In this fast-paced market, where consumers crave both luxury and sustainability, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. This article delves into the key trends transforming the industry, from captivating design elements to eco-conscious solutions, empowering you to create packaging that not only looks good but resonates with today’s savvy consumers. 

Product differentiation drives sales 

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, creating a unique style for cosmetic packaging is key to catching the eye of consumers and building brand loyalty. Consumers look for details in the design, such as embossed logos on caps, custom colors, unique materials like copper and aluminum, and exclusive shapes (Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Distinctive shapes and mixed materials help products stand out in the beauty market.  

Consumers also expect a luxe feel when purchasing a beauty product with a high price point. Using substantial materials in packaging gives even miniature products a high-end feel.  

Additive manufacturing supports new product development  

Developing products with novel designs requires expertise and options for scaling if products become popular. Since the cosmetics industry moves quickly, bringing a new product from conception to design to reveal is essential for its relevance. And because customer preferences can pivot rapidly, manufacturing a limited number of new products using cost-effective techniques to test the market is also important.  

Additive manufacturing processes like 3D printing meet both requirements—they can produce parts quickly and don’t require huge upfront costs (Figure 2). 

Figure 2. Carbon® Digital Light Synthesis™ is one of SyBridge’s many 3D printing techniques 

Companies can scale production with high cavitation injection molds or other production techniques if the product is commercially viable. Although specialty tooling capabilities may have a higher upfront cost, their ability to support higher production runs and longer lifetime cycles ensures they remain cost-effective. The ability to start small and scale ultimately results in the lowest overall cost of ownership for brand owners.  

Using sustainable materials and designs to appeal to consumers  

Sustainability continues to be a trend for consumer products in 2024, including cosmetic packaging. However, most consumers are unwilling to compromise on increased prices for more sustainable products. Manufacturers must find a way to produce sustainable packaging that is also cost-effective.  

Toward more sustainable cosmetic packaging  

Refillable and reusable packaging is emerging as a more environmentally friendly alternative to single-use packaging. Other sustainability trends include using either post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic or aluminum for manufacturing or creating products made of single, recyclable plastics (mono-material) instead of a mixture of plastic and metal (Figure 3).  

Figure 3. Material selection simplifies sustainability for consumers 

Mono-material packaging simplifies recycling but does come with challenges, such as finding plastic alternatives to metal springs and other traditional metal components. Manufacturers are also limited in design by choosing mono-material packaging because they can’t use decorative metal coatings.  

A simple way to meet the demand for sustainable packaging without making consumers pay more for beauty products is by choosing a minimalist design (Figure 4). Sleek designs without added decorative features can reduce production complexity and material usage. The challenge to choosing minimalist designs is standing out in a market that relies so much on eye-catching products.  

Figure 4. Minimalist designs can reduce material usage and simplify production  

Design services help meet manufacturing challenges  

Producing flawless cosmetic packaging with the luxe feel consumers expect using sustainable materials is a serious challenge. That’s where working with companies with design services and a range of manufacturing capabilities becomes essential. SyBridge experts can complete design for manufacturability (DFM) checks and simulation analysis to identify production issues before production begins, reducing design iterations and saving on production costs (Figure 4). 

Figure 5. DFM checks help determine how to manufacture the highest-quality part at the lowest possible cost per unit. 

Design services are essential not only for testing novel ideas but also for optimizing current production. SyBridge experts can use product data and analytic tools to create a digital thread — a centralized source of truth for the part. We use the digital thread to gain insights about a part’s lifecycle (design to final production) and see opportunities for increased efficiency and improved quality (Figure 5).  

Novel dispensing methods make for more hygienic products  

A carryover from the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to influence health and beauty products is an emphasis on hygiene. Where many skincare and makeup products require brushes or even a fingertip for application, consumers are now choosing contactless options like droppers, misters, products with internal applicators, and airless pumps.  

Airless pumps reduce the chance of harmful bacteria getting into beauty products during use or illnesses spreading between people sharing the product (Figure 6). Pump dispensers also give customers precise control over how much product they use because each pump produces an exact volume. Companies can use pumps as an opportunity to provide instant brand recognition through contoured pump heads and other unique details.  

Figure 6. Airless pumps help reduce the spread of microbes and regulate dosing. 

In addition to enhanced hygiene and dosing control, the airless packaging used in pumps and sprays can preserve the chemical composition of the formula by not introducing oxygen during use. This extends the product’s shelf life. Airless packaging can help reduce waste, and it is often made from mono-material, making it 100% recyclable.  

Manufacturing for optimal user experience and safe shipping 

A challenge for manufacturing novel dispensing methods is ensuring function. Consumers can easily become frustrated and dissatisfied when features such as pumps malfunction, ultimately costing brands the loyalty they have worked hard to gain. Precise manufacturing is essential to avoid warpages, stress cracks, and other flaws that can cause packaging to malfunction. 

E-commerce companies selling cosmetics also need packaging that meets shipping standards. Products must have the strength to withstand rough handling during transportation, sortation, and distribution.  

SyBridge helps companies manufacture uniform, strong products by incorporating quality inspection services and advanced designs, such as conformal cooling, in our manufacturing technology. Our precision manufacturing can help companies achieve high-feature, aesthetic parts that are also functional. 

Partnering with SyBridge  

Manufacturing partnerships help cosmetics companies maintain a competitive edge in the fast-paced industry. Since needs vary by product, partners with multiple capabilities are especially valuable and critical to support reduced overall tooling costs. SyBridge experts can help cosmetics packaging manufacturers wherever they are—whether seeing if a novel design is achievable or choosing the best manufacturing technology for a proven product.  

Staying ahead of 2024 beauty trends is possible with the right partners. Connect with a SyBridge expert today to learn how our comprehensive services can help you meet your goals this year.  

The post 2024 Trends in Cosmetic Packaging appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

The urethane casting build process involves first creating a master pattern — essentially a replica (often 3D printed) of the final part. The pattern is then fully encased in liquid silicone and allowed to cure. The mold is cut into halves and the pattern removed. From there, the process can be repeated using the proper urethane casting resin.

Polyurethane casting materials are capable of providing performance characteristics comparable — if not superior — to the thermoplastics used in injection molding. However, as with other production methods, the process of casting high-quality parts that meet all performance requirements also requires that product teams follow design for manufacturability (DFM) best practices. Here are some of the most important guidelines for product teams to keep in mind:

Tolerances

Some degree of variation is inevitable in manufacturing (though teams should endeavor to account for as many of the variables as possible), and tolerances are the acceptable amount of dimensional variation between individual units. Cast urethane tolerances are typically around  ± 0.015” or ± 0.003 per inch, whichever is greater. Tighter tolerances may be offered on a case-by-case basis.

In general, a shrinkage rate of +0.15% is typical. This is caused by the thermal expansion of the urethane casting material and how the flexible silicone mold warms in response.

Additionally, it’s important to note that while urethane cast parts take well to post-processing (though additional processes, such as polishing or custom finishing, can quickly drive up production costs), some design features like sharp corners or lettering may experience slight rounding in the cooling process, impacting the definition of finer details. That said, it is possible to add a finish to the master pattern that mimics an SPI finish or texture. You can also paint urethane cast parts to match Pantone colors, and certain color and pigments can be added directly to the casting materials, as well.

Wall Thickness

Parts produced with urethane casting should have a minimum wall thickness of 0.040” (1mm), though walls as thin as 0.020” (0.5mm) can be achieved for some small components. Larger parts generally require thicker walls in order to ensure the piece’s structural integrity.

