fathom Archives - 3D CAD World

3D printed #cast for the social media age

September 8, 2014 By Jennifer Calhoon Leave a Comment

FATHOM, an advanced technology driven company with an expertise in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, released #CAST. Pronounced Hash Cast, it’s the new way to customize your broken arm cast with personal messages aggregated from your family and friends through social media.

Using the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies and 3D CAD software, an arm can be 3D scanned at a doctor’s office and a one-of-a-kind cast made in a breathable nylon material using an additive technology called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).

Using the #CAST mobile app, users can approve or reject personalized messages collected through their preferred social networks. Once the maximum amount of characters allowed are approved by the user, a custom fit design is generated and built then delivered to their medical facility and fitted on the user by a specialist.

FATHOM
www.studiofathom.com

3D Printing in Multiple Materials and Vivid Colors

April 30, 2014 By Jennifer Calhoon Leave a Comment

FATHOM, an advanced technology driven company with an expertise in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, announced that 3D printing services for the Objet500 Connex3 are now available directly at its Seattle-based production center. This is the second Connex3 system added to the company’s list of available service equipment, one of dozens available for additive manufacturing services.

Stratasys introduced the ground-breaking 3D production system at SolidWorks World in January. It is the only machine that creates brilliantly colored prototypes with a range of multi-material options including rigid, flexible, clear, and durable — all in a single build cycle.

“The Objet500 Connex3 offers the most advanced material options out of any other 3D production system in the world”, said Rich Stump, Principal at FATHOM. “Users can create beautiful, and functional, 3D printed parts like never before seen. From concept models and functional prototypes to end-use parts, the application uses really are limitless.”

With the system’s ability to combine vivid color and multiple materials, the Objet500 Connex3 is the only 3D printer that can simulate the precise look, feel, and function of finished products — designs come to life as realistic models earlier in the design process.

“This new system not only offers the best capabilities of any other 3D printer on the market, but it allows users to blend three different materials in a single build cycle,” said Dylan Oliver, Northwest General Manager, adding that the Connex3 is a great platform for future material offerings. “Stratasys has a great track record of making new materials available to customers due to their continuous efforts in composite material development.”

The company is hosting an invite-only event next month where guests will see live printing demonstrations and unique models exclusively created by FATHOM’s design and engineering teams.

“We strive to be our customers’ preferred partner by providing best-in-class equipment, services, and support,” said Oliver. FATHOM recently invested in advanced research and development capabilities to further support its customers’ advanced application needs. “My team is located right in the heart of Seattle, making the latest in additive manufacturing locally available.”

In January, FATHOM announced it was the first 3D printer partner of Stratasys in North America to purchase an Objet500 Connex3 and offer outsourced multi-material color 3D printing services on the West Coast from its Oakland-based production center.

FATHOM
www.studiofathom.com

FATHOM™ 3D Prints the Seattle Space Needle

November 1, 2013 By 3DCAD Editor Leave a Comment

In celebration of FATHOM’s™ upcoming launch party of the new Seattle office and production center, the FATHOM™ team 3D printed the Seattle Space Needle — from CAD modeling to 3D printing to model finishing.

JOIN THE CELEBRATION —
MEET THE FATHOM™ TEAM & CUSTOMERS

FATHOM™ Opens 3D Printing Production Center in Seattle
Thursday, November 14, 2013 – 6:00PM to 9:00PM

Join us in celebration at our new Seattle location — visit with our creative team and customers, and tour the NEW production center. Get a peek at case studies and sample 3D prints on display, watch live 3D printer demos, make new connections, and enjoy refreshments.

This Event is Invitation Only, Please Register in Advance

FATHOM
studiofathom.com

National MFG Day Highlights 3D Printing

October 7, 2013 By 3DCAD Editor Leave a Comment

In studying cell culture, the size and shape of the petri dish influences the results. Tough thing is finding the right dimensions per project, biologist Tom Zarembinski explained Friday during a visit to Fathom 3D printing studio in Oakland, Calif.

It’s important to a study’s results that you find the right size cell dish, said Zarembinski, a researcher at BioTime. So I had this idea that 3D printing might be a good way to make custom size petri dishes.

