Oh Those Crazy Lawyers!

3 years ago, if you remember, we did a sign for a law firm in Oshawa. A city about 40 minutes from the shop.

Well, I do believe that since that time, one of the lawyers has become a judge, and they needed the sign changed to reflect the new name! I knew at some point the name might change, but was kinda hoping it wouldn't!

Our sign was in remarkable shape! The only issue I could see in terms of weathering, was the small chains on the justice scales. They had started to rust a little! I actually don't mind the real patina left by nature!
Luckily, I keep almost every file I have ever created, so doing a name change on a sign like this isn't an impossible task. The biggest challenge would be crossing my fingers that it fit under the gantry on our Techno. The original sign was cut in layers to allow for the welded steel frame inside. But now, the layers are all one piece!

Clearly this issue was not of any concern when the sign got to the shop! As I had all the original computer files, I was able to scribe in the sign outline into the spoilboard. This gave me something to manually line the actual sign to. Insuring that everything would be straight, and where it should be. It's a bit freaky running a finished painted sign back under the cnc, for obvious reasons...........

But the worry was for not! There were no mishaps, and everything worked out fine!
8)
JWO

Our first In-House Print! TAA-DAA!

The other reasons for us to choose the KNP-3D printer was it's ease of use, dual extruders, and heated build plate. Maybe 10 years ago I would have loved the challenge of tweaking settings, adjusting variables, etc. But today, I just want something that sets up easily, and is pretty straight forward to use! I'll save the mental workload for the actual project, not the equipment that makes it!

The printer came VERY well packaged, with an extremely easy to follow set-up guide. There was actually not much to do before using it! We had this printer running a file within 20 minutes of unpacking it. The slicing software that KNP recommends, and supplies on their downloads page, is the freely available Slic3r program. There is also a small, dedicated little converter program to convert the G-code from Slic3r to the X3G file format that the printer reads. I will be totally honest, I used Slic3r for about 2 hours after I ordered the printer last week, and immediately started an on-line search for a better piece of software. Not that Slic3r is bad, but I was very aware of it's limitations right from the start. So I purchased Simplify-3D. Now this is the way 3d printing software should be. Plus, Simplify 3D wrote a post processor specifically for the KNP printer, and had it back to me right away! I won't go into depth on the software, because it's pretty easy to find all the info you need on-line. But, for the additional $140, it would be silly not to buy it. If this was a hobby machine for us, and I just wanted a new toy, I probably wouldn't have purchased it, but as we will be using this for work projects, it was a no-brainer!

One thing about FFF 3d printing is it's kinda slow! Not the machine, but just the whole concept of the way it works. Granted it's still faster to a degree over hand fabricating a full 3 dimensional character, but it's a little slower than you'd think!
We wanted 2 different kinds of 3d printers for the shop. An FFF machine for larger parts, as well as a high resolution 3d printer for very small objects that need an incredible amount of detail.

Having 2 different printers, as well as 2 cnc routers, and a laser cutter should cover all the bases of everything we could possibly have to make!

For our first print, I downloaded the Lara Croft 3d model from Thingiverse. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:256452, as it was pretty much print ready.

The color change was a result of using flash on the camera.

The head I printed at 200 microns layer thickness, and the body I printed at 100 microns so I could compare the two prints. The Simplify 3d software prints a unique style of support structure based on a network of pillars. The software will also allow you to set the percentage of pillar offset. This determines how easily the supports can be removed. All of the above supports pretty much peeled right off the model in one piece, with very little effort!

 I also printed these from ABS styrene, because I might try the acetone post processing of the prints. Plus, everywhere I have read, ABS can be more difficult to print with, so I figured I should start with that! All said and done, I am VERY happy with the print quality. This printer does a great job, and is super easy to use. I think that combining 3d prints with laser cutting and cnc routered parts, will make our projects better, and easier, and that's how I like to roll!
8)
JWO

3D Printing, our new addition to the family!

Finally we have added 3d printing to our arsenal of tools. I am both a technology geek, as well as a tool lover. I have had my eye on 3d printing for a very long time! But the biggest drawback was quality vs. time. Time is of the utmost importance in our business. Most projects are a 3-5 day turnaround. But, quality can't suffer because someone needs it fast, so we have to find more effective ways to produce our custom pieces.

That being said, 3d printing was well out of the budget of most small businesses. I remember pricing out a Dimension 3d printer, and it coming in well over $100, 000. That's great if that's all we were going to do, 24 hours a day, but that will never be the case for us. 3d printing will just compliment our current toolset, especially considering almost everything we do is designed in the computer anyway.
But with the current new onslaught of FFF 3d printers on the market, the prices have come down so far, that ignoring a 3d printer as a capable tool, is a grave mistake. 3d printing is here to stay!

We spent a long time looking for a printer that would meet our needs. It had to be cost effective, run low cost materials, and the materials had to be available readily. It also couldn't be a clunky looking machine, with wires and motors hanging out all over the place. That doesn't instil confidence in anyone coming to the shop.
Technical support, and warranty were the final deciding factors. These 2 factors are so overlooked, but should be first on most peoples list.

This is why we went with the KNP3d 3d printer. This machine was put out by Klic-N-Kut USA. These guys have been making cutters and embossing machines for a very long time, so 3d printing would be a natural progression for them.
The knp3d retails for $1299, and comes with a full 1 year warranty. Most of these kinds of printers usually only have a 3 month warranty, so this is fairly huge!

Stay tuned for our first print on this machine! It should be a fun new road for us!
8)
JWO