Urethane casting does allow for parts with varying wall thicknesses or irregular geometries, but designing parts as such should be done only when strictly necessary. Maintaining a consistent thickness helps to minimize the potential for improper shrinkage and deformation during the curing process.

Undercuts and Draft

While undercuts can quickly complicate injection molding design, the flexible nature of the silicone molds used in urethane casting typically allows for parts to be removed easily and without damage.

The same is true for draft angles: they are a necessity for ejecting pieces from metal molds, but less essential for urethane-cast parts. That said, incorporating 3-5 degrees of draft into part design can significantly reduce strain on your mold and extend its life cycle.

Ribs

Ribs add stability and strength, but it’s important to ensure that they are oriented so as to maximize the bending stiffness of the walls they support. As a general rule of thumb, the rib’s height should be no more than three times its width, and the width of the rib where it meets the part wall should be between 40-60% of the wall thickness. Lastly, to maximize the strength of the rib, all interior corners should have a fillet radius of at least 25% of the part’s wall thickness.

Bosses

Bosses allow secure mating parts to be attached through the use of screws, pins, and other fasteners. As with ribs, the base radius should be about 25% of the part’s wall thickness, which has the added benefit in this case of helping to prevent the fastener from burning when it’s set into the boss.

Interior boss corners should use a 0.060” (1.5mm) fillet radius to minimize thickness and reduce the likelihood of sinks developing. Ensuring that bosses are no more than 60% of the nominal wall thickness also helps to minimize shrinkage.

Leverage the Benefits of Urethane Casting Today

The advantages of urethane casting — short lead times, low cost, and design and material flexibility, to name a few — only truly pay off if you adhere to design and manufacturing best practices. This means paying attention to variables like urethane casting material properties, general tolerances for rubber parts, and everything in between — which quickly becomes complicated without the assistance of an experienced manufacturing partner.

With our agile approach, we’re able to significantly shorten lead times and increase operational efficiency for product teams of all shapes and sizes. And at SyBridge, our business isn’t just based on manufacturing superior parts — we also work tirelessly to make sure that our production processes are as efficient as possible, even if that means using a combination of techniques to get the job done. Contact us today to learn more.

The post Critical Design Guidelines for Urethane Casting appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

In this downloadable guide, we’ve compiled eight common DFM considerations that should remain top-of-mind when designing parts for CNC machining. You can save significant time and cost by checking your design against this list before submitting it for manufacturing.

Top 8 Design for Manufacturing Considerations for CNC Machining

1. Are there any deep pockets in the design?

Deep-narrow pockets or slots must be machined by longer tools, and longer tools are more prone to breakage, and can also cause chatter, or machine vibrations. Additionally, it takes several passes to machine a deep pocket, which drives up machining time and manufacturing costs.

Avoid designing parts with deep pockets whenever possible. If a deep pocket cannot be avoided, engineers and designers should decrease its depth as much as possible or increase the cross-section area of the pocket. As a rule, pocket depth shouldn’t exceed 3x the diameter of the tool being used to make it. For example, pockets should be no deeper than 1.5” when using a 0.5” cutter.  Engineers may have to adjust this figure based on the material they are using and the tools that are available to them.

2. Are there any narrow regions?

Narrow regions are difficult to manufacture because the size of the cutter is restricted by the smallest distance between the various faces of the feature. Long and small diameter cutters are prone to breakage and chatter.

Avoid designing features or faces that are too narrow for a cutter to easily pass through. If narrow regions cannot be avoided, however, they must not be too deep. Remember that the depth of any feature should be less than 3x the diameter of the tool.  As a best practice, wall sections should be greater than 0.01 inches thick. A shorter cutter with a larger diameter can also be employed to reduce chatter.

3. Are there any sharp internal corners?

Since all CNC drill bits are circular, it’s difficult to achieve sharp internal corners. Instead, the drill bit will leave behind a pocket of unmachined space called an internal corner radius. It’s possible to machine sharp internal corners using workarounds, like electrical discharge machining, but these methods tend to be expensive.

Avoid sharp inside corners whenever possible. Ideally, a corner radius needs to be slightly larger than the cutter. If a corner radius is the same diameter as the cutter being used to form it, it can cause chatter and premature tool wear.

Increasing the corner radii beyond the standard value by as little as 0.005” can give the tool enough room to move around and follow a more circular path.

4. Are there any inaccessible features?

Inaccessible features like counterbores that open inside another pocket or pockets with negative drafts take longer to machine— if they’re even possible — because the cutting tool cannot easily access them, which in turn drives up costs.

You should ensure a cutting tool has full access to all features within a part without being blocked by another feature.

5. Are there any outside fillets?

Outside fillets, or fillets on the top edges of pockets, bosses, and slots, require an exceptionally sharp cutter and a precise setup. Both of these requirements can be prohibitively expensive for some product teams. To avoid incurring these costs, bevel or chamfer — rather than fillet — the outside edges of features.

6. Are the part’s walls too thin?

When it comes to CNC machining with metal, thin walls increase chatter, which can compromise the accuracy of the machining process and the surface finish of the part. With plastics, thin walls can cause warping and softening. As such, you should do your best to avoid designing parts with thin walls.

The ideal minimum wall thickness for metals is 0.8 mm for metals and 1.5 mm for plastics. You may be able to achieve thinner sections without significant risk, but this needs to be assessed on a case by case basis.

7. Are there any flat-bottomed holes?

Flat-bottomed holes require advanced machining operations and often cause problems down the line for subsequent operations like reaming. Avoid creating blind holes with a flat bottom — especially small holes — and instead use a standard twist drill to create holes with cone-shaped bottoms. Cone angles are commonly 118° or 135°.

8. Can the CNC machine’s drills enter and exit easily?

A drill tip will wander when it comes into contact with the material’s surface if that surface isn’t perpendicular to the drill axis. Also, uneven exit burrs around the exit hole will make removing the burr difficult. To ease entry and exit, avoid designing hole features with start and end faces that are not perpendicular to the drill’s axis.

Recap of All 8 Design Considerations for CNC Machining

1. Avoid designing parts with deep pockets whenever possible because deep-narrow pockets can drive up machining time and cost.
2. Avoid designing features or faces that are too narrow for a cutter to easily pass through to prevent tool breakage and chatter.
3. Radiused corners (middle) or “dog bones” (right) are good alternatives to sharp internal corners.
4. Ensure a cutting tool has full access to all features within a part without being blocked by another feature
5. Avoid outside fillets (shown left) and opt for chamfered edges (right) to save time and cost.
6. Avoid designing thin walls, as they’ll increase chatter in metals and cause warping or softening in plastics.
7. Avoid Flat-bottomed holes that can cause problems for subsequent operations like reaming.
8. Whenever possible, design hole features with start and end faces perpendicular to the drill’s access.

Get Started With a DFM Expert

Designing for manufacturability accelerates the CNC machining process, reduces operating costs, elevates energy efficiency, and helps product teams create clean, functional parts. Refer to this short checklist often to make sure your designs are on the right track, but an experienced manufacturing partner like SyBridge can offer more nuanced insights.

The SyBridge team can help engineers, designers, and product teams ensure they don’t miss the mark when it comes to DFM. We have access to the latest digital design technologies available so our partners can take their designs to the next level, while we provide expert advice on manufacturability and part quality. What’s more, our experts are prepared to assist customers with design and prototyping for a range of manufacturing methods — from CNC machining and injection molding to urethane casting and 3D printing. Let’s create something incredible. Contact us today.

