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How to Design for Part Stiffness Using a Geometric Approach

Designing products for load bearing applications is a complex and multifaceted task, so it’s important for a designer to have a “toolbox” of techniques that improve design quality. Designing for part stiffness through geometric controls is one of these important tools. While part stiffness can be modified with geometry, material stiffness is a property of […]

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3D Printing to CNC Machining: When to Make the Switch

3D printing, an additive manufacturing process, has made its way into almost every industry. From automotive to fashion, it has improved the way companies in a variety of fields do new product development. However, long before 3D printing revolutionized prototyping, CNC (computer numerical control) machining dominated the manufacturing world. If your job is to design […]

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The Engineer’s Guide to AC vs DC Motors

While different electric motors serve vastly different purposes, their core function remains the same—to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Motors are the opposite of generators, because they convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, while generators convert another form of energy into electricity (you can see a huge deconstructed generator undergoing maintenance at the Hoover […]

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Keep the Assembly Line Happy: 10 Design for Assembly Rules to Live By

“Perfection is achieved not when there Is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery Your day isn’t going well when your boss quotes a French novelist at you. In this case, my design was rejected because my boss thought that it wasn’t “elegant”… What? Days […]

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CAD File Formats and How to Export Them for 3D Printing

There are a lot of CAD (computer-aided design) file types out there, each with its own names, formats, and parameters. From STEP files to STL files, to IGES and more, it can be difficult to differentiate between them. This article will help you understand the difference between these file types, and which are best for uploading […]

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How to Conduct a Tolerance Analysis for 3D Printed Parts

Once you have modeled your parts in CAD software, you may be tempted to send them off to be manufactured in your 3D printer. However, before doing so you should perform a tolerance analysis to make sure what you’re printing “stacks up.” Tolerance Analysis, or tolerance stack-up as it is sometimes known, is a critical […]