It’s easy to be impressed by talk about what a 3D printer can do. For example, the numbers given for Nexa3D’s NXE 400 industrial 3D printer are eye-opening: 6.5 times the speed of other industrial resin 3D printers on the market; 2.5 times the build volume; and 20 times the overall productivity? These numbers look great on paper, but ultimately, what do they really mean? How do “ultrafast” speed and 20x productivity affect companies in real-world situations?
Nexa3D’s NXE 400 offers speed and productivity beyond other technologies on the market.
The answers to questions about real-world situations come from real-world examples. Let’s take a look at how the NXE 400 has impacted users in the fields of medicine, communications, and automotive manufacturing.
Enabling Remote Medicine
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to rapidly spread around the world, French startup WeMed was founded in order to try to relieve some of the burden on hospitals and clinics, which were quickly becoming overwhelmed with sick patients. If diagnostic tools could become available for remote, non-hospital use, fewer people would report to doctors’ offices and be exposed to already-sick patients. WeMed started with the SKOP, an affordable, accessible telehealth-specific stethoscope that could connect to tablets, smartphones, and communication platforms such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime.
The SKOP, due to its sensitive acoustic properties and biomimetic design based on cochlear anatomy, required an extremely precise manufacturing technology. It also needed to be manufactured quickly and affordably so that a large volume of the devices could be deployed for use. With the help of partners Third and Hava3D, WeMed discovered Nexa3D and the NXE 400, whose speed, volume, and precision helped meet supply demands while maintaining high quality. Working with Henkel for application-specific resins rounded out the collaborative manufacturing project, ramping up to scale delivery.
“When it comes to high-demand products like medical devices, speed is essential, and our groundbreaking technology is helping to bridge the gap by providing these ultrafast capabilities,” explained Nexa3D Co-Founder and CEO Avi Reichental. “Our access to global suppliers enabled us to customise and tailor materials for SKOP and it was extremely rewarding to see WeMed’s revolutionary designs and our technical advantages come together.”
The SKOP 3D printed stethoscope enables remote diagnostics, relieving pressure on COVID-overwhelmed healthcare facilities.
Read the full case study here.
Developing Critical Communications
Motorola Solutions is a global leader in mission-critical communications and analytics. Its technology platforms, including command centre software and video security and analytics, boosted by managed and support services, help cities stay safer and businesses maintain security. The company relies heavily on additive manufacturing to design and develop its highly sophisticated communications devices for commercial, government, and industrial markets.
Motorola Solutions utilises a wide variety of 3D printers, ranging from desktop FFF to industrial SLA technologies. These machines factor into the product development process as the company creates prototypes/pilot builds and fixtures for internal evaluation and use. However, even with all of this equipment, issues still arose – mainly with larger, more complex designs such as housing enclosures. Build time was increasing due to the limited amount one build could yield, and some larger designs could not even fit onto the build platforms. In addition, Motorola Solutions was running into problems with stair-stepped surfaces caused by the FFF printing process.
The NXE 400 effectively addressed all of these problems. It delivered the speed, volume, and quality Motorola Solutions needed, while remaining cost-effective. Since the company began using the NXE 400, it has been able to print at 5 to 10 times the speed of its traditional SLA machines, with a high level of detail and smooth finish. This surface quality, requiring little post-processing, has reduced both cost and labor.
Read the full case study here.
The NXE 400’s large build volume enables multiple parts to be produced in one print.
Flying Through Production
Swiss company FLYER develops and manufactures high-quality e-bikes, which have been on the market since 1995. The company began integrating 3D printed components into its bikes for better flexibility and design freedom, using mainly FFF technology. The in-house team was using two of these 3D printers for prototyping, research and development, and short-production runs of parts that go into pre-production bikes for beta testing.
As the company grew, however, FLYER found that it needed to upgrade its 3D printers in order to keep up with market demand and maintain a competitive advantage. The team began looking into SLA technology for its speed and smooth, detailed surface finish. Upon consulting with distributor DiscDirect, however, FLYER found that LSPc technology by way of the NXE 400 was what it truly needed.
DiscDirect gave FLYER a demonstration of the NXE 400’s capabilities by 3D printing an e-bike component design FLYER provided. The NXE 400 produced a fully functional isotropic part that closely resembled an end-use bike part within minutes. To print the same design, an FFF 3D printer would have taken hours. FLYER was sold.
Read the full case study here.
See the NXE 400’s Capabilities For Yourself
The above case studies are just a few examples of how the NXE 400 has helped a variety of businesses to create products faster and more efficiently at reduced cost. Real-world situations like these help to better illustrate a 3D printer’s advantages, but sometimes you need to see for yourself.
To watch the NXE 400 3D print a fully functional robot arm in under eight hours, check out this video from Nexa3D’s reseller CREAT3D, whose fun challenge to its team turned out to be a great demonstration of the NXE 400’s speed and precision. If you’d like to actually hold a part printed by the NXE 400 in your hand, you can order a free sample part here. The detail, smooth finish, and durability of a printed part can tell the NXE 400’s story far better than numbers on a page.
