info@protoshape.com (831) 429-8224 fax (831) 460-1242

Protoshape uses the Solidscape Patternmaster machine, whose high precision, excellent surface finish, and fully castable material have set the industry standard for small-scale prototyping. If you're not familiar with 3D printers, they work rather like regular inkjet printers: there's a jet that moves in the X-Y plane and spits tiny drops of material.  In a 2D printer the drops are ink and they draw pictures; in this process the drops are a wax-like plastic, and they form a layer of the model.  When each layer is finished, it is milled off to smooth the top, then the build bed moves downwards, leaving room for the next layer to be drawn.  After many layers, usually somewhere between 100 and 1000, the part is complete. At left, a Solidscape printer.  Above, looking down on the build bed.  One of two X rails goes across the top of this picture, and the two Y rails are vertical at center.  In the middle are the print heads, one each for build and support material, and their black feed lines.  At left is the cutter with its dust vacuum hose. Accuracy is determined by how precisely the print head positions itself in the X-Y plane, and also by the size of the Z increment, i.e. how thick the layers are. The build time, and hence the cost, for a part depends on its height, complexity, and layer thickness.  The combination of factors makes it difficult to quote without an STL file in hand.  Although the theoretical build envelope is quite large, it's not usually economical to go over a cubic inch or two: think rings to barrettes. From the manufacturer's specifications: Adjustable layer thicknesses from 0.0005" to 0.002". Accuracy to 0.001" per inch in X, Y and Z dimensions Minimum feature size is 0.01" Build envelope is 12" x 6" x 9"high. An important thing about layers is that although the Z axis gains resolution when thinner layers are used, the X-Y axes do not.  With .0005" layers the machine is cutting the layers very thin, but it does not draw them more finely or use smaller droplets, so resolution in the horizontal axes is unchanged. The strength of this process is its ability to handle undercuts.  A soluble support structure is used, laid in as the part is built and dissolved away afterwards.  The support can be removed even from areas that can't be reached by hand, and it comes off clean, without any stubble or residue. This allows very good freedom of geometry: odd-shaped holes and inaccessible areas are no problem.  The only type of structure that cannot be built is a completely enclosed void: there would be no way to remove the support material from it. At left, a part in progress.  The pink support material encases the green build material completely.  This part, at about 2" cubed, is quite large for the process. If you're interested in owning a machine, please contact Solidscape directly to find your local reseller.