The post The Ultimate CNC Design for Manufacturability (DFM) Checklist appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

by Charlie Wood, Ph.D.
VP of Innovation, Research & Development

As a part of the SyBridge team, I’ve witnessed the remarkable evolution of design and engineering tools over the past decade. These digital advancements have revolutionized our approach to manufacturing, allowing for more data-driven processes and insights. But it can be difficult to know where to start, or even to understand where there are opportunities to implement.

At the heart of our approach lies the concept of the “Digital Thread,” a framework that interconnects data across the entire lifecycle. This concept enables us to leverage the wealth of design and operational data across our data lake that is generated in the manufacturing process, from CAD designs to inspection results. While the industry is still moving towards seamless integration, we’ve made significant strides in creating workflows that prioritize data-driven decision-making.

Streamlining Injection Mold Design Workflows

One key area where data is contributing to efficiencies within manufacturing is that of injection mold tooling design. By utilizing virtual component libraries for mold designs, we’ve been able to streamline the complex process of coordinating and collaborating on intricate assemblies for mold making. In these libraries, we have standard blocks, system approaches and components stored in a way that allows us to quickly identify and digitally pull components. This approach offers lots of flexibility when it comes to customer requests and needs, all while keeping standard practices built right into our tools. Over the course of many years, we’ve built software-driven processes to design new builds based off of these standard components, allowing us to quickly handle new requests from customers and build a learning feedback loop to avoid costly mistakes.

Additionally, through the use of parametric component libraries, we’ve been able to significantly reduce design complexity and incorporate our own manufacturing intelligence into these components, allowing us to directly check for design issues and integrate manufacturing information into CAD files. This process creates a flow of information from the conceptual stage of the design through manufacturing and approval, extending our Digital Thread from end to end. This information flow can also go backwards, tying quoting, estimation assumptions and specifications directly to tool designs. These advancements in our design approach have not only made the job of a tool designer a bit easier, but have improved quality by creating
more explicit feedback loops in our design processes.

Innovations in Conformal Cooling

As many know, 3D printing has unlocked incredible design freedom for manufacturing engineers around the world. However, what can be overlooked is how impactful it has been for system designers, like toolmakers, who can utilize that design freedom and low cost of complexity to create components that radically improve performance. In the case of toolmaking, 3D printing has unlocked new cooling channel designs simply not possible before.

Although increasing numbers of toolmakers are using these advanced manufacturing techniques today, the new design space is so complex it can be hard to probe. In the past, conformal cooling channels were fairly straight, in-plane paths driven by tool access limitations in machining. With metal 3D printing, the limits are far less restrictive and allow designers to pursue more creative and complicated structures.

Using advanced data-driven methods with virtual design and testing capabilities, we’ve been able to uncover non-obvious opportunity areas in the design space. Through these novel design and
manufacturing workflows, we’re optimizing cooling performance and achieving remarkable improvements in tool performance as measured through cycle time. Through our approach, we’re seeing cycle time reductions as high as 50%. These successes have inspired us to further integrate and enhance these workflows, driving continued innovation.

AI Tools for Manufacturing

The Fast Radius Portal’s AI-powered DFM checks

Looking ahead, we’re enthusiastic about the possibilities that emerging technologies like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) offer. These novel data modeling approaches have shown incredible potential, and the pace of technological advancement is rapidly accelerating. We’ve been able to use ML models to build data models faster than through simple bottom-up logic, particularly for complex problems that contain many correlating factors.

The critical ingredient in implementing AI for manufacturing are large data sets that provide a source of truth for model training and validation. By leveraging our existing datasets, we aim to predict defects, optimize designs in real-time and ultimately revolutionize quality control processes. These technologies are not a distant vision; they’re an integral part of our current digital platform, with features like instant quoting and DFM checks based on captured manufacturing data. And this is just the beginning of what’s possible.

Unlocking Manufacturing Innovation via the Digital Thread

Our journey in harnessing digital workflows for injection molding design has seen remarkable progress and tangible results. The end-to-end integration of data into the Digital Thread, combined with the power of ML and AI, holds the key to unlocking even greater innovation. As we continue to push boundaries and explore new frontiers, we’re excited about the advancements at the interface between the physical and digital worlds.

Are you ready to harness the power of the Digital Thread for your organization? Contact us today to get started.

The post The Digital Thread: End-to-End Data-Driven Manufacturing appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

One of the most important factors to consider when manufacturing with plastic is durometer or shore durometer, which speaks to the hardness of a given material. Here’s everything engineers and product teams should know about this important measurement:

What is Durometer?

Durometer is a standardized way of measuring the hardness of materials like rubber or plastic. Hardness is a measure of how resistant a plastic is to deformation caused by mechanical indentation or abrasion.

Engineers can test a material’s hardness using a durometer tester. The apparatus looks like a round tire pressure gauge and has a needle on a calibrated spring extending from one end. To test for durometer hardness, an engineer places the needle against the elastomer or plastic and applies pressure. Once the needle has penetrated the material as much as it can, the measurement needle indicates the corresponding durometer hardness on the appropriate scale.

Although durometer can be measured on a scale of zero to 100, it’s not a unit of measurement. It’s actually a dimensionless measurement, meaning durometer numbers measure how hard or soft a material is relative to other materials that have been measured using the same durometer scale. Lower numbers indicate softer plastics, while higher numbers indicate harder plastics. For example, 90A polyurethane tubing is harder than 70A polyurethane tubing.

Different shore hardness scales were invented so that engineers and product teams could discuss the hardness of materials using a consistent, universal, and reproducible reference. The three most common shore hardness scales are shore 00, shore A, and shore D. Shore 00 is only used to measure the hardness of extremely soft rubbers and gels, shore A measures flexible rubbers that can range from very soft to hard, and shore D is only used to measure hard rubbers and plastics.

Product teams should know that durometer hardness doesn’t directly correlate to the flexibility of the end part. Rather, it’s an indirect measure of stiffness that teams can use to better understand the general feel of a material at a glance. Product teams should also know that they cannot compare materials that lie on different shore hardness scales. Durometer numbers are relative to the materials on their specific scale, meaning there’s no direct relationship between hardness on one durometer scale and hardness on another.

For example, a material with a durometer hardness of around 80 on a shore 00 scale is about as hard as a pencil eraser, but a material with a measurement of 80 on the shore D durometer scale has the hardness of a hard hat. Clearly, these measurements aren’t equivalent, although they share the same number, so product teams must remember to only compare the hardness of materials on the same scale.

How Durometer Hardness Factors Into Material Selection

When evaluating elastomers or plastics, engineers and product teams should think about their product’s end-use application and the project requirements. These factors will help narrow down the pool of potential materials and give product teams a clue as to what shore durometer scale they should focus on. If the part must be able to support a lot of weight over an extended period of time, for instance, teams should bypass the shore 00 scale altogether and only consider materials between the 70 and 100 range on the shore A hardness scale and/or the entire range of the shore D hardness scale.

Engineers should also balance desired hardness with other considerations like cost to determine which trade-offs they’re willing to make. For example, harder metals can be more expensive or difficult to machine. To work around this, engineers can use post-process hardening treatments to achieve higher durometers while maintaining ease of machining.

Still, material hardness is not the only factor that matters, and hardness is not necessarily indicative of other properties like strength or corrosion resistance. Stiffness and compression modulus measurements will give a more accurate reading on the sealing performance of a certain rubber than its durometer hardness.

To do their due diligence and select the best material for their specific requirements, product teams should evaluate options against a range of mechanical properties, including density, compression force deflection, application force, and thickness, in addition to durometer hardness.

Durometer Considerations for Injection Molds

The hardness of materials is especially important to consider when working with molds. Engineers must choose a mold rubber that will allow them to easily extract the original model and any subsequent castings from the mold once it has been cured — and shore hardness will have a direct impact on that.

