NOTE: Multi-Jet parts can be painted many different colors upon request
Recommended Uses For Parts In These Materials: Additive manufacturing production, end use parts, prototypes, extremely strong / wear resistance parts, high temperature capable parts, alternative to urethane casting for rubber parts.
PolyJet 3D Printing:
Click here to learn how the PolyJet process works
Fastest printing technology, excellent surface quality, fine feature detail, and the ability to print combinations of hard plastic and soft rubber materials in the same part.
Max Part Size:19.7″ x 15.7″ x 7.9″
Printed Layer Height:0.001″ & .0006″
Approximate Part Accuracy*:+/- .005″ for first 1 inch, +/- .0025″ per inch thereafter
Click Here To See Available Materials:
Vero(White, Black, Blue, Gray) – recommended general purpose material
Recommended Uses For Parts In These Materials: Prototypes, elastomer / rubber parts, trade show models.
FDM 3D Printing:
Click here to learn how the PolyJet process works
Produces durable cost efficient parts in a wide range of colors / materials. Parts are made of strong thermoplastics that can be used for prototype or end use applications, capable of building very large parts.
Max Part Size:36″ x 24″ x 36″,16″ x 14″ x 16″, & 10″ x 10″ x 10″
Printed Layer Height:.007″ & .010″ & .013″
Approximate Part Accuracy*:+/- .035″ for the first 5 inches, +/- .010″ per inch thereafter
Click Here To See Available Materials:
ABS M100 (Natural Ivory, Black, Silver Steel Gray, Ash Gray) – recommended general purpose material
ABS M30 (Natural, White, Black, Dark Gray, Red, Blue)
Recommended Uses For Parts In These Materials: Low volume additive manufacturing, end use parts, prototypes, high temperature capable parts.
CLIP / DLP 3D Printing:
Click here to learn how the DLP process works
Printers that are able to produce ultra high resolution “injection molded like” parts in end use materials, limited to small parts only.
Max Part Size:7.4″ x 4.6″ x 12.8″ & 7.5″ x 4.25″ x 13.7″
Printed Layer Height:0.003″
Approximate Part Accuracy*: +/- .005″ for the first 1 inch, +/- .0025″ per inch thereafter
Click Here To See Available Materials:
Loctite DLP Materials:
LOCTITE IND406 – (Black – tough rigid and durable 3D printing resin that performs well in industrial applications requiring high temperature use. The material offers all-round strength, good impact resistance, and high elongation.) – Recommended general purpose material
LOCTITE IND403 – (Black – high temperature resistance material that allows the production of parts with high surface quality and outstanding dimensional accuracy.)
LOCTITE IND147 (Black – high temperature resistant photopolymer, and can be printed with very high resolution features 50 um)
LOCTITE IND402 (Black – 70A rubber, elastomer material with high elongation and high resilience, excellent tensile strength and high energy return)
Carbon DLP Materials:
EPX 82(Black – Combines functional toughness, stiffness, and temperature resistance, making it useful for a variety of automotive, industrial, and consumer applications)
RPU 70 (Black – tough, rigid material that is a good choice for parts requiring strength, toughness, and moderate heat-resistance)
RPU 130(Black – strong and tough engineering polyurethane offering a unique combination of durability, impact resistance, and performance at elevated temperatures)
EPU 40 (Black – 72A rubber, good choice for applications where high elasticity and tear resistance are needed)
CE 211 (Amber – high-performance material with excellent strength, stiffness, and temperature resistance)
SIL(Gray – 35A rubber, soft, biocompatible, and tear-resistant silicone urethane elastomer that is ideal for skin contact applications)
Recommended Uses For Parts In These Materials: Alternative to urethane casting for rubber parts, low volume additive manufacturing of small parts, many exotic materials available.
*A note on printed part accuracy: The accuracy of a part manufactured on a 3D Printer can be extremely dependent based on the size and overall design of a part. For projects that require tight accuracy we recommend reaching out directly to our sales engineers who will review your parts and offer a realistic estimate of their potential printed accuracy based on their design. They can also offer design advice and post processing options to help improve the accuracy of your part. For more information on this topic please check out our page on “What is the accuracy of 3D Printed parts“.
