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The NPE Plastics Show and the Revival of American Manufacturing

Last week Fictiv participated in the largest plastics show in North America. Hosting 55,000 attendees it covered everything from materials, machines, Injection Molding suppliers, 3D Printing players, you name it.  Definitely present in big numbers were global supply chain managers looking for the right mix of suppliers especially with new tariffs recently introduced on the […]

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3D Printing Materials Overview

Fictiv offers a variety of 3D printing materials and can produce parts using Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), and Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS)  technologies. For each of these 3D printing processes, the table below lists the available materials and colors along with their average lead […]

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Scaling Up: From 3D Printed Prototypes to Injection Mold-Ready Designs

Are you ready to scale up from 3D printing to injection molding? Then it’s time to tailor your part design for a process that uses metal tooling and has its own unique design requirements. This article begins with some injection molding basics and then explains how to optimize your part design to reduce tooling costs […]

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How to Finish 3D Printed Parts – Get the Ultimate Guide

Index Overview of Post-ProcessingABS (Printed on a Dimension Elite) ABS 3D Printed Part Finishing Process Materials Needed ABS 3D Printed Part Sanding Repairing the Incomplete Layer ABS 3D Printed Part Priming and Painting ABS 3D Printed Part: The Final ResultVeroBlack (Printed on an Objet30) VeroBlack 3D Printed Part Materials Needed VeroBlack 3D Printed Part Sanding […]

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A Basic Introduction to CNC Turning

CNC turning services offer a widespread technology for manufacturing cylindrical parts from various materials. Unlike CNC milling, CNC turning rotates the workpiece and introduces a stationary tool into the workpiece. Advanced CNC turning centers take this further by adding milling functionality to the machine to produce highly complex parts like those in the image below: […]

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Troubleshooting Injection Molding Flash

Injection molding flash, or flashing, is excess plastic that forms on the surface of injection molded parts. Although some amount of flash is considered to be a normal part of the plastic injection molding process, excessive flash can mar the surface finish of parts or interfere with part seating, mating, or assembly.  In this article, […]

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The 3 Essential Methods for Gear Machining

Historically, gear fabrication methods have been classified into three main categories: generation, forming, and form cutting. As new gear manufacturing technologies are developed, new methods will be added to the list, but for now, those three are still the most common ways for machining a gear: Gear Generation Sunderland Method Rack-type cutters are one of […]

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How to Select & Source the Right Materials

So, you’ve finished the initial design for a new product or part… congratulations! Your R&D stage is complete, which means you’ve started iterating on the design and have a clear vision of:  The next, critical step in the development process is to research the best materials for prototyping and ultimately for mass production — a […]

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How to Communicate Color, Material, and Finish Effectively

Note: This article is based on a previously published version by Sylvia Wu and has been updated to reflect Fictiv’s current capabilities, as well as 2022 innovations. When designing a product for the consumer market, industrial usage, or aerospace industry, how the product looks, feels, and functions is critical. Color, material and finish (CMF) are […]

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Conversion Coatings: The Benefits of Passivation, Black Oxide, Alodine, and Anodizing

The Second Law of Thermodynamics declares that everything tends to move into a state of disorder. We all know what happens when metal is exposed to the elements: deterioration. When designing and creating your products, the last thing you want to discover is a layer of deteriorated metal in the form of oxidation, corrosion, or rust.  Although […]