For example, it wouldn’t be wise to use a 70A durometer elastomer to make a mold for a part with thin segments that stick out at different angles. A 70A durometer rubber is as hard as a car tire and doesn’t offer the flexibility necessary to extract such a delicate part without breaking it. An elastomer with a 30A shore durometer or lower would likely be flexible enough for this application.

Durometer Considerations for Additive Manufacturing

It’s also important for product teams to consider materials’ hardness when using additive manufacturing technologies. Many product teams aren’t as familiar with additive manufacturing materials, but if you know the durometer of an additive material, you can compare it to the durometer of more traditional plastics used in injection molding. This will give you a general idea of how the additive material will perform and provides a frame of reference.

Note that some additive materials have two durometers — an instant durometer and a five-second durometer. For example, a part produced using the Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS)™ process likely won’t perform as expected until after it has been cured. Product teams using at-home printers or manufacturing in-house will notice a difference, but if you work with a manufacturing partner, you don’t need to worry about a material’s instant durometer because you’ll only see the final product. Still, it’s good to know that some materials require additional curing and post-processing to achieve their final durometer, so initial measurements are subject to change.

Get Started With SyBridge

To sum it up, durometer is a dimensionless but standardized measurement used to indicate the hardness of an elastomer or plastic relative to other elastomers or plastics on the same scale. Materials with higher durometers are harder, but teams should be careful not to compare materials across different scales because there’s no direct relationship between a given number on one scale and the same number on another.

Engineers and product teams should consider durometer during material selection, especially if their applications have specific hardness or softness requirements. However, evaluating shore hardness alone is insufficient. Teams should carefully consider all relevant design and performance requirements in order to select the best-fit material or materials. A seasoned manufacturing partner can simplify material selection and streamline the entire product development process.

At SyBridge, we specialize in helping product teams ensure their final products meet their needs. We know how crucial material selection is, and partnering with us means gaining access to our collective years of manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain expertise. By working with an experienced manufacturing partner like SyBridge, product teams can make the material selection process simple and stress-free, while accelerating project timelines and keeping costs low. Contact us today to get started.

The post What is Durometer? Understanding and Evaluating Plastic and Elastomer Hardness appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Reduced Risk of Part Warpage

During the molding process a part cools from the exterior surface to the inner core of the plastic, ideally at the same rate for all areas of the part when it is designed with consistent wall thickness. When injection molding simple, uniform parts conventional cooling typically doesn’t pose any challenges, as all areas of the part generally cool at a similar rate.

However, if a part design is geometrically complex, then the part may not cool at an even rate in all areas, resulting in potential warpage or longer cooling cycles to ensure solidified parts before ejection. The truth is that in today’s world with increasingly complex part geometries, perfectly uniform cooling rates are difficult to attain. In the case of low volume runs, the inefficiencies of having a slightly longer cooling cycles can be negligible and tolerable for molders. However, in the case of high volume runs, these efficiencies can be opportunities to improve productivity or reduce waste. The resulting efficiency of conformal cooling depends on many factors, from the design of the cooling channels, the design of the part, the mold design and even the molding recipe. When done properly, conformal cooling solutions can improve tooling output by 50% or more. 

Conventional Cooling

Conformal Cooling

Including conformal cooling channels in the mold tooling will help address hot spots that result in warpage, resulting in better quality parts with less material waste and fewer defects. 

Faster Cycle Times

In addition to achieving a better quality end result with a lower risk of defects, conformal cooling channels often significantly decrease mold cycle times. In the example below, conformal cooling was used to reduce the cycle time of this high-volume plastic component by almost 40%, increasing mold productivity by nearly 50%.

Is Conformal Cooling Right for Your Needs?

Including conformal cooling channels in injection mold tooling is popular across industries and product types, particularly in the life sciences, and consumer products sectors where parts with complex geometries or high mold volumes are common. If you plan to produce a large volume of parts via injection molding and are concerned about warpage, designing your injection mold tooling with conformal cooling may be the right solution to help with cycle times and lower part costs. In order to ensure that the channels are properly designed for your part’s geometry and specific application, it is imperative to work with an experienced tooling designer who is knowledgeable about how to integrate these novel approaches into high precision tooling.

At SyBridge, our engineers are experts in the injection molding and tooling design processes, and have worked with companies across diverse industries to help them achieve incredible results when it comes to improving mold productivity, reducing defects, and producing higher-performing parts. Whether you already have a mold design that you believe would benefit from the addition of conformal cooling channels or you’re working on the design for a new part or product, our team is here to help.

Contact us to speak with an injection mold tooling design expert and discover if conformal cooling is right for your injection mold tooling needs.

The post Conformal Cooling: Higher-Quality Parts, Faster Injection Molding Cycle Times appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Restrictions around specific materials will vary by region. This means that a device that is approved for use in the United States might not meet the European Union’s standards.

While not every medical device requires biocompatible materials, many do. If the device is intended for internal use it will face stricter scrutiny than devices that might aid in a surgery or are in contact with the skin momentarily. Common examples of medical devices intended for internal use include pacemakers, prosthetics, stents, artificial hips, and other joint replacements.

It’s important that product development teams know which biocompatible materials are best-suited for their specific requirements in order to protect the patient’s health and wellbeing, achieve ongoing compliance with stringent regulations, and mitigate risk and liability. Here are some key guidelines and grounding principles for medical device material selection.

Regulatory Standards for Biocompatible Materials for Medical Devices

The materials and components used by medical device manufacturers must meet the stringent quality and performance requirements of the international regulation ISO 10993, which deals specifically with biocompatibility. ISO 10993 lays out an approach for how to perform risk mitigation and performance testing for device materials in a consistent and uniform manner.

ISO guidelines have the backing of the FDA. In September 2020, the agency released a guidance document offering suggestions for how to implement ISO regulations and ensure that FDA-approved materials for medical devices are in alignment with international standards.

Biocompatibility is a complex and evolving subject with few simple definitions, and the latest update to ISO 10993 guidelines (10993-1:2018; updated from 10993-1:2009) reflects the latest developments in the field. Perhaps the most significant change in the latest edition of ISO 10993 involves how biocompatibility is tested.

Whereas the previous version provided specific tests for assessing the biocompatibility of different device types, the current standard seeks to better address the many variables involved in medical device manufacturing through a comprehensive process of risk assessment, mitigation, and management. This allows the standard to be applied in a wider range of dynamic medical and manufacturing contexts.

The ISO 10993 update also includes additional or updated information about contact and non-contact medical devices, as well methods for evaluating the biocompatibility of nanotechnology, gas pathways, and absorbable materials.

Demonstrating biocompatibility is generally done through a three-stage process:

1. Product teams develop a Biological Evaluation Plan (BEP), which outlines known risks and strategies to test or mitigate these concerns. This document fulfills ISO 10993-1’s requirement for an initial risk assessment.
2. The device’s materials and components are tested to address these outlined risks, which can include evaluating factors such as how the device wears over time, material toxicity, or how the device operates when it comes in contact with fluids. Often, a variety of test types and design controls for medical devices are necessary to ensure the device functions as intended.
3. Product teams consolidate test results and analyses of the data into a Biological Evaluation Report (BER), which they then submit to the FDA for approval.

Additional Biocompatibility Challenges

In addition to achieving compliance with ISO and FDA regulations, biocompatible medical device design can lead to additional challenges for product teams. Medical device product development teams often have specific functional or design-related requirements by which they must adhere, and reconciling these requirements with material restrictions can be a time-consuming and intensive process. In fact, it’s not unheard of for customer requirements to necessitate a contradictory or mutually exclusive set of material properties — and it’s up to product teams to do the research that leads to an acceptable compromise.