Have questions? Don’t see the machine or material you are looking for? Let us know, we have friends in service bureaus all over the country running every technology on the market producing 3D printed parts of all kinds. If we don’t have it, we know someone who does:
One of the unique things that sets Forerunner 3D Printing apart is that we offer more then just 3D Printing services. We are located in the same building and share common ownership with DeWys Engineering. Through this relationship we are able to work as a team to offer comprehensive Design for 3D Printing and 3D laser scanning services all under one roof and from one vendor, this is a service that is unmatched by many of our competitors:
Design for 3D Printing –
A relatively new phenomenon is the advent of 3D Printing that can produce end use parts in quantities of hundreds or even thousands of units per week depending on size and part geometry. Through the use of 3D Printing, these parts are not limited to the design constraints of parts manufactured through other means like CNC Machining, Injection Molding, or Urethane Casting. For example, the parts can have complex internal passageways, undercuts that are not moldable, or extremely thin densely packed features.
2D Print to 3D Printed Part –
Have a 2D blueprint (PDF), DXF, or DWG and need a 3D CAD model created so the part can be 3D printed? We have the ability to take a 2D print and manually rebuild the part in CAD software so that it can be saved as an STL for use in the 3D printing process.
Product Development –
DeWys Engineering has experience working as both a part of a larger engineering organization handling overflow mechanical design work for new product development projects. On the other end of the spectrum, we can completely handle the new product developed process in house for smaller clients and individual inventors. Regardless of project size or scope, we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the needs of our clients and there new product development projects.
3D Laser Scanning for Inspection –
Using our FARO Scan arm we are able to provide laser scanning services including the inspection of 3D printed prototypes. Utilizing traditional contact-based part probing at accuracy of+/- .0016” or non-contact 3D laser scanning at +/- .0025”. With this service we are able to give an accurate “heat” map of a printed part to CAD model comparison. This allows us to produce full inspection reports of 3D Printed parts and assemblies before they leave our facility allowing our customers to have a high level of certainty that the parts will work upon arrival at there facility.
Reverse Engineering –
Using Geomagic Design X CAD Software combined with the FARO ScanArm we are able to take digital captures of an object and perform several reverse engineering services.
Generate useful surface and solid 3D data to assist with the creation or update of CAD designs in systems like Solidworks, Catia, NX, AutoDesk, etc.
Capture digital recreations of hand built prototypes or one-of-a-kind custom parts with precise measurements allowing for digital documentation.
The capture of an exterior shape on an existing part or model that will be used in the design of a new mating part.
Scanning legacy parts that were made by hand in the 1900’s to allow for there accurate reproduction with new tooling and manufacturing methods.
After the part has been scanned and taken through the reverse engineering process it can then be 3D Printed into a physical part.
Applying various finishes to 3D Printed parts has always been an important side of the services offered here at F3DP, but as more and more end use parts are now being manufactured using 3D printing and Additive manufacturing it has taken even more importance. We have worked to stay at the forefront as new finishing techniques have become available and have even blazed a few trails of our own by being the first 3D Printing company in the United States to offer Cerakote finishes as an inhouse service to our customers.
The following is an overview of the secondary finishing services we offer. If you have questions or are not sure what is right for your project feel free to send a message to one of our knowledgeable Sales Engineers and we can help you figure out what is the best option for your specific project.
Part Surface Finish Options –
Part Sanding:
Everything from just a rough pass to remove support stubble all the way to wet sanding with 600 grit sand paper with specialized hand tools to remove all layer lines.
Media Blasting Part Finish:
Parts can be blasted to give them a matte finish (similar to a plastic milk jug in appearance and texture) this is our most cost effective finishing option.
Vapor Smooth Part Finish:
The Vapor Smoothing process is a chemical surface smoothing method that improves the part performance, seals the surface, and offers a smooth / glossy look and feel. To find out more about this process check out our dedicated page on the topic here.
Part Coating / Color Options –
Dyed Part Finish:
Using a Girbau DY130 and Rit Dye we are able to permanently dye SLS and MJF parts black.
Painted Part Finish:
Automotive Paint:
This option is great for getting color onto your parts and can be applied to anything produced on any of our 3D printed technologies. In some cases the parts will be fully sanded, then primed, and re-sanded again before the final coat of paint is applied in order to make the parts have an extremely high-end finish. In other cases a part will just be coated in the requested color to keep the cost down and lead time as short as possible. We have the ability to offer any paint color from the following color systems:
This painting process is great for prototypes, trade show models, or investor pitch models. If you are looking for something that will hold up to rough use, harsh environments, and end use applications, please look at our Cerakote option below.
Cerakote Coating:
Cerakote is a Polymer-Ceramic Composite coating that can be applied to many different 3D printed materials. The unique formulation used for Cerakote ceramic coating enhances a number of physical performance properties including abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, impact strength, and hardness.
