CONSULTANT SERVICES PROVIDED – ACS3Design

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) can be faster, more flexible, and less expensive than traditional subtractive manufacturing methods while still producing quality parts. Offering unlimited design possibilities for any industry, including but not limited to: Aerospace, Architectural, Transportation, Medical, Semiconductor, and Energy industries.

Many of the projects that The ACS Group of Companies work on start out as creative ideas or the reassessment of existing applications. Our customers bring ideas and concepts to us, and it is our job to help turn them into reality by offering Proof of Concept and Prototyping (among many other services).

3D Composites, a 3D Print Provider (Service Bureau), a customer and collaborative partner of ACS Hybrid, is ISO 9001 and AS 9100 Certified as well as ITAR Compliant. It is ACS’s aim to provide our customers with “cradle to grave” aerospace and manufacturing solutions and parts that have been both additive and subtractive manufactured with the purpose of excellence and customer satisfaction.

BRIDGE MANUFACTURING

Between rapid prototyping and the transition to mass production, additive manufacturing provides an opportunity for low volume runs to test out new products with lower risk. A company may be unsure how a new product will be received by the public, or they may be wary of the financial risk involved with traditional manufacturing methods.

Low-volume production with ACS3Design allows a company to skip the immediate costs associated with the acquisition of 3D Printing Equipment until volumes and justifications are realized.

Bridge manufacturing with ACS3Design can save money while at the same time giving companies more freedom to experiment and pivot as needed until ready to acquire your own printer.

RAPID PROTOTYPING

Quality parts done quick

Rapid prototyping is a process that turns a 3D data file of your design into a 3D printed model. 3D printing is one of the fastest ways to produce a prototype, taking only hours to produce a better quality, and less expensive part than from a more conventional approach.

Why Rapid Prototyping?

Quickly communicate ideas with your design team at an early stage with physical models. Engineers can evaluate the viability of the product better, marketers can gain a better understanding of a product before it is produced, and manufacturers can significantly decrease total development time.

Scanning

The newest way we have implemented rapid prototyping at ACS3Design is with digital scanning. When you need to find the dimensions of a complex part our 3D scanner can digitally replicate your part with incredible accuracy.

Send us your ideas in a 2D drawing or 3D file and our technical staff will create a 3D model to your satisfaction.

TOOLING – JIGS & FIXTURES

High-Performance Accuracy

Instead of using additive manufacturing to print a final product, 3D technology can be used to build a container that is the inversion, or mold, of your final design. One of the advantages of 3D printed molds is ensuring the designs are identical without the need to recalibrate between batches. While you can easily adjust your CAD design to fine tune your mold as needed, you can rely on consistent replication on a mass scale when using multiple 3D-printed molds from the same design. Creating molds with a 3D printer is more economical than traditional manufacturing and allows smaller companies the freedom to experiment by producing small runs with lower start up costs.

When you are ready to start producing your part, FDM (FFF) tooling is one of the ways to go. High-performance FDM (FFF) thermoplastics like ULTEM™ 1010 & 9085 are used to print a custom tool that gives a strong foundation to withstand techniques like vacuum bagging, high temperatures, and autoclaving.

Other high performing “super polymers” & Composites ACS3Design have available:
Helios™ PEEK 2005
Carbon PEEK
PEEK
Carbon PA
ULTEM ™ AM9085F

3D Printed tools can be surface finished by sanding smooth and coating with an epoxy sealant. This process helps to achieve vacuum integrity as well as giving parts a clean finish.

With FDM (FFF) tooling, ACS3Design in collaboration with 3D Composites aims to provide a service that will keep up with the quality practices of the aerospace, automotive, and marine communities of the greater Seattle area.Custom Manufacturing

Tools can help aid your manufacturing by giving you a customized base that is made to fit your specific needs, including:
· Composite lay-ups
· Envelope bagging
· Jigs and fixtures
· Low volume runs

Industry Produced

With FDM (FFF) tooling ACS3Design and 3D Composites aims to provide a service that will keep up with the quality practices of the aerospace, automotive, and marine communities of the greater Seattle area.

Ready to get your production line running? Send us your designs and we can get you started!

THERMOFORMING

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet is heated in an oven to a high temperature permitting it to be stretched into a mold and cooled to a finished shape. 3D Composites applies this method by printing the tools that are used as molds and then vacuum forming material onto them to create finished parts.

Materials

Acrylic (PMMA), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polystyrene (PS), and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are some of the thermoplastic materials used. The thin-gauge or heavy-gauge thickness of the sheets can help determine the use. Sheets less than 1.5 mm are usually for disposable packaging, and thicker than that (from 1.5mm to greater than 3mm) are used for a more permanent cosmetic nature, such as surfaces of cars, refrigerators, and electrical and electronic devices.

Benefits and Usage

The most beneficial aspects of thermoforming are its low tooling and engineering costs and fast turnaround time that make it ideal for prototype development and low-volume production. Other advantages are on-the-fly product enhancements, weight savings in handling and transport, wider design scope and choices, aesthetically-pleasing looks, and wide flexibility for small and large product designs.

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