Blog Tag: 3D Printing

Using 3D Printers has been a practice of mine for the past two years and I have learned a lot about the technology and the capabilities of this new process. For the under $3,000.00 range, the printers are fairly simple to operate and many of then can now print in over 25 different materials and not just plastics. We can print in brass, bronze, copper, wood, ceramic, nylon, conductive, magnetic, flexible, poly carbonate, carbon fiber and the new graphene materials.  It seems every day a new material is added to the list.

Of course there are other types of printers, those that use resin or powder and some can print with metal. These are the high end printers that range from $15,000.00 to over $500.000.00. But those machines are getting less expensive so maybe in two years they will be under $20,000.00 and available for small business operations. In the meantime we use the more common printers.

The Z gap is the distance from the bottom of the printing nozzle to the surface of the build platform. For most machines this setting in done manually and it is a little challenging to get that distance set just right. It takes practice and patience and is critical to the overall finish of the end product.

Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing HEPA and Carbon based, fan powered, commercial grade systems since 1985 and has learned how to set the gap between price, performance, execution and customer need. It is always a balancing game when you are trying to look at the needs of the customer and the bottom line of the business. Many times you purchase another one of a product you purchased years ago only to find out the next version is not made as well and has a reduced performance and life compared to the original. This is often the case when a small, family run, operation is purchased by a larger, publicly held company. The gap is often compromised in favor of the bottom line and not the customer.

PAS has been around for 30 years because it knows the value of keeping their customers happy and providing a consistently well engineered systems that continue to meet or exceed the needs of their customers.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based filtration systems please go to our website at:  http:.//www.pureairsystems.com or call them on their toll-free line at: 800-860-8025.

For the past two years I have been using 3D Printers to develop prototypes and promotional items for a wide variety of individuals. From High School students to entrepreneurs and small businesses, we have designed and printed objects from promotional key chain fobs to new guitar pics and hand held water filtration devices. The ability to utilize 3D printing makes this process possible.

Since its inception in 1985, 3D printing has made huge advances in the quality, types of materials, software and ease of use ( for the technically inclined) along with prices under $1,000.00 for some printers. We have tried a number of printers, all under $3,000.00 and have settled in on the Open Source printer designs. These are made to print in over 25 different materials including ABS, PLA, HIPS, Nylon, Poly Carbonate, Laybrick, Laywood, Bronze, Brass, Copper and other new materials. This allows us the ability to create some very unique prototypes and limited production products for 1/100th of traditional fabrication techniques.

Pure Air Systems, Inc. a company that designs and builds HEPA based commercial grade, fan powered air filtration systems. Their newest portable unit entry into the medical market required some unique design concepts including the use of 3D printing to create some component design that would have been very difficult in the aluminum materials used in the balance of the unit. Most of the 3D print models are created in Solid Works, CAD, or Auto Desk Inventor. And, whenever possible we use STEM engineering High School students to do the 3D modeling to give them an opportunity to work with real-world problems and the clients like it as well.

As more companies begin to look to 3D modeling to create and re-design products the ability to introduce 3D printing or Additive manufacturing into the mix becomes a reality. The innovation compression cycle for 3D printing is one of the fastest I have ever seen. And, as Pure Air Systems discovered, this technology can bring prototyping costs and time down to a few weeks rather than a few months.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA based air filtration systems go to our website at: https://www.pureairsystems.com or call us on our toll free number at: 800-869-8025.