Electroplated coatings are a great compliment to 3D printed part that need characteristics like:
Environmental Barrier
EMI shield
Abrasion resistant surface
Improves strength and stiffness
Long term durability
Using 3D Printing in conjunction with electroplating its possible to create high end durable products in low quantities for high value applications.
Metals that are available for platting:
NICKEL
COPPER
Examples of parts that have been metal plated:
NOTE: Having parts coated typically adds 2-10 days to the time it takes to get parts done and shipped out.
Other Secondary Services –
Assembly:
F3DP offers part assembly services for both 1 off prototypes all up to multi thousand part production runs for customers. Examples of these services include:
Installing magnets
Assembly of 3D printed parts with components manufactured by machining, sheet metal fabrication, casting, or any other manufacturing process.
Assembly with purchased parts
If you supply us with a Bill of Materials (BOM) we can include the price of purchased parts along with assembly for your project.
Threading of holes (see threaded holes below for more details on this)
Deep Laser Engraving:
Using Deep Laser Engraving we are able to cost effectively digitally mark 3D printed parts with logos, serial numbers, instructions, etc. Here is our dedicated page on this topic.
Threaded Holes:
Heat Set inserts – F3DP can handle the installation of any heat set insets needed for your parts.
Check out our design guide for using heat set inserts on your 3D Printed parts.
Tapped Holes – F3DP can handle any tapping needed for your parts.
Printed in Threads – Printed threads is a viable option for MJF parts and can be a real cost savings due to it eliminating a secondary operation.
Heli-Coil Inserts – F3DP can handle the installation of any Heli-Coil insets needed for your parts.
Gluing / Light Welding:
Gluing – great option for joining both similar and different materials together as a single part. If there are any drips or runs from the joint it can be hard if not impossible to sand them away so if you care about cosmetics this option is not really the best way to go. Please visit our dedicated part gluing page to find out more about this.
Light Welding (SLA only) – with this process we use an SLA like material that is very similar to the material that the parts were printed with and apply that to the joint, then put the parts are put together and cured with a UV light source. This is the weaker of the two joint bonding options, but the upside is that we can sand this joint after welding and make smooth so that it can’t be felt or seen if the part is painted.
Finish Level Definition:
The following is a guide to the different finishes that will be on a quote from F3DP and what they mean:
Level 0 Strip & Ship – Excess material is cleaned off part, supports (if any are present) are removed. Support surfaces are not sanded and are left very rough.
Cost: FREE
Level 1 Support Sanding – Excess material is cleaned off part, supports (if any are present) are removed. Rough support surfaces are sanded smooth.
Unless specified this is the finish all parts we print are shipped with.
Cost: $
Level 2 Matte Finish – Support surfaces are sanded, parts are lightly sanded in all rough areas. Bead blast applied to entire part for uniform finish.
Cost: $$
Level 3 Mold Master – Layer lines removed through sanding of entire part. Bead blast applied to entire part for uniform finish. Part can be used as a master for cast urethan tooling.
Cost: $$$
Level 4 Paint Prep – Layer lines removed through sanding of entire part. Part is prepared for painting with primer.
Cost: $$$$
Level 4 Cerakote – Layer lines removed through sanding of entire part. Part is then coated in Cerakote.
Cost: $$$$
Clear Parts (SLA / POLYJET):
Clear – Level 1 Strip & Ship – Excess resin is cleaned off the parts and supports are removed. Support surfaces are not sanded and are left rough. Part is transparent but layer lines are visible and looking through the part will be blurry.
Unless specified this is the finish all parts we print are shipped with.
Cost: FREE
Clear – Level 1 Bead Blast – Support surfaces are sanded. Bead blast applied to entire part for uniform finish. Parts have a smoked appearance like a milk jug.
Cost: $
Clear – Level 2 Rough Coat – Rough support areas are sanded smooth and the part is clear coated, layer lines will be visible in the clear coat but you can easily see through the part and make out details on the other side.
Cost: $$$
Clear – Level 3 Optical Coat – Layer lines removed from the entire part by hand sanding, Part is then clear coated and its as close to being optically clear* as is possible.
Cost: $$$$
NOTES:
For more information on clear 3D printed parts and examples of what each of the finish options listed below look like please visit our page on clear parts.
*There is no such thing as a truly “optically clear” 3D printed part. To the human eye the part will appear clear like glass, but due to the part being built with layers it will scatter things like light, lasers, and sometimes vision systems in unpredictable ways.
