Dixon Valve & Coupling Company asked this question, and Xometry answered them: “No.”
Dixon has been using SOLIDWORKS for over 20 years and, always looking to speed up their manufacturing processes, turned to Xometry’s free add-in to the software to help accelerate prototyping for custom fixturing.
“Dixon was looking for a way to do a custom workholding solution and to get there the quickest and simplest way possible,” said Greg Paulsen, director of applications engineering at Xometry. “Our free add-in is integrated right into SOLIDWORKS, so they were able to start pricing and seeing the consequences of their design and think of their budget while still in the design process.”
A recent case study by Xometry and Dassault Systèmes explores the Dixon case, in which a Dixon automation team used Xometry’s SOLIDWORKS add-in to 3D print a stainless-steel custom fixture. In the study, Dixon industrial engineer J.R. Everett comments, “Instead of waiting two weeks after placing an order to receive the part, we were able to get a quote, place the order and receive the part in a couple days – all without leaving SOLIDWORKS.”
“We have feedback through our site, not only through our quoting portal, but also through our SOLIDWORKS add-in,” Paulsen explained. “The Xometry website is designed around content to help people design better parts for their process. We can show you the best practices and trade-offs through media we make throughout the year, including videos, blog posts, et cetera, on case studies and ways to think about 3D printing.”
Freedom of Design in Custom Fixtures and Jigs with 3D Printing
Fixture projects greatly benefit from the combination of a digital design environment and 3D printing production method. Paulsen describes how they offer unique freedoms in design, as well as an iterative and experimental framework of production.
“You could essentially start by doing a subtraction on your CAD to create a negative of a positive surface, and then build the rest of your structure from there,” Paulsen said. “It makes it very easy to build something custom using 3D modeling and start from the bottom up with custom fixturing.”
A fixture prototype can be designed in a digital space to simultaneously prototype your assembly space. This method of experimentation during design allows accurate and functional parts to be produced the first time.
Jigs, unlike fixtures, require a certain lightness. 3D printing offers a unique opportunity to optimize for weight and inertial mass – rather than cutting down a block of steel, you’re building up with optimal materials. Paulsen advises keeping the purpose of the jig in mind when deciding on the build of the jig and its material.
Paulsen describes selective laser sintering with nylon 12 or PA12 as a popular material for smaller jigs and fixtures, or ones that need that extra flexibility. Polycarbonate is another popular material for fixturing due to its stiffness and strength compared to other 3D-printed plastics.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) materials are also popular for large prints, achieving up to 2ft x 3ft x 3ft wide bases. Printing metal materials with DMLS is limited to a smaller 9in x 9in x 9in build area, but can achieve parts in one attempt that would traditionally need casting or fifth-axis milling, Paulsen said.
Paulsen’s go-to material for metals is stainless steel.
“I find that stainless steel tends to have a better surface finish and it works a little better on smaller details,” he explained. “The reason why is that it’s not as thermally conductive as something like aluminum. When it comes to thermal fleeting, small features on aluminum tend to be a little bit thicker than they’re designed.”
Working with the Xometry Team and SOLIDWORKS Add-In
The Xometry SOLIDWORKS add-in analyzes a part’s geometry and properties, before displaying costs, lead times and manufacturability feedback. The material or processes of a part can be changed through dropdown menus. The add-in detects any changes and prompts the user to update the quote.
Once an order has been placed, plastic products are turned around between three to five business days, while metals tend toward five to seven, depending on the project, thanks to Xometry’s extensive partner network.
Paulsen encourages manufacturers to take advantage of the simplicity of the Xometry add-in to deliver orders faster and more accurately.
“What I’d really like to see are solutions where they’re using Xometry for everything, because we can do it all in one order,” he explained. “They can quote all of this out, get everything they need and just press “go” instead of having to source from multiple agencies. We want them to get the whole ‘kit and caboodle’ at one time through this.”
For more information about Xometry’s SOLIDWORKS add-in, visit the Xometry website.
Xometry has sponsored this post. All opinions are mine. - Kagan Pittman