Another key challenge involves production timelines. The testing required for toxicology and biocompatibility assessment do not produce simple pass or fail results; rather, these evaluations collectively create a demonstration of compliance or a recommendation for further research and evaluation. Because this requires a thorough and well-documented approach, the certification and approval process for medical devices cannot be rushed. Successful product teams are those with the skill and expertise to meet customers’ requirements while operating in accordance with ISO and FDA regulations.

Key Considerations for Selecting the Right Biocompatible Material

There are numerous variables and factors to take into account when designing and manufacturing biocompatible medical devices, and the specific details will of course vary based on the application.However, choosing the right material is paramount, as researchers have found that 30-40% of device recalls are caused by improper material choice. Here are three key considerations for product teams:

• Material availability: If the design of a medical device includes materials that are scarce or hard to come by, an alternative solution may be necessary. This helps to keep per-unit costs low and to ensure that the device can reach the market on schedule.
• Manufacturing process: The material requirements of a medical device or its components will help determine the optimal production method or methods. Injection molding, for instance, is a rapid and cost-effective means by which to create large quantities of precise plastic components with good surface finishes, but can be extremely expensive for low-volume production. CNC machining, on the other hand, has very few material restrictions but some significant geometric ones. Likewise, developments in additive manufacturing technologies are enabling faster production and greater customization — an especially valuable quality considering the medical sector’s large-scale shift toward patient-centric care —  though it’s worth noting that both CNC machining and additive manufacturing are compatible with a comparatively limited range of materials.
• Sterilization needs:Some medical devices and tools, such as hypodermic needles and IV tubing, must be sterilized before they can be circulated back into use. In design terms, this means the device must have a material resistance to the sterilization process. Knowing early on whether a device will have a sterilization requirement — in addition to the sterilization method that will be used — is key to avoiding expensive revisions and tests.

Maintaining an Efficient Design Process During Medical Device Product Development

Given that biocompatibility testing and approval require ongoing evaluation, product development teams will likely need to adapt or rethink their design processes based on their findings.

There are a couple of structural ways in which teams can streamline their design processes. Maintaining an accurate database of materials that includes information related to test results, material toxicology or carcinogenicity, and other characteristics laid out by the ISO 10993, is the first step to creating an archive of historical data that can be referred back to in future design efforts. Doing so not only helps to improve the efficiency of modifications during the design process, but also helps to keep the design team acquainted with the various materials that are relevant to a device’s biocompatibility and functionality requirements.

If component materials have been selected but part geometry has yet to be finalized, plaque testing is a technique that allows teams to stay productive and efficient. This technique involves producing multiple small plaques via the manufacturing method that will be used to create the final product. The plaques are then subjected to biocompatibility testing — including chemical testing and determining how the material breaks down over time — while product developers finalize the part design. This helps to establish the foundation for subsequent evaluation and can speed the regulatory approval process.

Choosing the Right Manufacturing Partner for the Job

The updated processes contained in the latest ISO 10993 seek to minimize unnecessary testing while still guaranteeing that product teams are able to account for how relevant factors like the device design, physical and chemical characteristics of the device materials, and even the manufacturing process can influence the quality of devices and how well they are able to meet patients’ needs. The strenuous design, development, and regulatory processes required for effective medical device manufacturing can present significant challenges for product teams, which is why it’s beneficial to partner with a tried-and-true manufacturer like SyBridge.

SyBridge is an innovative, on-demand digital manufacturing platform with significant experience working with medical device design teams to bring safe, reliable products to market. Our skills and techniques have been used to create cutting edge prosthetics, highly precise surgical models, and more, and our team is prepared to provide 360-degree advisory and support services from the design and prototyping stages to production and fulfillment. Ready to get started? Contact our team today.

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Many 3D printed parts aren’t 100% ready straight out of the printer, which is where additive post-processing comes in. Post-processing techniques like sanding and smoothing can improve the look and feel of your part, but other post-processing techniques such as the application of metal inserts, enhance its mechanical properties or geometric accuracy. In some cases, post-processing inserts may need to be added to ensure that a part functions as intended, meets its design specifications, and is ready for customer use.

Additive post-processing inserts serve different purposes, including allowing for printed parts to be fastened to other components, eliminating the need for rivets or adhesives, and helping to streamline the manufacturing process. Since metal is more durable than plastic, certain inserts can even increase part durability, meaning that 3D printed plastic products can be repeatedly assembled and disassembled without damage.

Three are three general types of additive post-processing inserts available: press-fit inserts, heat-staked inserts, and Helicoil inserts. Each insert type is better suited to different 3D printing processes and use-cases: with that in mind, we’re here to help you understand which is the right fit for your project.

Additive Post-Processing Inserts

Press-Fit Inserts

Press-fit is the most common additive post-processing insert type, and is best suited to Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS), HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), and stereolithography (SLA) parts. While tapping a part or integrating threads into its design may be an option for 3D-printing projects, plastic threads will wear or break down relatively quickly compared to metal press-fit insert threads. With that issue in mind, press-fit inserts are often used in cases that require high load-carrying capabilities and durability, such as 3D-printed plastic housings, casings, consumer electronics, and other parts that need to accept screws for assembly.

To use a press-fit insert, you’ll need to design your part with a hole, or drill one after the print is complete. Adding the insert will be relatively easy once you have your hole: press-fit inserts are tapered, so they will self-align as they are pressed in. Instead of tapping the hole or melting the plastic before installing an insert into a 3D-printed part, you can simply use a hammer or arbor press to set it into place. Since press-fit inserts often have knurled outer surfaces, they will stay in place once inserted.

Heat Staked Inserts

It’s also possible to use heat-staked inserts with additive parts. Best suited for MJF and FDM printing projects, heat staking involves heating the insert to melt the plastic, and pushing it into place as it cools. Raising and cooling the temperature of 3D plastic components will enable the material to re-form around the insert, creating a strong bond with the printed part. You’ll need to pay attention to how much heat and pressure you apply when installing heat-staked inserts in order to achieve the best results. 

Heat staking not only reduces a part’s complexity by eliminating the need for CAD thread design or rivets, but increases its durability and improves cosmetic appearance. Threaded inserts that have been heat-staked (rather than 3D printed or tapped) will also have greater pull-out strength and be able to better resist stripping, pull-out loads, and torque-out loads. As a result, using heat staking to fix metal inserts and fasteners into 3D printed parts is a common practice in many industries, including the automotive, telecom, and appliance industries, and the process is used on everything from electronic enclosures to appliance dials.

Helicoil Inserts

Helicoil inserts are traditionally used in metal parts but can also be used in FDM 3D prints, regardless of whether a part has a 3D printed thread or a traditionally drilled and tapped hole. Also known as helical inserts and screw thread inserts (STI), Helicoil inserts are coiled wire inserts with coils that are wider than the hole into which they are inserted. To install a Helicoil insert, you’ll need to drill and tap, or 3D print, a threaded hole, before screwing the insert onto an installation tool and installing it. The coil will then expand, forming a tight seal against the existing threads.

There are several types of Helicoil inserts available. Stanley Engineering, for example, offers HeliCoil threaded wire inserts that provide internal threads for standard-sized fasteners and screw locking wire inserts that offer permanent conventional screw threads. Stanley Engineering also produces free-running wire inserts with threads that can be used from both ends, and tangless threaded inserts that are wear-resistant and eliminate the need for tang retrieval.

