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UNIQUE SOMOS® 10120 WATERCLEAR™ STEREOLITHOGRAPHY RESIN PROVIDES OPTICALLY-CLEAR POWERTOOL PROTOTYPE HOUSINGS AND ENHANCES THE DESIGN PROCESS.
03 July 2001 - DSM Somos
| Design Prototyping Technologies prototyped parts for a recently commercialized DeWalt® drill from Black and Decker® using DSM Somos® 10120 WaterClear™, a unique stereolithography resin with the optical clarity of polycarbonate. The clear SL parts were built, finished and assembled into a working tool in only three days. |
WaterClear™ is a composite of many desirable engineering properties, mimicking the flexural strength and modulus of polycarbonate, the notched izod impact strength of Nylon 66 and the tensile strength of ABS. Ideal applications for this epoxy-based photopolymer include: flow visualization, complex assembly analysis, form/fit analysis and functional testing. Its transparent appearance may be dyed in a secondary step for color tint. According to Mike Rufo, President of DPT: “In the past when a designer wanted to see the inside of the tool during operation clear polycarbonate housings were injection molded using prototype or pre-production injection molding tooling. The potential problem was at that point in the project the design process was nearly final and the ability to modify was constrained. With Somos® 10120 WaterClear™, clear SL parts can be built early in the design process...as much as 6 months earlier than the previous approach using prototype or pre-production tooling. Multiple iterations of these clear parts can easily be made as the design evolves.” Rufo also notes that Somos® 10120 WaterClear™ made it possible to use Plastite® screws in the DeWalt® drill model. Plastite screws are self tapping and are used in production. Using Plastite® screws in earlier SL materials would either crack the boss material or the boss material would strip out because the material was too soft. The solution was a combination of brass inserts and adhesive. However, the boss size typically would need to be enlarged so the brass insert would fit. Not needing to enlarge the boss results in one less design feature separating the prototype from production. Not using inserts is also one less step in the prototyping process. Somos® 10120 WaterClear™ prototypes deliver exceptional durability, toughness, impact strength and also, in the case of the DeWalt® drill models, had enough flex to accept a press fit bearing. Other available grades of resin were either too soft for the application or too brittle to accept the press fit bearing.
http://www.dsmsomos.com
About: DSM Somos
DSM Somos is an unincorporated division of DSM Desotech—a world leader in the development of UV-curable materials—and a member of the global DSM family.
DSM Somos is currently the world's second largest materials supplier to the rapid prototyping industry, providing stereolithography liquids and
selective laser sintering powders used for the creation of three dimensional models and prototypes directly from digital data. Somos' patented ProtoFunctional materials are used by a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical and telecommunications. DSM Somos has developed a full line of rapid prototyping materials that replicate the performance parameters of production materials, saving both time and money in new product development. From thermoplastic elastomers to polyethylene and polypropylene, DSM Somos has stereolithography and selective laser sintering technologies. The Somos business has been actively involved in the development of rapid prototyping materials since the late 1980s, from the introduction of the first commercial Somos stereolithography resin in 1992. DSM Somos is part of DSM Desotech, a leading innovative formulator and manufacturer of high quality ultraviolet and electron beam (UV/EB) curable materials. DSM Desotech is a business unit of DSM - an international chemicals and materials group headquartered in The Netherlands, with annual sales of EUR 8.1 billion and a work force of approximately 22,000 employees at more than 200 sites worldwide. DSM is active worldwide in life science and nutritional products, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company specializes in innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life and DSM products are currently used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics & electronics (E&E). The group has annual sales (pro forma including the recent acquisition - renamed DSM Nutritional Products) of approximately EUR 8 billion and employs about 26,000 people around the world. Ranking among the global leaders in many of its fields, DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. |
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