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Plastic Extrusion Explained

Plastic products have gained widespread popularity because of their versatility, durability, and ease of manufacturing. Like plastic injection molding, plastic extrusion stands out as one of the most widely used processes for high-volume parts production — it’s particularly suitable for creating continuous profiles such as pipes and tubes. Industrial applications for plastic extrusion have a […]

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An Inside Look at CNC Machining: From Raw Material to Finished Goods

CNC machining is a subtractive manufacturing technique that uses computer-controlled machines to turn raw materials into finished products. It’s a detailed and efficient process used across industries, including aerospace, automotive, and medical device manufacturing. The process starts by using computer-aided design (CAD) software to create a 2D drawing, 3D solid model, or both. This design […]

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Rapid Injection Molding

Injection molding has made plastic parts a staple in our daily lives. Odds are, you’re reading this article on an injection-molded monitor while using an injection-molded mouse and keyboard. And if you’re using a smartphone instead, well, you still have som (less visible) injection molded plastic parts in your hands.  As pervasive as injection molding […]

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Engineering Design Changes: How Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) Improve Projects

Engineering projects are a complex and often evolving thing that require changes throughout a product’s lifecycle. Whether because of design improvements, shifting client requirements, or supply chain issues, engineering changes must be well-managed to ensure project success. Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) provide a systematic way to execute these changes. In this article, we’ll examine ECOs […]

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Preventing 3D Printing Heat Creep: Solutions and Causes

3D printing has revolutionized the way we bring ideas to life by offering unprecedented freedom of design and manufacturing possibilities. But with every great invention comes new challenges, and every 3D printing enthusiast has encountered the phenomenon known as “heat creep.” Heat creep can severely influence the quality of your prints, leading to filament jams, […]

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Material Options for Stereolithography (SLA) 3D Printing

Stereolithography (SLA), the technology used to produce them, supports the creation of plastic parts with tight tolerances, intricate geometries, and smooth surface finishes. And parts printed using SLA stand out because of their exceptional accuracy, resolution, and level of detail. One key advantage of SLA is its ability to achieve finishes that are both highly […]

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Common Plastic Materials for Injection Molding

Plastic materials for injection molding range from commonly used polymers to specialty plastics and polymer blends. There are hundreds of different plastic resins available, and they each have different end-use properties and processing requirements. Plus, there are different grades of the same plastic material, including resin types with fillers such as glass fibers or carbon […]

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Fictiv Session To Highlight How Automation Can Drive Productivity & Time-To-Market At Automate 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2023 – Fictiv, the operating system for custom manufacturing, today announced that Director of Product Marketing Riley Hall will be speaking at Automate 2023 in a session titled “How Automation Can Drive Speed to Market and Reduce Costs for Low-Volume Custom Manufacturing.” It will take place on Tuesday, May 23rd, at […]

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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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Engineering Fundamentals Refresh: Mechanical Creep (Deformation)

In mechanical engineering, creep is a metallurgical phenomenon where a metal slowly deforms due to prolonged exposure to stress below its yield strength. Read on to learn more about creep and how it works, then see some visual creep depictions and examples.  What is Mechanical Creep? In Engineering Fundamentals Refresh: Strength vs. Stiffness vs. Hardness, […]