understands that specific projects require technical consultancy to solve complex issues. In these circumstances, our application engineers are still on hand to overcome these challenges and accelerate the process.
“The design for manufacturability analysis supports our application engineers by reducing the number of projects they need to get involved in, allowing them to interact with more customers who require their support even faster.”
