Perhaps it is the most essential part of our studio: the 3D printers. Where would we be without them? This week we received a brand new Ultimaker and we are eager to put it to use.
Arrival of the new 3D printer
The ultimaker S5
The new Ultimator S5 will be used for many projects because it helps us design quickly and effectively. Thanks to the 3D printer, we can quickly create function models, proof-of-principles and prototypes.
By testing our ideas in 3D prints we can make quick choices and often achieve great results within a short time. The printers run almost day and night to meet our needs and to quickly communicate with our customers about the test results.
With this new 3D printer we are once again increasing our printing capacity.
The 3D printer and the design process
3D printers have become indispensable in our daily work. The cycles of designing, sketching, modeling and then testing have become a lot shorter. This fits in with our hands-on approach: by quickly prototyping we can also quickly assess our designs.
Rapid prototyping
We are experienced in 'Rapid prototyping': quickly developing prototypes to test a design. We use this at every stage of the design process: to arrive at different concepts, but also to determine the final details.
Using a 3D printer for rapid prototyping has major advantages for us. Besides being fastandcost-effective, it also ensures efficient iteration: it's easy to make changes to a 3D model and reprint and test the prototype. We repeat this process until the desired design is achieved.
For rapid prototyping, 3D printing is not the only tool we use: sometimes we use clay, sometimes we model with hard foam and sometimes we make models from cardboard. But 3D printing, with all its advantages, is probably our favorite.The new Ultimaker will come into its own and help us with many challenging projects.
