Learn how design is changed from design for manufacturing to design for 3D printing in order to fully optimize 3D printers and produce sustainable results. Hear about the use of iterative design changes through functional 3D printed models for process improvement.
3D printing has becoming a viable manufacturing tool from rapid prototyping to short and long production settings. In addition to the CAD design benefits of all digital fabrication, mass customization features, the ability to produce complex geometries and the reduction in parts count due to reduced assembly requirements, the 30 year-old technology has inherent properties that lend itself to green manufacturing practices. This presentation will strip away the hype that promotes 3D printing as the Star Trek Replicator to explore the actual value of 3D printing as a manufacturing tool, with particular emphasis on cost savings through reduced part weight and elimination of material waste. Discover in which circumstances 3D printing is currently a viable manufacturing option and how it fits in with traditional manufacturing tools. Predictions on the future of 3D printing in applications such as aerospace, biotech, automotive, medicine, consumer goods, textiles, fashion and food will be addressed.
Fab Lab Hub helps bring digital fabrication including laser machining and 3D printing to education, industry, start ups and communities. The non-profit organizes the annual DigiFabCon and started Enable Boston to design, 3D print and gift prosthetic hands for those in need. www.FabLabHub.org
Sarah Boisvert has worked in dIgital fabrication including laser micromachining and 3D printing for over 25 years. Upon the sale in 1999 of Potomac Photonics, a service contractor that she co-founded, Boisvert founded Fab Lab Hub, a part of the MIT Fab Lab Network. She is a past president of the Laser Institute of America and volunteers in the Enable Boston 3DPrint4Good project.
