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Mass Customization: The Future of Made-to-Fit Manufacturing

Once upon a time there were cobblers, who would craft shoes to individual feet. Then came the industrial revolution, and the cobblers were replaced by dozens of factory workers, each performing a single step to build standard shoes—and feet were expected to adapt. This wasn’t all bad; the new shoes were cheaper, and more people […]

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Manufacturing at Different Magnitudes Part 2: From 100 – 1,000 Units

One of the greatest challenges hardware teams face is in figuring out how to approach low volume production at awkward volumes of 100 – 1,000 units, before scaling to manufacture tens of thousands of units. In part 1 of this series, we covered best practices for manufacturing field testing units or made-to-engineer products at low […]

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Manufacturing at Different Magnitudes Part 1: From 10 – 100 Units

What does the word “production” mean to you? An engineer at a large consumer goods company might think of multi-cavity injection molding tools that cast parts day and night, and assembly lines that run multiple shifts. On the other hand, an engineer that works at a medical equipment company might think about getting a few […]

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Design Strategies for Corrosion Resistance

Corrosion is a common phenomenon—where there’s metal, there will be rust. In scientific terms, corrosion is a chemical process in which refined metals get converted to their more chemically stable form. Four basic ingredients found in your home environment cause corrosion: reactive metal, air, moisture, and electrolytes. And while a quick spray of WD-40 battles […]

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Advanced Technologies Exploration: Direct Metal Laser Sintering

There are lots of different exciting advances in prototyping and machining technologies on the horizon. For this article we’re going to take a deeper look at one advanced technology we hear a lot of buzz around: Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Read on for an overview of the method, the technical specs, and our views […]

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CNC Periodic Table of Elements

Fictiv’s CNC machining service provides parts in just 3 days, via our simple online interface. In addition to powering hardware teams with the best fabrication services, we think it’s really important to support development with prototyping and manufacturing knowledge. Our awesome design and manufacturing teams teamed up to create a visual representation of the foundational […]

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The CNC Periodic Table of Elements Poster Giveaway Contest is Back!

We received so much great feedback on our CNC Periodic Table of Elements the first time around, so we’re giving away more posters! And this time around, we’re not just giving away a few posters… we’re doling out 10 posters every day for the next 2 weeks. Enter to win a free CNC Periodic Table […]

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To Infinity and Beyond: 3D Printed Parts Made in Space

You just spent the last six months traveling to the red planet, Mars. You sit down for your first meal and you reach down to pick up your fork…but you realize you forgot it! Rather than waiting months or possibly years for the next group of people and supplies to come, you can simply upload […]

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PLA vs. ABS: Getting Value out of Low-Cost Prototyping

We’re taking a look at two lower resolution and cheaper 3D printing materials for prototyping: ABS and PLA. When will PLA suffice? When do you gain much more by going with ABS? A lot of people look at price and automatically choose to print in PLA because hey, it’s the cheapest material! But depending on […]

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Finishing Metal Parts Glossary

While the tool marks left on metal parts produced using CNC machining services are visually appealing to some, in many cases, some additional post-processing may be desired or even required. There are a variety of finishes that one can use to add functionality or aesthetic appeal to parts, and the glossary below will help you […]