Material shortages, supply chain woes, environmental impact and costly redesigns have more industries looking to additive manufacturing (AM) as a solution. Boston-based RIZE is heeding that call. It recently added a fourth member to its lineup of 3D printers, the RIZE 7XC.
While the company is also known for providing 3D printing options for education and at-home use, its printers are increasingly finding themselves on the shop floor as a cost-effective method for design, prototypes and spare parts. The 7XC is made specifically for those scenarios.
“The RIZE 7XC makes additive manufacturing capability rugged enough for industrial 3D printing needs, yet safe and affordable, too,” said Andy Kalambi, CEO of RIZE. “Finally, manufacturers can apply the promise of additive manufacturing to creating agile and distributed supply chains where the ability to generate a needed part, tool, jig or fixture takes a fraction of the time of traditional processes.”
Jigs and fixtures play a vital role in manufacturing. Along with increasing accuracy, reliability and precision, they allow for part interchangeability. Traditionally, CNC machining has been the go-to process for their creation. While this method works great for 3-axis machining, complex geometries complicate production. If multiple parts are needed, costs can quickly rise. The RIZE 7XC was designed with that in mind and to make large-format AM easier.
An electronics manufacturer in Mexico signed on to be the first beta customer for the printer. The company needed large jigs, called nests, for its assembly process.
“Using the RIZE 7XC 3D printer, our customer built nests in just two or three hours, which formerly took over a week to make with traditional machining processes,” said Roberto Jacobus, director general at Industrias VIWA, a manufacturing and additive technology provider in Jalisco, Mexico. “Since new jigs inevitably undergo design changes after testing, printing them on the 7XC significantly accelerates the introduction of new products and improvements in the customer’s manufacturing line.”
The nests, which measure 32 cm x 28 cm, proved worthy. According to Jacobus, they outlasted prior jigs made with ABS material.
“Our customer really appreciated how easy and fast materials can be swapped, pointing out the printer’s step by step voice guidance,” he said.
The RIZE 7XC was developed with Sindoh, a South Korean 3D printer company. It features Sindoh’s innovative large-format platform and materials along with RIZE’s composite materials, including RIZIUM Glass Fiber and RIZIUM Carbon Fiber. It can create build sizes up to 370 mm x 390 mm x 450 mm with a resolution of 50 microns. This latest printer also adheres to RIZE’s commitment to ensuring safe printing, which earned the company’s RIZE One printer UL 2904 GREENGUARD Certification.
As for ease of use, the RIZE 7XC was designed with auto-leveling and internal insulation, as well as minimized post-printing processes. The supports are easy to remove and require no specialty tools or chemicals.
Interested in learning more about RIZE? Check out RIZE 2XC Printers Enable Safe-at-Home Manufacturing.