Rapid Prototyping With CAD Data For Precision Metal Stamping In Minneapolis, MN

January 6th, 2016 · No Comments

In the past, when a part was designed on paper, metal workers could spend weeks, even months, rendering a prototype of the design by hand or with remedial tools. Today, we have the great advantages of rapid prototyping using computer aided design (CAD) data to quickly and accurately bring a design to life. At Thomas Engineering Company, we offer all our customers the benefits of rapid prototyping for our precision metal stamping in Minneapolis, MN.

CAD software was invented in the late 1960s; its invention is attributed to Pierre Bezier, a French engineer at ParisTech working in partnership with Renault. Soon after its creation, the technology was used in commercial applications for automotive, aerospace, and electronic industries.

Today, CAD is used to create data files for transferring, storing, and processing designs with computer-aided-design—computer-aided-manufacturing (CAD-CAM) software. Our own engineers can take a customer’s CAD file and work with them to begin processing a rapid prototype.

Generating an original CAD file begins with data-gathering to build a geometric computer image. This is done through processing a 3D viable object in a CAD workstation or by scanning sides of a 2D image that can be rendered three-dimensional with CAD software.

The CAD system then estimates the interior structure of the scanned object with simple mathematic formulas. To execute the production of the physical prototype through 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and other rapid prototyping processes, CAD software must virtually slice the object into two-dimensional cross sections, essentially using an inverse system of layering.

With our customer’s CAD file, we can then produce the physical prototype through our CAD-CAM modeling software. Within days we can offer our customers a tangible beginning to realizing their part design and thus their project design as a whole.

Contact us at Thomas Engineering Company to bring your part to life with our rapid prototyping services and precision metal stamping in Minneapolis, MN.

Tags: Metal Stamping · Thomas Engineering Company ·


 

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