That’s what brought him to Fathom on the second annual Manufacturing Day Oct. 4, when hundreds of manufacturers across the nation opened their doors to educate the public about what they make. After an hour-and-a-half tour of the production center learning about additive manufacturing, Zarembinski was set on ordering those custom cell dishes to aid his research.

It’s so convenient, he said. I’ll send over a CAD file, they’ll print it out and I can just drive over here to check it out. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Zarembinski was one of a few-dozen people who visited Fathom, the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest 3D printing and rapid prototype production center and top performing Stratasys 3D printer distributor of Northern California and Pacific Northwest. Others included investors, engineers, entrepreneurs and sales reps from various industries. 3D printing specialists took groups around the vintage foundry building to demonstrate and discuss the form and function of the various technologies, from PolyJet, Fused Deposition Modeling, Selective Laser Sintering, and Direct Metal Laser Sintering.

Attendees got to handle the results of sample prototypes: a polymer bike chain, a ball of fully functional gears and a model car made from various plastics. Fathom account manager Preeya Singh explained the possible complexities of rapid prototyping, how in a matter of hours you could have a functional model of your potential product. How parts could be programmed to print out soft and rubbery or firm. A 3D printed skull she showed had clear plastic bones and white opaque teeth — all printed out at the same time.

You could start printing something when the doors close at night and have it be ready by morning, she said. It’s very fast.

Some were already familiar with the technology. Others said they came in with only a vague idea and left convinced in the technology’s power to revolutionize manufacturing.

We like what we see, but even more we see what this could be, said Stephen De Marti, a Comerica banker who scouts out promising businesses to finance. In six hours you can go from a computer file to a fully functional prototype. That’s amazing.

This year’s Manufacturing Day, an event promoted by industry groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute, saw more than 840 events in 48 states across the nation and some in Canada.

FATHOM
www.studiofathom.com

FATHOM™ Exhibit at Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo Next Week

September 11, 2013 By 3DCAD Editor Leave a Comment

FATHOM™ will join fellow innovators and industry leaders in Silicon Valley at the Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo this month.

The event, hosted by Mediabistro September 17 and 18 in San Jose, will highlight the current and future impact of 3D printing, as well as its applications and services with leading industry experts.

FATHOM™ will be showcasing case studies, production center services, and live machine demonstrations at the upcoming Northern California conference, which also recently took place in New York City and Chicago attracting thousands of attendees.

3D printing as an industry is advancing at a breakneck pace, so it’s critical to stay informed and in touch with what’s going on, says FATHOM™ Principal Rich Stump, who founded the company in 2008 with Michelle Mihevc. We’re thrilled to be part of a trade show dedicated solely to the advancements in our field. As a product development company and 3D printing specialist that helps thinkers and makers transform their ideas into physical form, FATHOM™ works with some of the most innovative companies on the market. We look forward to making new connections and sharing industry knowledge with the many attendees at this show.

The B2B expo will feature two full days of conference sessions, giving the public a venue to learn about this fast growing field, what investment opportunities exist, and how it affects other industries.

Additive manufacturing is increasingly changing the way we eat, drive, build, fly and live, which is why the event will be well-attended by leading entrepreneurs, educators, engineers, architects, medical design experts, fashion reps, culinary innovators, and other professionals, notes Mediabistro.

Featured speakers will discuss the way 3D printing is revolutionizing the manufacturing sector and how 3D printing impacts the future of medical research. Stratasys founder S. Scott Crump, who has served as Chairman of the Board since the company’s inception, will deliver a keynote on Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), which he invented.

Additional panels include “The 10 Principles of 3D Printing,” “Leveraging 3D Printing through Innovative Design for Space Exploration,” and “The Promise of Distributed Manufacturing.”

CNET lauded the event for bringing the 3D printing sector front and center, giving the industry its own much-needed platform.

The manufacturing trade journal wrote back in April during the inaugural 3D printing expo in New York City, after years of being lumped in with other maker-oriented technologies, 3D printing finally has its own professional conference.

Stump agrees.

So much is going on in the world of 3D printing that the industry needs its own stage. And what better place to host the inaugural West Coast event than in Silicon Valley, the beating heart of the technology sector?

Visit with the FATHOM™ team at booth #110 and enter to win one of the company’s exclusive 3D printed chessboards. The conference will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton, 2050 Gateway Place, in San Jose.

FATHOM
www.studiofathom.com