During my presentations of the PolyJet technology, people in Engineering & Design are highly impressed by the products and services I have to offer.  In fact, they get VERY excited when they see the quality of the PolyJet parts and say they have never seen rapid prototype parts with such high resolution and detail. 

The following questions come directly from our customers:

Question:  Why PolyJet?

Answer:  PolyJet resins provide nearly all the strength in functionality most users need.  The PolyJet is a printer and not a laser based system that has thermal energy remaining on the outside of the build plane sweep, or a Fused Deposition Modeler (FDM) that extrudes molten plastic under pressure out of build nozzles where excess plastic overruns the edge of the build plane sweep.  Hence, PolyJet parts have much smoother wall surfaces.  Surface resolution, high quality, and accuracy of the parts have given customers an easy decision to make to use the PolyJet as the “go to” technology for physical part creation.  These reasons are why Kaiser3D Rapid Prototyping Services chose the PolyJet as its first line RP system.

Question:  Can functional threads be created in a PolyJet part?

Answer:  Yes.  If your CAD design has both thread & screw built into it, leave a .005" - .010" gap between the female thread and male screw or bolt in your design to ensure functionality in the physical part.  The preferred method for functionality is to build only the female threaded portion into the CAD design at the exact thread dimension needed.  When the part is completed, you can then thread an off the shelf screw or bolt into your PolyJet part.          

Question:  Will part dimensions measure a specific number (Example: .005”) tolerance across all measurements in the part?

Answer:  Rapid prototyping system manufacturers normally state one specific tolerance the part measurements should never exceed.  From experience, a critical dimension on a rapid prototyped part may measure +/- .002” off dimension on one side of part, while on the other side, a dimension may measure .003”, .001”, or .000” etc.  The reason for this is what is termed "repeatability".  The mechanics and software programs of automated manufacturing equipment affect repeatability of critical subsystems within whole systems.  Some manufacturing systems have better critical dimensional accuracy capabilities than others.  For example, I'll use a laser traveling across a build area of one foot in the X plane (left to right, or right to left).  That laser energy beam looks nice and smooth as seen by the human eye as it draws a bitmap image of a certain depth (layer height in the Z axis) into the medium.  What we can't see is that the laser is not actually traveling smoothly.  It stops and starts (shutters) a little in it's travel and deviates off a straight line a little here and there.  Hence, what is expected of the laser isn't totally "repeatable".  At one point in X, say at the 2" mark of travel, a measurement on a part may measure .003" off expected dimension.  At another point, say at 6", the expectation may be better and a dimension may measure +/- .001" off the expected dimension.  There are deviations in all axes on all manufacturing systems, some systems with better repeatability than others and the system may be the same model and manufacturer.  For this reason, it is CRITICAL to have good and knowledgeable Field Support Engineers supporting your systems.  In the Field, I have never seen a PolyJet part measure more than .005” off actual dimensions in all axes and normally measures no more than .0001" to .0025".  A maximum dimensional tolerance number is issued by manufacturers as a baseline tool for Field Engineering and Applications of what to expect and should not be considered what you will get in reality.  State of the art software applications have increased repeatability excellently over the last 10 years in Rapid Prototyping and other manufacturing systems.  In reality, a manufacturer states a maximum tolerance value average that is normally very high and all Rapid Prototyping systems can be tuned to degrees of calibration for tolerance values of normally +/- .005" and less.  Again, it is a baseline number.  But in general, the PolyJet system produces impressive dimensional accuracy.

Question:  The surface resolution and quality is intense on PolyJet parts and I sometimes see triangle facets or gaps on the surfaces of parts I've received from other vendors.  What is this?

Answer:  The triangle facets or gaps you see on the surface of your prototype model are actual problems within the Computer Aided Design (CAD) solid model file.  The PolyJet produces such intense resolution parts, any major problem with an STL file can be displayed in the actual part. A flaw in a CAD file may be minor, at other times, major.  Kaiser3D checks every incoming file for integrity and errors by way of a specialized software that scans the entire makeup of the part and in most cases can automatically repair the file at no additional cost to the customer.  This process minimizes or eliminates any issues within the STL file & minimizes or eliminates extra time a Designer must spend fixing the file.  Good STL files are critical for most Rapid Prototyping systems because if a part comes apart during machine operation, damage can and has occurred to expensive subsystems of the machinery.      

Question:  Why Kaiser3D?