3d printing technology is transforming the manufacturing industry in a multi-faceted manner. Be it designing, prototyping, or creating custom support equipment to streamline the manufacturing — the applications are many. With the advancement of 3d printing techniques across the manufacturing domain, companies opt for 3d printed fixtures and custom masking to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Jigs, fixtures, and masking accessories make the overall manufacturing and assembly process seamless and reliable. Using these toolings, engineers can reduce the manufacturing time and enhance workers’ safety.
Traditionally, all fixtures, jigs, and masking are made in metal, and due to this, the scope of flexibility reduces significantly. Whenever businesses needed a custom-shape fixture or masking, they only had the option to prepare it in metal, elevating the end product cost.
For overcoming this, manufacturers are leveraging 3d printing technology to produce custom-design fixtures and other toolings.
The concept of 3d-printed fixtures and masking
Over the years, additive manufacturing technology has evolved across multiple domains, and the manufacturing industry is one of them. As the cost of owning an in-house 3d printer or opting for a 3d printing service is going down, more companies are interested in this innovation.
Using traditional methods, engineers have a little scope of cost-optimization while making any custom shape fixtures and masking on demand. This high cost is passed on to the customer, and in the long term, this is not a very feasible approach towards manufacturing these toolings.
For solving the challenge of low-cost production with higher customization and faster turnaround time, manufacturers started using 3d printing technology.
3d printing methods for fixtures and masking
Using 3d printing technologies like FDM and SLA, it has become easier to design and manufacture fixtures and masks for custom machinery. Many functional resins and plastic-based filaments are available in the market, bringing out superior performance in a real-world environment.
With the advancement of this technology, many manufacturers across the globe are using these 3d printing filaments to replace metal-based fixtures. 3d printing technology is helping them to streamline and automate their assembly lines and production facilities.
How do 3d printing fixtures and masking works?
In conventional methods, when engineers need to create a bracket for the existing CAD model, they need to re-design the mating faces. It can either be done manually drawing the fastener holes and faces or projecting the front over a sketch. This entire traditional process tasks a lot of time and effort.
However, using designing software like NTopology, it’s much more efficient and faster to create the fixture and masking structures. Compared to the conventional process, this method is easy to complete in only three steps which are:
- Step 1: Import the part (CAD or mesh)
- Step 2: Create a conformal fixture
- Step 3: Mesh the fixture and export
Benefits of 3d printing fixtures and masking
When companies opt for 3d printing technology to create bespoke jigs, fixtures, and masking, they reduce the overall development cycle and boost efficiency. Below are some key benefits of leveraging additive manufacturing technology for fixtures and masking.
Material option
The most transforming benefit of using 3d printing is selecting from a wide range of custom materials for producing the toolings. Whether engineers use the FDM or SLA printing methods, plenty of high-performance materials are available in the market. Also, manufacturers can create a custom filament using two or more materials to meet the required material properties.
Quick testing
Rapid prototyping of fixtures and masking help designers to quickly test their design and mitigate design and structural flaws at a very early development phase. It is much more streamlined to test, modify and validate the final product to ensure intact performance and durability in the real-world environment. On the other hand, it would take a couple of days or even weeks to complete the testing procedure on a newly-designed fixture or masking.
Most cost-effective
Compared to traditional manufacturing, 3d printing lets business owners print custom-made fixtures and masking at a lower cost. It is possible because additive manufacturing doesn’t require pre-production tooling or expensive equipment to produce custom design objects. As the material wastage is also lower, it makes the overall production process more affordable and accessible to small businesses.
Higher Agility
The best part about 3d printing fixtures and masking is that the complete process is highly agile, and it’s easier to integrate with the traditional methods. When 3D printing is incorporated at the right place on the assembly line, it becomes easier to deliver any improvisations for achieving the best possible performance.
Complex Geometry
With 3d printing technology, engineers can quickly draft complex designs and geometries as compared to traditional methods. As 3d printing doesn’t require excessive support and tools for creating complex geometries, the entire process becomes seamless.
About 3D Spectra Technologies LLP
3D Spectra Tech LLP is a pioneer digital manufacturing company that offers state-of-the-art 3d printing services in Pune. We use high-end modern 3D printers and filaments to meet your every industrial 3d printing requirement with higher precision and accuracy.
Along with additive manufacturing services, we also offer 3D Scanning, CNC machining, vacuum casting, laser cutting, augmented reality development, and more. Contact 3D Spectra Technologies LLP to know more about our services.
