Prototyping Service Request

Materials we will cut:

Plastics: ABS, Acrylic, Delring, HDPE, Kapton tape, Mylar, Nylon*, PETG, Polyethylene(PE)*, Polypropylene(PP)*

Thin Metals: Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Nickel

Other: Cloth, Paper, Rubber (that does not contain chlorine), Teflon (thin films work best), Woods (MDF, balsa, bass, birch, oak, cherry, pine, etc)

*Melts/Cuts Poorly 

Materials we won't cut:

Polycarbonate, Materials with Chlorine, PCV, Vinyl, Glass**, fiberglass, PCB (Copper Clad FR4), Cured Carbon Fiber

**limited success cutting glass

Inquire if your material isn't listed here.

Basic rub-out isolates traces from the bulk copper on top of board by one cutter width (~0.2mm).  Majority of copper on top and bottom of board is left intact.

Basic + Pads Doubled is the method prefered by most.  Traces are isolated by one cutter width, except around solder points where two passes are made;  This makes soldering much easier.

Partial Rub-out (Defined by additional Gerber file) is a more advanced technique where a gerer file is used to define specific rub-out areas (typically around solder-points).

Partial Rub-out (Defined by TEAM lab) requires input by TEAM lab to manually define rub-out areas.  If this option is slected, please elaborate in the project description

Full Rub-out is the most expensive method for insulation, as it generally requires the most copper be removed from the board (which equates to more tool wear).  Please only select this option if absolutly necessary, or if you've established ground-planes which limit the amount of copper removed from your board. 

If you are uncertain as to which 3D printing technology is best suited for your application, please review our website for a detailed description of our printing technologies.  

As a general summary:

Polyjet is the most commonly used technology.  It's fast, very accurate, and can handle very complicated geometry with ease.  The biggest drawback to this technology is its cost when printing large objects.  In terms of strength, parts made via polyjet are moderate in part strength.

 Fused Deposition Modeling is our next most frequently used technology. It's inexpenive and produces durrable parts, but is limited in geometric complexity, and resolution

Stereolithography offers a good mid-point between polyjet and FDM in terms of strengh, cost, and accuracy.  This is our least frequently used printing technology.

NOTE: "Very High" is recommended for small prints only. 

Summary of FDM Materials:

PLA is a plant-derived thermoplastic which is biodegradable.  It's our most common FDM printing material, as it is the most accurate, has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (which translates to less part warping).  Colors we typically have on hand include White, Black, and Translucent (natural).  

ABS is a standard, engineering-grade thermoplastic commonly found in injection molded parts.  It's tougher than PLA, but not as rigid.  It also has a much higher coefficient of thermal expansion, so parts can become slightly warped/distorted (especially pronounced in larger prints).  Colors we typically have on hand include White, Red, and Black. 

Nylon is a more exotic material, but is significantly tougher than either ABS or PLA.  The drawback being it is not very rigid.  The material we use is an alloy more suitable for printing, and comes in a Natural translucent color only. 

Summary of Polyjet Materials:

Rigid White - Verowhite is our basic, white plastic.  It's generally the most accurate plastic availible through polyjet, but not as strong as our hybridized material Gray60, which is a blend of the White-Verowhite and Flexible Black - TangoBlack (which is our flexible, rubber-like material).  

Rigid Clear - MED610 is our translucent biocompaible material.  It is possible to sand and polish this material to the point that it becomes optically clear (its even been used in some optics applications in the past), but prints are typically translucent when they are removed from the printer.

Note that we have the ability to work with additional blended materials, and print with multiple distinct materials on a single print.  Contact the TEAM lab manager for more details.

For 3D Printing: At minimum, upload a mm-scale STL file.  If possible, please also include the original CAD file.

NOTE: Please name your 3D print files in the following format:

(Quantity)X_(Assembly group number[if applicable])_(Material)_(Color [if applicable])_filename.stl

Examples:

2x_A1_VeroWhite_myfile.stl - Quantity = 2, File belongs to Assembly 1, VeroWhite Material

2X_A1_TangoBlack_myfilegasket.stl - Quantity = 2, File belongs to Assembly 1, TangoBlack Material

1X_A2_Grey60_mysecondpart.stl - Quantity = 1, File belongs to Assembly 2, Grey60 Build Material

2x_A3_PLA_White_myprint.stl  - Quantity = 2, file belongs to Assembly 3, PLA material, White Color

Questions regarding this note should be directed to the TEAM lab manager prior to request completion

For 3D Imaging Reconstruction: Upload a ZIP file of the raw DICOM data, send link to shared folder, or upload data collaborative box directory

For CAD Design: Please upload any files which may aid in the design process.  These include hand-drawn sketches/drawings, previous CAD drawings, etc.  

For Laser Cutting: Please upload an appropriate .dwg, .dxf, .pdf, or other 2D vector-format file. 

For Machining: Please upload any relevant sketches, or CAD files.

For PCB Manufacturing: Please upload your design.  Our prefered format is Gerber.

Be sure to include:

1.Top layer

2. Bottom layer

3. Board outline,

4. Holes

If possible please also include the original CAD files (Eagle CAM, Fritzing, etc.).