Metal Helicoil inserts are strong, durable, and resistant to heat. They also prevent threaded holes from wearing out, and so can lengthen a 3D printed part’s lifespan. Helicoil inserts are commonly used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, and telecom industries.

Creating Strong, Durable Parts With SyBridge

Press-fit inserts, heat-staked inserts, and Helicoil inserts offer everything from increased part durability to the possibility of a more streamlined manufacturing process. However, since each insert type is best suited to different project requirements, incorrect installation can damage plastic parts and end up increasing production times and costs. Given the importance of inserts to certain projects, and their associated challenges, it makes sense to work with an experienced manufacturer like SyBridge to ensure that you select the right insert for your needs. 

When you work with SyBridge, you won’t need to be a manufacturing expert to add inserts to your 3D-printed parts, or to navigate any aspect of production. Our team of experts will guide you through the manufacturing process, helping you refine your designs to ensure that your parts are optimized for quality and cost at every stage, and meet your expectations on completion. It’s easy to get your project started: simply create an account and upload your design, and we’ll generate an instant quote for your parts. Prior to generating a quote, you’ll be able to adjust part materials and manufacturing methods, and run automated design for manufacturing (DFM) checks to identify issues with your part. To learn more about post-processing inserts, or any of our manufacturing services, contact us today. 

The post Your Guide to Additive Post-Processing Inserts appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

All post-processing increases part costs and production timelines, but the right surface finish has the potential to bring your design vision to life. Metal finishing for CNC machined parts typically encompasses a variety of mechanical processes, such as tumbling, brushing, and bead blasting, but metal parts may also be treated with chemical finishes such as passivation and zinc plating.

Amongst many useful results, chemical finishing can remove blemishes from a part, alter its conductivity levels, extend its lifespan, and even increase its resistance to wear and corrosion. Chemical finishes have an array of industrial applications: in the aerospace industry, for example, companies use chemical finishes to increase parts’ durability, improve thermal stability, and slow oxidation. In the consumer goods industry, chemical finishes can be found in the production of everything from enclosures and casings to sporting equipment.

While there are plenty of chemical finishes available, they aren’t necessarily interchangeable between materials. In fact, every chemical finish is typically compatible with specific materials and offers its own advantages and disadvantages. In this guide, we’ll explore several common chemical finishing processes so that you can decide which will work best for your CNC manufacturing project.

Choosing Your Chemical Finish

When choosing a chemical finish for your part, you’ll need to think about both compatible materials and end use. This means considering an array of contextual factors, including: 

• The environment your part will be used in
• Whether it requires conductive or insulating properties
• How much weight it will need to bear
• How much wear it will need to withstand
• Tolerance requirements
• Color and transparency requirements
• Surface finish standards
• Any other relevant or desired properties.

To help you evaluate your options, here are some common chemical finishes and their compatible materials:

Let’s take a closer look at these chemical processes, how they work, and how they might benefit your project. 

Anodizing

A popular aluminum finishing option, anodizing thickens the natural oxide layer on part surfaces, creating an anodic oxide film that confers increased protection and improved aesthetics. In the case of aluminum, to form the anodized protective layer, you’ll need to bathe your part in an acid electrolyte bath and then apply a cathode (a negatively charged electrode) to cause the solution to release hydrogen. At the same time, the aluminum part (the positively charged anode) will release oxygen, forming a protective oxide layer on its surface. After a part has been anodized, its surface will have microscopic pores which must be sealed with a chemical solution to prevent corrosion and any build up of contaminants. 

Anodized parts are durable and resistant to corrosion and abrasion, which can reduce maintenance costs down the line. The anodized layer is electrically non-conductive and is fully integrated with the aluminum substrate, so it won’t chip or flake away like plating and paint often do. In fact, in addition to sealing, the porous anodized layer can be painted or dyed, and since anodized finishes are non-toxic and chemically stable, they’re also more environmentally friendly. Anodizing isn’t just a finish for aluminum: the process is also possible for titanium and other non-ferrous metal parts. 

There are three different types of anodization:

• Type I (chromic acid anodizing) results in the thinnest oxide layer, which means it won’t change your part’s dimensions. Type I anodized elements will appear grayer in color and won’t absorb other colors well.
• Type II (boric-sulfuric acid anodizing) has better paint adhesion and is slightly thicker than Type I. With Type II anodizing, you can easily create anodized parts that are blue, red, gold, black, or green.
• Type III (hard sulfuric acid anodizing) is the most common form of anodizing. It has the clearest finish, which means it can be used with more colors. It’s worth noting that Type III anodizing results in a slightly thicker finish than Type II anodizing.

The increased durability, abrasion resistance, and corrosion resistance of anodized parts, and the high level of dimensional control that the process offers, makes anodizing particularly popular in aerospace and construction. Beyond those industries, anodized metal components are found in a wide variety of applications including curtain walls, escalators, laptops, and more.

Despite its broad applications, there are drawbacks to anodization:

• Anodizing metal will change the dimensions of your part, so you’ll need to consider the oxide layer when determining dimensional tolerances or use chemical or physical masks to ensure specific areas of your part remain untreated.
• It can be challenging to achieve a true color match if your anodized components aren’t treated in the same batch. Color fading may also occur.
• Anodizing a metal part will increase its electrical and thermal resistance. In some cases, this might be the intention, but in others, you may need to use a mask to ensure your part retains its full conductivity in certain sections.
• Anodizing will increase your part’s surface hardness.

Passivation

This popular metal finishing process prevents corrosion in stainless steel parts, helping them retain their cleanliness, performance, and appearance. Not only will passivated parts be far more resistant to rust, and thus better suited to use outdoors, they’ll also be less likely to pit, last longer, be more aesthetically pleasing, and more functional. Accordingly, passivation is used across a variety of industries, from the medical industry where sterilization and longevity are key, to the aerospace industry where businesses seek high steel quality and tight dimensional tolerances.

Passivation involves the application of nitric or citric acid to a part. While nitric acid has traditionally been the typical choice for passivation, citric acid has recently increased in popularity because it can produce shorter cycle times, and is safer and more environmentally friendly. During the passivation process, parts are submerged in an acid-based bath to remove any iron and rust from their surfaces without disturbing the chromium. The application of acid to stainless steel removes any free iron or iron compounds from its surface, leaving behind a layer composed of chromium (and sometimes nickel). After exposure to the air, these materials react with oxygen to form a protective oxide layer. 

It’s important to bear in mind that passivation can extend part production time. Before a part can be passivated, it must be cleaned to remove any greases, dirt, or other contaminants, and then rinsed and soaked (or sprayed). While submersion is the most common passivation method because it offers uniform coverage and can be completed quickly, an acidic spray may be used as an alternative. 

Black Oxide Coating

A finish for ferrous metals like steel, stainless steel, and copper, the black oxide coating process involves immersing parts in an oxide bath to form a layer of magnetite (Fe₃O₄), which offers mild corrosion resistance.

There are three types of black oxide coating:

• Hot black oxide: The hot black oxide coating process involves dipping a part into a hot bath of sodium hydroxide, nitrites, and nitrates in order to turn its surface into magnetite. After bathing, parts will need to be submerged in alkaline cleaner, water, and caustic soda, and then coated with oil or wax to achieve the desired aesthetic.
• Mid-temperature black oxide: Mid-temperature black oxide coating is very similar to hot black oxide coating. The main difference is that coated parts will blacken at a lower temperature (90 – 120 °C). Since this is below the boiling point of the sodium and nitrate solution, there’s less need to worry about caustic fumes.
• Cold black oxide: While hot and mid-temperature black oxide coating involves oxide conversion, cold black oxide relies on deposited copper selenium to alter a part. Cold black oxide is easier to apply but rubs off more quickly and provides less abrasion resistance.

