Concept modelers

Concept modelers
Concept modelers, often called office modelers, and are
class Of RP systems are specially to make models
quickly and inexpensively without a great deal of effort.
The systems are usually small and inexpensive, quick
and require very little or training operator.
For these reasons, the systems are targeted to reside in
design office environments, where they can ideally be
operated much like a standard printer, only the prints
from these systems are in 3 dimensions.

Types of concept modelers:

Thermal jet printer
Sanders model maker
3-D printer
Genisys Xs printer
JP system 5
Object quadra sysem

JP SYSTEM5
The JP system 5 is patented by Schroff Development
Corporation. it is an inexpensive RP system that
requires only a personal computer and a cutting
device.
The system produces prototypes using paper sheets
and so the material cost is very low

 In the layer slicing and gluing operation, the solid model is

sliced by software into cross sections of desired thickness.
The cross section data are output to a sign making plotter that
cuts the slices and automatically adds registration holes to each
slice.
The slices are assembled manually on a registration table and
backing paper is removed to expose the adhesive material which
glues the slices to form the solid object.
The final solid object's surface can then be coated if desired.
It uses a Roland Digital PNC 900 cutting machine, registration
board, all needed software, and a supply of startup material
(label paper and plastic foam board).

 The model is sliced into layers at a given thickness, the layers

are registered manually, and one-on-one adhered to each other.
The typical build time for a nominal model of 60 slices is 2-3
hours. Once the model is completed, it can be held for physical
inspection and compared to the rendered computer model.
While the resolution of 60 slices may seem rough for real
engineering applications, it may be adequate for some
purposes.
Indeed, the models built with the JP System 5 compares
favorably with the real models .Hence, this simple and
economical approach to rapid prototyping, which in many ways
manually mimics what the "big" systems do, may be an
acceptable candidate for small firms and model makers. It also
functions nicely in an educational environment.

PROCESS
A proprietary software package is used to slice
the model into a series of cross sections
The software then converts the slices to a
HPGL plot file format which is sent to a
plotter
The sheets are layered by aligning specially
cut orientation holes.
The sheets are positioned on a registration
board.

PROCESS
An adhesive is sprayed on the first sheet
The support backing is removed exposing the
adhesive layer. Each subsequent sheet adheres
to the exposed adhesive surfaces of the
previous sheet
Sections formed by the nesting operations are
cut
The final model is assembled

Fig: Slicing the model into series of cross sections

LENS

Company
Optomec Inc. was incorporated in 1992.
Since 1997, Optomec has focused on commercializing a direct
fabrication process, the Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS)
process originally developed by Sandia National Laboratories.

Products
Models
The latest Optomecs products are the LENS750 and LENS 850
systems.
These two systems feature the Laser Engineered Net Shaping
(LENS) process, a technology that builds or repairs parts using
metal powders to form fully dense objects to give excellent
material properties.
This technique can be used with a wide variety of metals
including titanium, tool steels, stainless steels, copper and
aluminum.

Process:
The LENS process builds components in an additive manner from
powdered metals using a Nd:YAG laser to fuse powder to a solid as
shown in Figure. It is a freeform metal fabrication process in which
a fully dense metal component is formed.
The LENS process comprises of the following steps:
A deposition head supplies metal powder to the focus of a high
powered Nd:YAG laser beam to be melted. This laser is
typically directed by fiber optics or precision angled mirrors.
The laser is focused on a particular spot by a series of lenses,
and a motion system underneath the platform moves
horizontally and laterally as the laser beam traces the crosssection of the part being produced. The fabrication process
takes place in a low-pressure argon chamber for oxygen-free
operation in the melting zone, ensuring that good adhesion is
accomplished.

 When a layer is completed, the deposition head moves up and

continues with the next layer. The process is repeated layer by
layer until the part is completed. The entire process is usually
enclosed to isolate the process from the atmosphere. Generally
the prototypes need additional finishing, but are fully dense
products with good grain formation.

Principle
The LENS process is based on the following two principles:
1. A high powered Nd:YAG laser focused onto a metal substrate
creates a molten puddle on the substrate surface. Powder is
then injected into the molten puddle to increase material
volume.
2. A printing motion system moves a platform horizontally and
laterally as the laser beam traces the cross-section of the part
being produced. After formation of a layer of the part, the
machines powder delivery nozzle moves upwards prior to
building next layer.

Applications
The LENS technology can be used in the following areas:
(1) Build mold and die inserts
(2) Producing titanium parts in racing industry
(3) Fabricate titanium components for biological implants
(4) Produce functionally gradient structures

Advantages
(1) Superior material properties. The LENS process is capable
of producing fully dense metal parts . Metal parts produced
can also include embedded structures and superior material
properties. The microstructure produced is also relatively
good.
(2) Complex parts. Functional metal parts with complex features
are the forte of the LENS system.
(3) Reduced post-processing requirements. Post-processing is
minimized, thus reducing cycle time.

Disadvantages
(1) Limited materials. The process is currently narrowly focused to
produce only metal parts.
(2) Large physical unit size. The unit requires a relatively large area
to house.
(3) High power consumption. The laser system requires very high
wattage.