Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF)
Canvas Category Machinery : Additive Manufacturing : 3D Printer
Boston Micro Fabrication is the world leader in micro-precision 3D printers utilizing Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) technology. Many leading companies worldwide are adopting PµSL to 3D print true microstructures with ultra-high printing resolution (2µm~50µm) and printing tolerance (+/- 10µm ~ +/- 25µm). Micro-precision 3D printing is the optimal manufacturing process for various use cases across a wide variety of industries. The combination of ultra-high resolution, accuracy, and precision allows for more intricate, exact, and replicable parts.
Assembly Line
How BMF GmbH uses Digital Source
BMF GmbH invented a device to automate media blasting of small parts, traditionally a manual operation. Typically, a worker would direct a high-pressure air nozzle containing the blasting medium at a part to smooth its surface. This process was time-consuming and error-prone. BMF founder Ronny Bernstein had a better idea.
When BMF first began producing Twisters in 2014, all of the parts were CNC machined. But in 2018, founder Ronny Bernstein purchased a Markforged Mark Two printer and began experimenting with 3D printing its components using Onyx. The results were so successful that BMF converted its Twister part production to this rugged material.
According to BMF development engineer Thomas Mueller, downtime can be very expensive for BMF’s customers. He explains why: Each workholding fixture may hold 10 parts, and the rotating blasting cabinet platform can hold 10 fixtures at a time. Twister’s cycle times are typically just a few minutes, meaning that each day a Twister machine isn’t running, as many as 50,000 parts per day are not sandblasted and other secondary processes may be idled in customer facilities, too, he estimates.