Parts that have received black oxide coating will have greater corrosion and rust resistance, be less reflective, and will have much longer life cycles. The oil or wax coating will add water resistance and may also make your parts easier to clean by preventing harmful substances from reaching the metal interior. Black oxide coating will also add thickness, making it ideal for drills, screwdrivers, and other tools that require sharp edges that won’t dull over time.

Chem Film

Chem film, also known as chromate conversion coating, or by its brand name Alodine®, is a thin coating typically used on aluminum (although it can be applied to other metals) to prevent corrosion and improve adherence of adhesives and paints. Chem film finishes often have proprietary formulas, but chromium is the main component in every variety. A chem film finish can be applied via spraying, dipping, or brushing, and, depending on product and formula, may be yellow, tan, gold, or clear in color.

While other finishes reduce thermal and electrical conductivity, chem film finishing allows aluminum to maintain its conductive properties. Chem film is also relatively cheap and, as noted, provides a good base for painting and priming (for additional time-saving benefits). Since it’s prone to scratches, abrasion, and other superficial damage, however, chem film isn’t ideal for projects in which aesthetic appearance is a top priority.

Electropolishing

Electropolishing is an electrochemical finishing process commonly used to remove a thin layer of material from steel, stainless steel, and similar alloys. During the electropolishing process, a part is submerged in a chemical bath and an electric current is applied to dissolve its surface layer. Various parameters affect the part’s finish, including the chemical composition of the electrolyte solution, its temperature, and the part’s exposure time.

Electropolishing generally removes between 0.0002 and 0.0003 inches from an object’s surface, leaving smooth, shiny, and clean material behind. Other benefits of electropolishing include improved corrosion resistance, increased part longevity, improved fatigue strength, a lower coefficient of friction, reduced surface roughness, and the elimination of surface defects such as burrs and micro-cracks.

Electropolishing is compatible with steel, stainless steel, copper, titanium, aluminum, brass, bronze, beryllium, and more. It’s worth noting that electropolishing is faster and cheaper than manual polishing, though it still takes time and won’t remove 100% of rough surface defects. 

Electroplating

Electroplating is effectively the reverse of electropolishing. Instead of removing a layer of metal to achieve a finished surface, electroplating deposits an additional outer layer, increasing a part’s thickness. Compatible with cadmium, chrome, copper, gold, nickel, silver, and tin, electroplating creates smooth parts that experience less wear and tear over time thanks to their additional protection from corrosion, tarnishing, shock, and heat. Electroplating can increase adhesion between the base material and its additional outer coating, and, depending on the type of metal used, can make your part magnetic or conductive.

In contrast to other CNC machining finishes, electroplating isn’t particularly eco-friendly since it creates hazardous waste that can seriously pollute the environment if disposed of improperly. Electroplating is also relatively costly, as a result of the metals and chemicals (and other necessary materials and equipment) that it requires, and can be time-consuming, especially if a part requires multiple layers.

Chrome Plating

Chrome plating, or chromium plating, is a type of electroplating that involves adding a thin layer of chromium to a metal part to increase its surface hardness or resistance to corrosion. The addition of a chrome layer can make cleaning a part easier and improve its aesthetics, and nearly all metal parts can be chrome plated, including aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium.

The chrome plating process generally involves the degreasing, manual cleaning, and pretreatment of a part before it is placed in a chrome plating vat. The part must then stay in the vat long enough for the chrome layer to reach a desired thickness. Since the process consumes electricity, and involves multiple steps, chrome plating is a relatively expensive finishing process.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon™) Coating

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating, commonly known as Teflon™, is available in powder and liquid forms, and is used across the industrial landscape. Some PTFE applications only require one coat, but others need both a primer and a topcoat to ensure maximum protection. The finish can be applied to a range of metals including steel, aluminum, and magnesium.

PTFE-coated parts have non-stick surfaces, a low coefficient of friction, and are highly resistant to abrasions. Since PTFE coating has low porosity and surface energy, coated parts will be resistant to water, oil, and chemicals. PTFE can also withstand temperatures up to 500°F, can be easily cleaned, and offers great electrical insulation and chemical resistance.

Due to its chemical resistance and non-stick properties, PTFE is often used to coat fuel pipes and to insulate circuit boards in computers, microwaves, smartphones, and air conditioners. It is also commonly used to coat medical tools and equipment, and cookware. Although it is popular across industries, the PTFE coating process is relatively expensive and isn’t as long-lasting as other chemical finishing options.

Electroless Nickel Plating

Electroless nickel plating refers to the addition of a protective layer of nickel-alloy to metal parts. In contrast to the electroplating process, which involves an electric current, electroless nickel plating involves the use of a nickel bath and a chemical reducing agent like sodium hypophosphite to deposit a layer of nickel-alloy (often nickel-phosphorus) onto parts. The nickel-alloy deposits uniformly, even on complex parts with holes and slots. 

Parts finished with nickel plating have increased resistance to corrosion from oxygen, carbon dioxide, salt water, and hydrogen sulfide. Nickel-plated parts also have good hardness and wear resistance and, with additional heat treatment, can become even harder. Electroless nickel plating is compatible with a variety of metals, including aluminum, steel, and stainless steel. 

Electroless nickel playing has its challenges. Common problems include the build up of contaminants in nickel baths, rising phosphorus content, and subsequent reductions in plating rates. Additionally, the wrong temperature or pH level can create coating quality issues like pitting, dullness, and roughness. Electroless nickel plating isn’t suitable for rough, uneven, or poorly machined surfaces, and parts will need to be cleaned of soaps, oils, and dirt before the plating process can begin.

Different types of electroless nickel plating coatings are categorized by the percentage of phosphorus in the alloy by weight. Different levels of phosphorus content also offer different levels of corrosion resistance and hardness:

• Low phosphorus nickel (2 – 4% phosphorus): Low phosphorus electroless nickel has an as-plated hardness between 58 and 62 Rc, and is highly resistant to wear. It has a high melting point and good corrosion resistance when exposed to alkaline conditions. Low phosphorus electroless nickel deposits are compressively stressed and are usually more expensive than medium and high phosphorus nickel.
• Medium phosphorus nickel (5 – 9% phosphorus): Medium phosphorus nickel plating offers a middle ground between low and high phosphorus nickel. It is resistant to corrosion in alkaline and acidic environments and has a fast deposition rate (18 to 25 µm per hour). The as-plated hardness of medium phosphorus nickel can be anywhere between 45 and 57 Rc, and the plating can be heat treated to reach 65 to 70 Rc.
• High phosphorus nickel (>10% phosphorus): Since high phosphorus deposits of electroless nickel plating are amorphous, parts won’t end up with phase boundaries or grain, increasing their corrosion resistance and making them ideal for use outdoors or in extreme environments. High phosphorus electroless nickel plating also offers ductility, high thickness, and stain resistance, and will make it easier to polish or solder your final product.

Zinc Plating

Zinc plating, or zinc chromate, is a popular chemical finish that protects steel parts from moisture and corrosion. Zinc-plated products have increased longevity, improved aesthetic appeal, and a more uniform appearance. Zinc plating can also alter a part’s color to silver-blue, yellow, black, or green. Another significant benefit of zinc plating is its potential to protect a part’s surface for years: even if the coating becomes scratched, the zinc will react to the atmosphere and quickly oxidize. Since zinc is chemically susceptible to acids and alkalis, however, zinc plating may not be sufficient for parts destined for wet or extremely humid environments.

