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DDM – A “PALAT“ABLE SOLUTION

3D PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Direct Digital Manufacturing Reduces Fixturing Costs Up To 65 Percent “With some traditional fixture projects costing over $100,000, the savings can be substantial.”

–Bill Fish, Oreck Real Solution Real Challenge In the past, Oreck used only traditional methods to produce the assembly fixtures. These included silicone or epoxy molds and urethane castings with inserts. Several years ago Oreck added two large Fortus 3D Production Systems, which employ the FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) process. With them, Oreck has the option of direct digital manufacturing the fixtures, which they take advantage of whenever possible. “Using direct digital manufacturing reduces fixture production costs by up to 65 percent, because we produce the fixtures in-house,” says Fish. “With some traditional For every series of vacuum that Oreck Manufacturing (Cookeville, TN) makes, it produces 40 to 50 identical assembly pallets. This was the case for the company’s Titanium Series, the XL21 upright commercial vacuum. This high-end unit provides the user with features such as hypo-allergenic filtration, adjustable two-speed motor, and advanced sound-dampening technology.The production floor pallets secure the top cover of the vacuum in a precise position so that the vacuum can be assembled quickly and easily. After placing the motor, fan housing, and other support components into the stationary top cover, the bottom cover is attached. Each assembly fixture consists of four plastic posts that attach to a standard Bosch assembly pallet. Besides being specifically aligned to accept the cover housing, the fixture components maintain tolerances of 0.003 inch (0.0762 mm) so that the cover is held firmly in place. Oreck’s engineering team designs the components needed for each fixture using standard CAD tools. According to Oreck Senior Model Maker Bill Fish, “Designing the fixture components is fairly easy. We already have a file for standard support posts. So, we add the 3D top cover, embed it into the support post, then blow away the cover. The whole job takes about an hour and a half.”
Image 1: Oreck uses direct digital manufacturing to produce custom assembly pallets. During assembly, a vacuum top cover is placed into the pallet upside down. How Does FDM Compare to Traditional Processes for Oreck? ProcessCost Estimate Traditional Molding & Casting$100,000FDM $35,000 SAVINGS$65,000 (65%) Image 2: The motor, brush, and other components are assembled inside the cover. Image 3: The bottom cover is then positioned and fastened down.