Hi, I’m Jake Kapusta,
the 3D Print Operations Manager here at Formlabs,
and this is my Fuse 1 workroom.
Here I have the Fuse 1 and the Fuse Sift to run SLS 3D prints,
from design to finished part.
Today, I’m going to show you the process of printing this mixer clip,
which is a component of the Fuse Sift
that we prototyped in-house on the Fuse 1.
Let’s start with what the design looks like
in our 3D-print software, PreForm.
PreForm is Formlabs’ pre-production software
for both our SLS and SLA 3D printers.
We have a specialized view for the Fuse 1 build area
that makes starting a print quick and easy.
Here you can see the mixer clip design loaded into PreForm.
First, I rotate the part in an optimal orientation for printing,
and nest a copy of the same part alongside in the inverse orientation.
Next, I use the array tool to duplicate these parts in a grid,
and then duplicate that grid vertically along the z-axis.
This allows me to densely pack the build volume
and print as many parts as possible in one job.
In this case, I can print 102 mixer clips at once,
which you can see in the Model List here.
In the Details menus above, I’ve calculated the print time,
which should take about 52 hours from start to finish.
I can also see the total amount of Nylon powder for the job,
and if I hover my mouse over this figure,
I'll see a more granular view of the materials costs for the individual part.
From here, I’ll use my print menu to select the printer by name,
and send the print job to the Fuse 1 via my local network connection.
Once I’ve loaded the print onto the Fuse 1,
I select the job via the touch interface and start the print.
The user interface runs through a series of quick
pre-print maintenance checks to help ensure print success.
After confirming print readiness,
the Fuse 1 heats up to 180 degrees celsius
and coats the build area with a thin layer of Nylon-12 powder.
Our print process uses a laser
to sinter layers of Nylon-12 powder together
to create exceptionally strong and functional parts.
The non-sintered powder suspends the printed parts in place as they fuse,
eliminating the need for printed support structures.
After the print job is completed,
the Fuse 1 will let you know when the build chamber
is cool enough to handle and remove.
Industry leading cooldown times
allow for nonstop printer uptime,
as you can swap-in an additional build chamber
shortly after removing the chamber containing the previous print.
In this case,
the Fuse 1 allows us to print on a production schedule
to complete this job three times a week,
yielding three-hundred consumer-ready nylon parts
in a single printer.
I’ll remove the build chamber
and transfer it to the Fuse Sift.
This all-in-one post-processing station
combines part extraction,
powder recovery,
storage, and mixing
within a compact footprint.
Here, you can watch as I unpack the build chamber
and excavate the parts.
The entire print rises up out of the build chamber
into the Fuse sift work area,
where I can then use the included cleaning tools
to remove excess powder.
The integrated vacuum and air filtration system
ensures that loose powder is contained in the work area,
keeping the post-processing experience both clean and tidy.
Once we’ve excavated our parts,
the excess nylon powder drains-through the sift filter
to catch any environmental contaminants
that may have been introduced during the unpacking process.
The sifted powder then enters a storage hopper,
alongside a separate hopper of fresh Nylon-12 powder.
When you’re ready to start your next print,
you can select a mix ratio for the reclaimed and new powders,
which then automatically dispense
into the powder cartridge below.
The powder cartridge clips onto the integrated mixer
on the side of Fuse Sift,
and rotates to ensure the two powders are combined uniformly.
Fun fact:
this blue component seen here
is the mixer clip that we’re here printing today!
Thanks to the innovative Fuse 1 print process,
we are able to print with recycled powder
at a 30% refresh rate.
This means that in order to start a print,
you need to use only 30% new Nylon-12 powder,
and 70% can be reclaimed from previous prints using the Fuse Sift.
This allows you to consistently produce
high quality parts using reclaimed material,
cutting-down on material waste
and consumables costs.
During our extensive internal and external user testing,
no degradation of mechanical properties was seen in parts printed
with reclaimed powder,
even after dozens of print cycles.
The last piece of post-processing
involves using a media blaster.
This is an optional post-processing tool
that is not included in the Formlabs workflow directly,
but is a recommended tool for achieving a prime surface finish.
A jet of air and fine glass beads
helps to remove excess nylon powder from the surface of the printed part,
Finally, a burst of compressed air should be used
to remove any stray blasting media
that may have been left behind.
If using a media blaster,
be sure to keep it separated from your Fuse Sift workstation,
as blasting media can negatively impact the print quality of your Nylon powder.
So here we have a finished mixer clip ready for use.
Formlabs Engineers
leveraged SLS 3D printing
in order to quickly iterate on the design of this component
before committing to the final part for production.
This saved both time and expensive tooling costs
for the injection molded part you see on the Fuse Sift today.
In addition to prototyping,
we use the Fuse 1 to manufacture components
that are installed in the printers that we ship to customers,
such as the IR Sensor cone seen here.
Be sure to reach out to a Formlabs sales pepresentative
for a sample part like this
and see if the Fuse 1 can meet your prototyping or production needs.
We hope that you’re just as excited as we are
about the future of SLS printing
powered by the Fuse 1 and Fuse Sift.