There are a few different types of zinc plating. Electro-galvanization requires an electrical current to coat the part in a thin layer of zinc, whereas hot-dip galvanization requires parts to be submerged in a hot zinc bath. Electro-galvanization is the cheaper process, but hot-dip galvanization is better for parts that will be used in aggressive environments or that will experience a lot of wear.

Following the zinc plating process, parts can undergo a secondary procedure for increased protection and improved performance. The ASTM B633 standard, the most widely used standard for zinc plating, includes four types of zinc plating:

• Type I: Type I has no supplementary treatment.
• Type II: Type II involves a colored chromate treatment.
• Type III: Type III uses a colorless chromate treatment.
• Type IV: Type IV uses a phosphate conversion treatment.

Achieving Quality Finishes With SyBridge

Chemical finishing offers numerous ways to achieve the surface quality and performance levels that you need for your part, but not every finishing process will be suitable for every material and end-use. To determine which chemical finish is right for your part, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of critical factors, such as how much corrosion, friction, and wear resistance your final part needs, the environment in which it will be used, and its required conductive or insulative properties. 

Given the importance of those considerations, it’s worth finding a manufacturing partner to help you select a suitable finish, and ensure that it offers the best quality and cost efficiency possible. At SyBridge, our expert team of designers and engineers can offer insight not just into the chemical finishing process, but material selection, tooling, and suitable CNC technologies. If you want to know more about the finishing options available for your next CNC machining project, get in touch with us today. If you’re ready to get started, create your account, upload your designs to get an instant quote, and start making new parts and products in just a few simple steps.

The post A Guide to Chemical Finishes for CNC Machined Parts appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Prototyping is an essential part of the product development process, but it isn’t just limited to rapidly-produced proof of concept models. Prototyping also comes in handy throughout various phases of a project’s development, including engineering, quality assurance, focus testing, and marketing.

Prior to the introduction of 3D printing, the production, assembly, and presentation of functional prototypes was a long, expensive, and sometimes impossible process. Today, however, a range of 3D printing technologies has made those processes quicker and easier, with both the cost of part production and assembly times reduced significantly. Even with the benefits that 3D printing brings to the prototyping process, it’s still important to understand how it can be optimized during prototyping, so that your project comes together on time, even when you’re facing a critical deadline. 

3D Printing Prototyping Phases Explained

Product Conceptualization

The product conceptualization phase occurs early in the product development life cycle, and involves the relatively swift creation of a model that conveys a design idea. In this phase, speed is a top priority, which makes 3D printing the perfect technology to bring your designs to life.

During production conceptualization, a 3D printer can be used to quickly build one (or several) prototypes to help sell an idea to internal and external stakeholders, and to develop a sales model. These physical mockups will vary in cost depending on materials used and by production requirements. A prototype printed from polylactic acid (PLA), for example, will cost less than one made from ULTEM (PEI). Similarly, while a prototype printed with a taller layer height will be faster and less expensive to produce than one with a shorter layer height, it will look less polished.

Proof of Concept Demonstration

Proof of concept prototypes are essentially working models that demonstrate functionality and prove that your design will fulfill its intended purpose. 

A proof of concept prototype does not need to be produced with the same aesthetic standard as a finished product. During this phase, the emphasis should be on functionality; to save time and money, you may be able to use off-the-shelf components in your proof of concept model, or make the model with a slightly larger layer size than you would for a more advanced prototype. 

While it is possible to use fused deposition modeling (FDM) for proof of concept prototypes, it may be best to use an additive process that offers a little more accuracy, such as Carbon® Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS) or HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). For some prototyping projects, it may even make sense to look beyond additive and explore different manufacturing processes during the proof of concept phase. 

Industrial Design Implementation

The industrial design implementation phase is when you evaluate the ergonomics, aesthetics, usability, and scale of your prototype so that it will closely simulate your final product. 

During this phase, it’s important to use a similar material to your final product in order to better understand its overall ease of use, appearance, and ergonomics. For example, you might use FDM to create parts with the same thermoplastic materials that you would use in the injection molding process so that you don’t need to create an expensive and time-consuming mold but can still get a sense of the look and feel of your final product. Similarly, you might opt to use an HP MJF printer to 3D print a nylon part and coat it with nickel as a finishing process, instead of CNC machining an entirely metal prototype.

Functional Testing and Feedback

The functional testing and feedback phase is when you create functional prototypes to see if your product will actually work.

Functional prototypes generally require end-use durability and a higher-quality surface than parts produced in earlier prototyping phases, and can be sent out for stakeholder feedback in order to improve designs for your next iteration. A hybrid of proof of concept and industrial design prototypes, functional prototypes can be used to test everything from thermal performance and aerodynamics to mechanical performance and properties. Since stakeholder feedback often leads to additional design revisions, it’s best to create functional prototypes before investing in costly tooling in order to avoid mistakes and modifications that stretch your budget and project timeline. 

Pre-Manufacturing Research Modeling 

The pre-manufacturing research modeling phase refers to the creation of research prototypes that look and function like the finished product.

Creating research prototypes, enables critical stakeholders and early adopters to experience your product before the final version is released. Pre-manufacturing research prototypes will be more refined than functional prototypes, yet produced in lower volumes than final production runs. Feedback from stakeholders and early adopters during this phase could mean additional design changes.

Pre-manufacturing research prototypes also enable you to assess parts in the context of design for manufacturability (DFM) or assembly, and then optimize your design for high-volume production. Even the slightest change in product design can significantly impact costs, particularly when dealing with high volumes of parts.

The Advantages of Using 3D Printing for Prototyping

3D printing has plenty to offer when it comes to prototyping. Not only can you use 3D printed prototypes to better understand the form and function of your part, and to optimize your design accordingly, but you won’t break the bank creating them since there’s less need for expensive tooling than, for example, injection molding.

Speed is a notable advantage of prototyping via 3D printing. Instead of waiting weeks or months for a part (as you might with CNC machining or injection molding), a 3D printed prototype can be in your hands in days or even hours. The pace of 3D printing prototype production enables designers to swiftly move from iteration to iteration until a final design is perfected. 3D printers can also handle complex geometries: whether you’re creating a part with a hollow interior, holes, or moving elements, 3D printing is typically a reliable way to create functional, dimensionally-accurate prototypes.

3D printing technology also offers access to a wide range of industrial materials, from performance-grade thermoplastics to light-sensitive resins. That versatility can open up design possibilities for your prototypes: you could use 3D printing technology to create multi-material parts, for example, or use water-soluble support materials to achieve even more complex geometries. 

Tackling the Prototyping Phases of 3D Printing With SyBridge

While 3D printing offers clear benefits during the various phases of prototyping, it may not make sense for you to invest in a 3D printer yourself. 3D printing requires a significant investment in equipment and materials, and requires a level of additive manufacturing technical expertise that might be similarly costly to acquire. With those considerations in mind, it’s entirely possible to minimize the financial and technical challenges of 3D printing by working with a manufacturing partner. 

When you work with SyBridge, you’ll have access to cutting-edge 3D printing technology, an array of additive materials, and the skills you’ll need to deliver on your vision. Our team of expert designers and additive manufacturing engineers will guide you through the prototyping process, ensuring that you optimize your project for quality and cost during every phase. And getting your prototyping project started is easy: simply create an account and upload your design to get an instant quote.

Additionally, you’ll be able to explore different materials, run DFM checks, and store iterations of your prototype parts in the cloud. If you’re ready to get started but want to find out more about your 3D printing prototyping options, contact us today to speak with one of our experts to get the assistance you need to make your ideas a reality.

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