Introduction
In the first two weeks of my internship at Abatek in collaboration with Daetwyler, I gained insight into the manufacturing process, from when a customer places an order to the final silicone product. This exploration helped me identify my focus area, which was the design tooling department.
Key Designing experience
After deciding to focus on design tooling, I ventured into key designing. I created a 3D file of a key, parted it into a mold, and generated G-code using CAM software.
Exploration of 3D Printing Technologies
While working, I explored the possibility of 3D printing silicone parts directly. My research led me to Spectroplast, a Swiss company using Stereolithography to print silicone-based materials. I tested their 'TrueSil' material by ordering parts, which worked but had misalignment issues in the z-axis, affecting force tolerance. I believe this technology will advance over time and could be useful for pilot tooling in the future.
The reason I chose spectroplast over other companies was due to their proximity with Abatek's Swiss location as it allows employees to check on the progress of this order.
While waiting for the Spectroplast parts, I began researching the feasibility of printing molds directly through 3D printing technology. I examined Markforged and Dreigeist, discovering that Markforged prints metal with 150-micron tolerance, while Dreigeist uses DLP or Stereolithography to print molds or parts directly. Further cost analysis is needed to determine if upgrading to these technologies would be effective.
CAM Software Challenges
During my key design process, I found CAM tasks to be tedious and prone to software crashes. I explored alternative CAM programs, including AutoCAD, which could streamline the process by eliminating the need to manually input numbers. This transition is ongoing and may reduce the workload with the need for training.
Collaborative CAD Software (Onshape)
I suggested Onshape, a cloud-based CAD tool that supports real-time collaboration across regions, as a potential solution for easier collaboration between teams in Asia and Europe. It could be beneficial in streamlining global design efforts.
Onshape also offers
- Real time editing
- Hybrid cloud saves
This makes it so employees can collaborate anywhere at any time to give their inputs on a file.
Result
After receiving feedback and testing, we found that the mold broke under pressure, possibly due to the material being too weak. I am still actively researching ways to print both the silicone parts directly and a mold that can withstand the required pressure. This work is ongoing, with the aim of finding viable solutions for future production.
Another active project I am pursuing at Purdue does use silicone to 3d print which is new material and this could be a technological breakthrough in this area of the industry of piloting tools.
Conclusion
Looking back on my internship at Abatek, I’ve gained a lot of practical knowledge about the manufacturing process and how new technologies can help improve it. Working in the design tooling department and testing 3D printing showed me that challenges, like the mold breaking due to weak material, are part of learning and growth. My research into new printing methods, like Spectroplast’s silicone printing, taught me that while these technologies are exciting, they still need work to meet industry needs. I also realized the importance of finding better tools, like improved CAM software and collaboration platforms such as Onshape, to make processes smoother. This experience helped me develop both my technical skills and my ability to solve problems, and I feel more prepared to handle future projects with a stronger understanding of how to balance innovation with practical solutions.
Without a doubt, this project was something planned in the design department but no one had the ambition nor time to tackle this. I decided to give it a shot as an intern as I wanted to do the materials science portion of R&D as my future career path.
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