ProtoCAM exhibited at the recent Design2Part trade show, held September 30 and October 1 2009 in Fredricksburg VA. ProtoCAM engineer Ryan Schmidt, who specializes in prototype engineering and plastics engineering, and sales consultant Joe Layman staffed the booth.

ProtoCAM has exhibited at this show and location in previous years. For this show, ProtoCAM brought many examples of SLA prototypes, SLS prototypes, and injection molded parts. Attendance at this show was a little lower than previous years, but there was plenty of traffic at the ProtoCAM booth. A lot of the visitors were very positive about the industry and the economy. It seemed that the hot topic of discussion at the show was new product development - this may be a sign of the rebounding economy. One of the more interesting visitors brought a cut away helicopter propeller to the ProtoCAM booth. He wanted to redesign the prop to fit certain specs. He inquired about making several prototypes so that he could test the contours in a wind tunnel.

ProtoCAM will also be exhibiting at the next Design2Part show: November 18-19 in Greenville, SC in Booth 126.

Would you like to schedule a meeting with ProtoCAM at an upcoming trade show to discuss our rapid prototyping services? If so, please contact ProtoCAM at 610-261-9010 or use our convenient Information Request form - please note in the Comment section that you would like to schedule a meeting.

Labels: plastics engineering, protocam, rapid prototyping, Selective Laser Sintering, stereolithography

ProtoCAM offers media blasting services to enhance the finish of a stereolithography prototype or SLA part. Media blasting gives the part’s exterior a more consistent look and feel.

ProtoCAM has a special media blasting process with a proprietary media mixture to ensure the part will look appealing to both the eye and to the touch. This process has been refined over many years of media blasting experience to yield superior results.

The two parts pictured here demonstrate the difference in appearance between the unprocessed SLA part on the right and the media blasted part on the left.

Please ask for media blasting when requesting a quote for an SLA prototype / part.

For more information about media blasting for your prototypes or to request a quote for a media-blasted SLA prototype, please contact ProtoCAM at 610-261-9010 or use our convenient RFQ form - please note in the Details section that media blasting is requested.

Labels: protocam, rapid prototyping, stereolithography

ProtoCAM Managing Partner Ray Biery spoke recently at a seminar hosted by Lehigh University’s Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. The conference was held at Arkema Inc. in King of Prussia, PA, a producer of industrial chemicals. Biery’s presentation was titled "Low Cost Rapid Prototyping Options".

Biery gave an overview of the rapid prototyping technologies, including stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and fused deposition modeling (FDM), and discussed the different kinds of rapid prototyping materials. He also spoke about the future of the rapid prototyping industry, including the trend to rapid manufacturing and its newest terminologies like additive manufacturing - the creation of production-ready parts.

Labels: Lehigh University, nanotech, protocam, Selective Laser Sintering, stereolithography

ProtoCAM Plastics Engineering expert Ryan Schmidt reports from April's Design-2-Part Trade Show at the Valley Forge Convention Center:

The Design-2-Part show was a typical Job Shop Show - it was terrific! The number of show attendees exceeded last year, giving us the opportunity to talk about our rapid prototyping services with some new connections and current customers. Talking with existing customers and hearing the positive feedback is the best part for me - it makes all of the customer service work worthwhile.

Labels: plastics engineering, protocam, rapid prototyping

Labels: plastics engineering, protocam, prototypes, rapid prototyping

The November/December 2008 issue of Time Compression magazine had a special feature on service providers in the rapid prototyping/rapid product development arena. There is a survey of users of rapid prototyping service providers, asking 15 questions about service bureaus, technologies, buying processes, etc.

What really jumped out at me was the first question: “When selecting service providers, how important are each of the following when making your decision?"

The top two most important criteria for selecting a service provider were Speed and Customer Service. Price, Material Selection, and Capacity were also deemed important, while Location and an Online Quotation System were not important.

When we at ProtoCAM read this, we now had real customer survey data that supported the primary tenets of our business approach - that speed and service are the most important things we should provide our customers to make us a top rapid prototyping service provider. And of course, these things are related. We have to have good customer service to provide fast prototype development and production. We have to have good systems and processes in place to handle inquiries and respond quickly. We have specifically chosen that phone calls to ProtoCAM are answered personally by real people, not automated answering systems. We have the engineers on staff who can assist with prototype development, CAD drawing and design, and design for manufacturability issues. And our prototyping production capabilities will support the aggressive time constraints that we often encounter and our customers demand, because we know that time-to-market is often a critical factor in the success of a product development project supported by rapid prototyping.

While we have always believed that our priorities were on target to emphasize customer service and speed in our business philosophy and customer interactions, it was good to see that many customers agree!

In the second tier of important decision criteria, we have the prototype manufacturing capacity to meet demand, we are continually exploring new materials to make better prototypes, and we’ll maintain price competitiveness for quotes with existing customers as well as new inquiries.

We look forward to continuing to emphasize service and speed. Contact us to get a rapid prototyping quote and see service and speed in action!

Labels: protocam, prototypes, rapid prototyping

The Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) recently recognized ProtoCAM with the 2008 MRC Summit Award for Manufacturing Excellence. ProtoCAM has worked closely with MRC on many projects and activities over the past few years and is honored to receive this acknowledgment.

The award comes from ProtoCAM’s work with MRC on web marketing efforts combined with active involvement in the area’s economy. It states,

“MRC applauds ProtoCAM for their continuous commitment to investing in their local community through significant quality employment even in difficult times. We commend them for their contributions to the local economy, leadership, and manufacturing in the region.”

As a result of the award from MRC, ProtoCAM also received proclamations from local elected officials, including US Congressman Charles M. Dent, Pennsylvania State Senator Patrick M. Browne, and PA State Representative Julie Harhart.

ProtoCAM is proud of its local presence while serving its customers throughout the world. Many thanks to MRC for this award and to these representatives for the acknowledgments.

Labels: MRC, protocam

There are many factors that affect the production and delivery of stereolithography prototypes. Weather is one critical factor. These factors affect the stereolithography process:

• Humidity - SLA prototypes can absorb moisture
• Heat - SLA prototypes are more brittle when cold and softer when warm

While at ProtoCAM, stereolithography prototypes are made and packed in a controlled environment, so the prototypes do not experience weather extremes here. But they do have to be shipped to customers, so once they leave the ProtoCAM facility, they are exposed to other conditions.

In order properly protect prototypes during shipment, the following precautions are taken:

• Prototypes are properly cushioned in the shipping container, which also insulates the part from temperature extremes
• Support is provided in the container for the prototype if the shape of the part requires it
• The day of the week is considered for shipment - in hot weather, we might delay a Friday shipment until Monday so that the prototype is not exposed to long periods of heat while in transit

With ProtoCAM’s vast prototyping experience, even these seemingly minor details are considered to provide you with the best service and best results.

Request a quote for your next stereolithography prototype!

Labels: protocam, prototypes, rapid prototyping, stereolithography

We have launched the new ProtoCAM website in early 2008 and will now use the new ProtoCAM Rapid Prototyping Blog to comment on the rapid prototyping (RP) industry, discuss new developments in the RP technologies, and talk about some interesting customer projects.

The ProtoCAM home page now features one of our more interesting pieces, the Mobeus gear.

Labels: protocam, protocam blog, rapid prototyping