3D print
Rapid, accurate manufacturing in multiple materials.
Background
Lucid’s team has been using 3D print for 30 years. We have in-house capability for multi-material printing of large parts and work with a network of expert suppliers to deliver high-quality finishing.
3D print is a versatile process for creating parts without production tooling that is particularly useful for low-volume, niche production.
Typical applications include:
Product prototypes.
Vacuum form tooling.
Vacuum casting patterns.
Tools, jigs and fixtures.
Low-volume parts production.
Creation of shapes that are more complex in other processes.
The process
Our 3D printers use a laser to cure resin in a bath, guided by data created in 3D computer design models by Lucid’s team.
We can make parts in many different materials, with properties including:
Flexibility.
Rigidity.
Impact resistance.
Heat-resistance.
Biological compatibility.
Specialist experience
3D print enables the design of geometries that are impractical in other processes and the production of parts without costly and time-consuming tooling and setup.
In niche, high-value applications Lucid’s engineers have exploited design freedoms to create new:
Human blood-contact surgical devices.
Over-moulded mechanical assemblies.
Working with our regulatory specialists we’ve achieved cost and speed-to-market advantages that enable exploitation of otherwise inviable opportunities.
We use 3D print extensively in tool-making. The example below is for a vacuum casting.
Prototypes
We’ll often use 3D print models to help users and specifiers get “hands-on” lived experience of ideas early in a design process.
Lucid’s engineers often use 3D print to build rigs that help explain complex processes and are invaluable tools in building a business case for investment.
Highly finished 3D print prototypes provide accurate representations of design intent that are invaluable in:
Consumer feedback workshops.
Human factors engineering studies.
