Product category:
Fast prototyping equipment, pattern-making and services
News Release from: DSM Somos | Subject: SomosWhite 14120, WaterShed 11120 SL materials
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 May 2005
High quality soft-tooling wins the
business
High quality RTV soft-tooling, that delivers parts for design evaluation, functional testing or patterns for RTV silicon-mould soft-tools, keeps mobile computer specialist competitive.
With more than 700 patent applications issued or pending and a solid reputation for high-tech innovation, Xybernaut Corporation based in Fairfax Virginia, USA, ranks as one of the hottest names in the rapidly-expanding mobile computer business Users of Xybernaut's custom-designed software/hardware packages include DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, Fed-Ex, Defense and government organisations, as well as international front-line media E-Press organisations
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 13 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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DSM Somos' WaterClear and injection moulding materials - recently presented during the Technology Focus in the United States - were shown for the first time in Europe.
To stay ahead of Far-East competition, Xybernaut, in Germany, relies heavily on imbedded logic technology and SL Rapid Prototyping (RP) utilising DSM Somos technology from ASG, a design and prototyping company based in Sindelfingen, Germany.
"ASG switched both of its SLA machines to Somos White and Somos WaterShed in early 2004," says ASG Managing Director, Cristoph Beutel.
"Without a doubt, this was the right move.
Further reading
Stereolithography resin is optically clear
DSM Somosannounces the availability of Somos 10120 WaterClear: a new stereolithography resin providing the optical clarity of many polycarbonates.
Stereolithography resin is optically clear
DSM Somos, leading technology innovators in the rapid prototyping (RP) materials industry, will be launching a new family of ProtoFunctional stereolithography resins at EuroMold in Frankfurt.
Fast prototyping product testing time cut by weeks
According to MTI, Somos 10120 WaterClear provided optical clarity that allowed a client to test its product design earlier and realise time savings
Both materials have excellent surface quality, are extremely fast but accurate and, thanks to their extremely low moisture absorption of around 0,3%, are also stable over time.
Whether we are producing parts for design evaluation, functional testing or patterns for RTV silicon-mould soft-tools, ASG is able to deliver high quality prototypes within an extremely short time-frame.
This is key to our overall business strategy - whether it be for customers in the automotive, consumer or, like Xybernaut, IT segments." Xybernaut's Senior Vice President Research and Development Dr Edwin Vogt says that access to high-quality soft tooling allows the company to rapidly produce fully functional models at a price which enables Xybernaut to retain its leadership position - even in the face of strong competition from Far East and especially Taiwan, China and Japan.
'We have found a great partner in ASG," says Vogt.
"The company not only helps us to optimise our hardware designs, but also produces high-quality SL models for evaluation and functional testing.
Once this step has been completed, we can move rapidly to the critical stage of small-series production of up to 30 to 40 models either for prototyping or quantity-limited customer trials and evaluations.
The availability of ASG's high quality RTV soft-tools for vacuum casting, particularly in the design and development phase, is critical: without them it would be difficult to compete with many of our competitors in Europe and the Far East." Vogt continues, "With ASG's RTV soft-tooling capability we can reach the same level of quality as with hard-tooling, but at only one tenth of the cost.
This allows Xybernaut to rapidly incorporate design changes, tailor a base model to a client's highly specialised design specification, or extend runs with a second, third or even fourth soft-tool.
In short, access to high quality RTV soft-tooling based on the original SL model gives the company an extremely high level of flexibility at comparatively low cost." * Material selection is critical - Beutel believes that, given the right materials, stereolithography is the optimum RP technology for the production of both high quality models and RTV soft-tooling for small-series manufacture.
"Both Somos White and WaterShed are excellent materials for these applications," he says.
"Somos White provides an ideal base for a range of models, while the total transparency of WaterShed allows us to produce prototypes for fluid and gas-flow analysis, as well as LCDs and other data transmission and display systems.
Moving on from that, the surface finish and long-term stability make both materials ideal for ASG's RTV soft-tooling process." * About Xybernaut - Xybernaut Corporation is a leading provider of wearable/mobile computing hardware, software and services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a hands-free design to people when and where they need it.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Xybernaut has offices and subsidiaries in Europe (Benelux, Germany, UK) and Asia (Japan, China, Korea).
* About ASG - based in Sindelfingen, Germany, ASG offers a fully integrated concept design, engineering, prototyping and small-series manufacturing capability.
ASG client list includes small, medium and major companies in the automotive, consumer goods and IT segments.
The company operates two SLA machines with SomosWhite 14120 and WaterShed 11120.
For further information about ASG and its design and service portfolio, please contact Dipl.-Ing.
Guenther Schwiemann, or Christoph Beutel, Joint Managing Directors at +49 (0) 7031 79790, www.asg-ing.de * About DSM Somos - DSM Somos is currently the world's second largest materials supplier to the rapid prototyping industry, providing stereolithography liquids and selective laser sintering powders used for the creation of three-dimensional models and prototypes directly from digital data.
Somos' patented ProtoFunctional materials are used by a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical and telecommunications.
DSM Somos is an unincorporated division of DSM Desotech-a world leader in the development of UV-curable materials - and a member of the global DSM family.
* About DSM - DSM is active worldwide in life science and nutritional products, performance materials and industrial chemicals.
The company specialises in innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life and DSM products are currently used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics and electronics.
The group has annual sales (pro forma including the recent acquisition - renamed DSM Nutritional Products) of approximately EUR 8 billion and employs about 26,000 people around the world.
Ranking among the global leaders in many of its fields, DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
* About DSM Somos materials - What is stereolithography? Stereolithography (SL) permits the rapid creation of 3D pieces utilising a computer-controlled laser that polymerises light-sensitive resins.
The process is highly precise and constructs the object in a series of 'additive layers', providing the advantage of producing highly complex forms that are difficult or impossible to fabricate by machining or traditional molding techniques.
The evolution of advanced SL materials offers the potential of moving stereolithography from prototyping into production.
DSM Somos ProtoComposites are resins reinforced with various materials, such as ceramics and glasses, to produce functional properties not possible using individual components.
DSM Somos ProtoComposite materials are a result of a significant research and development program investigating the potential for ACT-SL (Advanced Composite Technology for StereoLithography).
DSM Somos ProtoFunctional resins for stereolithography provide advanced technology to respond to the changing needs of new product development and industrial design.
In 2003, DSM Somos announced ProtoTool ceramic-filled resins, the first member belonging to the new ACT-SL technology and the result of a significant research and development programme.
Traditional non-composite ProtoFunctional materials by DSM Somos satisfy a varying range of characteristics: transparency, superior humidity and heat resistance, and outstanding mechanical properties, replicating those of many production grade plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS and PBT. Request a free brochure from DSM Somos ...
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