WEBVTT 00:00:16.383 --> 00:00:19.853 We call it the Rapid Prototyping Lab because 00:00:19.853 --> 00:00:22.389 we’ve always had that name and it’s actually what we use the 00:00:22.389 --> 00:00:25.658 technology for. But out in the real world, it’s called 3D printing 00:00:25.658 --> 00:00:27.260 or additive manufacturing 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.996 We take a CAD object that’s designed by all our engineers 00:00:29.996 --> 00:00:32.999 and designers and we essentially slice it up into 00:00:32.999 --> 00:00:35.735 into whatever the machine’s resolution can be. Very small 00:00:35.735 --> 00:00:37.971 thickness and measured in thousandths of an inch. 00:00:37.971 --> 00:00:42.509 And then we can in turn make a paper model or a plastic 00:00:42.509 --> 00:00:47.047 model and tweak that resolution to our advantage. One of our 00:00:47.047 --> 00:00:50.517 machines is called the M Core Iris, its consumable is paper. 00:00:50.517 --> 00:00:54.754 So it can take sheets of paper and layer by layer, at four 00:00:54.754 --> 00:00:58.291 thousandths of an inch build your object that you’re 00:00:58.291 --> 00:01:01.227 feeding it. It’s a unique technology and it’s using a 00:01:01.227 --> 00:01:04.064 tungsten carbide knife to cut out the geometry. And then 00:01:04.064 --> 00:01:07.000 it will lay glue on the entire sheet of paper to hold 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.270 it in place. And then densely glue where the object was cut 00:01:10.270 --> 00:01:13.773 out. The process is called selective deposition lamination. 00:01:13.773 --> 00:01:18.311 And so, sheet by sheet, it’s drawn into and cut, glued, and 00:01:18.311 --> 00:01:20.980 then a new sheet comes in and the process repeats. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:25.318 These machines behind me use a technology called FDM, which 00:01:25.318 --> 00:01:28.088 is fuse deposition modelling or filament deposition modelling, 00:01:28.088 --> 00:01:31.758 it takes very small filament and it melts into those layers 00:01:31.758 --> 00:01:34.227 that I talked about. So, these machines are capable of 00:01:34.227 --> 00:01:37.430 going down to five thousandths, seven, ten, or thirteen 00:01:37.430 --> 00:01:40.767 thousandths of an inch in order to build your object, to additively 00:01:40.767 --> 00:01:44.337 manufacture the object you’re looking for. And end up with 00:01:44.337 --> 00:01:47.774 kind of crazy geometry that could never be manufactured 00:01:47.774 --> 00:01:50.176 by any other method. It actually accelerates a lot of 00:01:50.176 --> 00:01:53.313 the design process because an engineer can work with our 00:01:53.313 --> 00:01:57.817 design crew and come up with 3D designs which, you know, from 00:01:57.817 --> 00:02:01.354 a board was a whole revolutionary step to go into 3D CAD. 00:02:01.354 --> 00:02:04.324 But then take that CAD to the next level. You know, take that 00:02:04.324 --> 00:02:08.294 model that not only drives the drawing, but can also drive 00:02:08.294 --> 00:02:11.498 additive manufacturing or 3D printing. And in no time at all, 00:02:11.498 --> 00:02:14.334 they can actually see how their parts interact. 00:02:14.334 --> 00:02:17.036 The technology is constantly advancing so that they can 00:02:17.036 --> 00:02:21.975 produce extremely accurate parts at a low cost, almost 00:02:21.975 --> 00:02:26.646 overnight. You know, we support flow tests and things that in 00:02:26.646 --> 00:02:30.683 traditional methods could not be manufactured easily, and if 00:02:30.683 --> 00:02:33.419 they could, it would take months and months and months 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:35.622 . And here we are, turning it around overnight or 00:02:35.622 --> 00:02:38.525 over a weekend. It’s extremely fun to be able to take 00:02:38.525 --> 00:02:41.394 something that’s someone’s idea, or something we’ve never 00:02:41.394 --> 00:02:45.632 touched before and either build a scaled version of it or 00:02:45.632 --> 00:02:50.203 a full-fledged end use part. That’s immeasurable as far 00:02:50.203 --> 00:02:52.238 as how fun it can be.