{"id":15913,"date":"2020-12-31T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=15913"},"modified":"2020-12-18T09:55:47","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T17:55:47","slug":"3dxtech-gearbox3d-additive-manufacturing-next-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/3dxtech-gearbox3d-additive-manufacturing-next-level\/","title":{"rendered":"3DXTech & Gearbox3D Take Additive Manufacturing To the Next Level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"geatbox-3d-ht2\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the last ten years, massive additive manufacturing<\/a> innovations have firmly planted digital manufacturing into the industry\u2019s zeitgeist. However, today two of the most pressing challenges for the technology remain: How do you print something with plastic that goes beyond a prototype? How do you reliably print with high temperature or high-strength plastics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter 3DXTech\u00ae<\/a>, a well-known 3D printing<\/a> filament supplier that has created a wide array of high-performance materials, including those made with carbon fiber and carbon nanotubes.\u00a0 As they brought those materials to market, 3DXTech found most existing FFF 3D printers lacking the capability to properly process them.\u00a0 In 2016, they decided to create their own answer to the \u201cWhich printer do you recommend\u201d question \u2013 the Gearbox\u2122 HT2<\/a>.\u00a0 Gearbox machines are engineered from the ground up to ensure high-performance plastics (read: plastics that are way higher temperature or stronger than what you can print at home) will offer superior performance with highly repeatable quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3DXTech founders Matt Howlett and Gary Foote have spent over 65 years in the materials industry working on high-performance thermoplastics for injection molding, extrusion, and other processes, so they know a thing or two about the industry\u2019s current state and where it\u2019s headed. As Howlett puts it, \u201cOur industrial customers want to be able to make functional parts\u2026beyond just short-run production\/prototyping and move into longer production runs.\u00a0 As we built out our portfolio, we saw a need in the market to move into more functional, industrial-grade materials. We quickly understood that there were very few open-source printers capable of processing these high-performance materials. That\u2019s where the Gearbox3D<\/a> product was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of 3DXTech’s customers have already committed to manufacturing products using filament-based 3D printing<\/a>. \u201cWe have many materials that are used in aerospace applications \u2013 including several that are used on launch vehicles and orbital platforms,\u201d added Howlett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not all thermoplastic production processes will be replaced by additive manufacturing<\/a>, the need for greater practical usage and functionality in the additive manufacturing process will bring further inroads as the industry continues to gain confidence in the materials and printers available to aid their development, prototyping, small-run production and beyond into mass production. Besides, you\u2019ve probably noticed the avalanche of worldwide microbrands who sell niche products to smaller audiences. As these companies focus on their niche, production becomes a tricky balancing act of scaling manufacturing. These are precisely the kind of gaps 3DXTech and Gearbox3D can address.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFusion 360 is very good at managing files. Having everything in the cloud allowed us to quickly prototype the parts and run through quick mock-ups when we started the project.\u201d<\/p>– Matt Howlett, 3DXTech co-founder<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hardened components and precision engineering make Gearbox3D printers carbon fiber ready, with high-temperature nozzles that can reach 475C with a heated chamber rated as high as 230C internally. \u201cWhen you want to print a high-temperature material that processes at 420C, you have to be able to create an environment conducive to properly processing that material,” says Howlett. This is especially true for high-performance semi-crystalline materials, where controlling crystallization during the process is critical to optimize material properties.\u201d How do you address this situation? You build a 3D printer that can handle the materials by design, which is exactly what they have done with the Gearbox HT2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can imagine, making a 3D printer is a complex process. You have hundreds of components, including delicate, sensitive electronics<\/a> and multiple types of metals, thermoplastics, and other materials in the mechanical assemblies. The challenge of keeping the plastic at the perfect temperature and properly flowing through all of that can be daunting. The Gearbox team consists of over 20 engineers and technicians of all disciplines that generate a large amount of design, process, and test data.  Managing all that data<\/a> can be a pain, especially as various tests and validation for all the different machine parts are happening simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, where does Fusion 360<\/a> come into play? The Gearbox team needed software<\/a> that could help with the full trifecta: dealing with high heat, nailing down the design, and handling collaboration. \u201cFusion 360 is very good at managing files,” Howlett explains. “Having everything in the cloud<\/a> and not having to deal with a server that we had to manage ourselves allowed us to quickly prototype the parts and run through quick mock-ups when we started the project.\u201d The importance of accessible data is becoming more and more important, especially during this year of remote working. Fusion 360\u2019s cloud core means it doesn\u2019t matter where in the world you are \u2014 everyone can still work together. \u201cWith Fusion 360, we were able to take an idea from mock-up to an actual assembly<\/a>, make that assembly, and go straight to a drawing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An excellent mechanical assembly does not a 3D printer make. You need top-notch electrical\/electronic systems to make all those mechanical parts operate. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to get into the electrical side of Fusion 360 as well, and we intend to make all of our schematics<\/a> through EAGLE.\u201d EAGLE is now integrated with Fusion 360<\/a>, so you can handle your part design and PCB design<\/a> all in one place. \u201cWe also have some PCBs that we\u2019re going to start digging into, but we\u2019re still in the beginning process of that within Fusion 360.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what’s next for Gearbox3D? Well, the HT2 is available for order right now<\/a>, and they\u2019re already at work designing the next generation of additive manufacturing machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are 3D printing at home or in the office, Fusion 360 offers integrated CAD\/CAM capabilities that will help you bring your product from drawing to finished 3D printed parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"download-fusion-360\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gearbox3D’s heavy-duty 3D printer prints high-quality plastics. Learn how Fusion 360’s integrated cloud platform helped bring it to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3128,"featured_media":16251,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,236],"tags":[73,254,34],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-15913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industrial-design","category-mechanical-engineering","tag-3d-printing","tag-additive-manufacturing","tag-customer-stories","dhig-theme--light"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3DXTech & Gearbox3D Take Additive Manufacturing To the Next Level<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gearbox3D's 3D printers print high-performance plastics. 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