Just print out the prototype

Ski boots, houses, landscapes or gearing parts, anything that exists as a digital 3D design can be printed out - up to a maximum build size of 25 x 38 x 20 cm. The desired prototype is built up within a few hours or overnight, with the added advantage of being in colour!

Rapid prototyping is, as the name implies, a process for the speedy generation of prototypes. At TIS, we are able to produce so-called ‘concept prototypes’. These are above all useful for visualising and ‘realising’ the prototype. This will be of interest not only to manufacturing companies, but also to architects, designers and sculptors who wish to monitor the aesthetic appeal of their designs.

“In recent times design has become one of the most important factors for a successful and innovative product”, explains the CEO of TIS, Hubert Hofer, and points to the IT concern Apple whose success story has, amongst other things, been founded on a disarmingly clear design concept.

And how does this 3D printer work?
We have all printed out Word documents where ink is sprayed onto paper to reproduce the digitally stored letters, line by line, until the document has been created.

Exactly the same principle applies to the 3D printer, except that ceramic powder is used, instead of paper, and coloured binder instead of coloured ink. And before your very eyes, the three-dimensional model is generated line by line, or, more accurately, layer by layer. At the end of the process the model emerges from the pile of surplus ceramic powder which was not treated with the binder. As soon as the binder has set, the powder is vacuumed off the mock-up which is then finished using a sealant to fix and bring out the colours.




What are its uses?
It can take several hours, depending on the size of the object, to complete the printing process with a 3D printer. For example, it takes around one hour to print out a 2 cm high model which makes use of all the available build area. Constructing a complete mock-up could, in the past, have taken several weeks.

Nowadays, time saving by using rapid prototyping is vital to businesses and designers alike if they want to retain their competitive edge. Modern consumers expect new items to be brought out all the time. The average lifetime of a product dropped by 50% between 1980 and 2000. At the same time, in the course of those 20 years, products became twice as complex. In short, customers demand an ever faster succession of products, all with greater functionality. And so developers have to increase the pace at which they bring new articles to the market, explains Hubert Hofer. Above all, TIS wanted to support companies in South Tyrol in speedy and competitive product development, and this was the main reason for equipping the TIS innovation park with a 3D printer.

Technical data
The Build Size of the printer is 254 X 381 X 203 mm and the resolution is 650 X 540 dpi horizontally and 0.1 mm vertically. For printing purposes, the 3D data should be converted to file formats such as STL, VRML and 3DS.

In the words of Johannes Brunner, Area Manager of the Simulations and Materials department: “We, at TIS, are now in a position to create rapid prototypes, and this represents a real advantage to local companies. It will also help us to fulfil our central task, which is to support product development and the transfer of technology.”