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Finishing machine, Prototyping machine
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| to Bill Thomas, VP Manufacturing for ScriptPro, "Once we were through with the prototyping stage, we immediately began to use the Fortus system for Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) of the bezel. Not only were the tolerances in line, but there was little to no required post production work, like sanding or painting. We produce the vial bezels, wash them, and install them on the machines. Aesthetics are very important, and the surface quality is excellent." Although ScriptPro had limitations due to the cabinet size, the bezel was easily designed to fit the space available. It was also designed to be extra rugged, so that it could prevent a person from forcing the wrong size vial into the bezel. So far, 56 vial types are supported by ScriptPro. "Since we don't know which bezel will be needed for which machine until it is ordered, using FDM for direct digital manufacturing has saved us the cost of producing stock, and it can produce parts within a day or two," says Thomas. Although the per-part cost is higher with direct digital manufacturing, the elimination of machining and tooling results in significant overall savings. Based on ScriptPro's median annual machine production volume, it estimates that bezel production would cost $5,100 more with direct digital manufacturing— however, the elimination of tooling would save approximately $30,000, for a net savings of $24,900, or 79%. "If we had gone the traditional route of designing the part, then designing the tooling to build the part, then having the part injection molded, it would have required time and money every time we made a change. As it is, we made changes even after the first components were manufactured, at no additional tooling or molding costs." Plus the company can easily adapt to other vial manufacturers' products within a minimum amount of time. "Flexibility is, by far, the strongest feature of the Fortus system," says Thomas. "We can experiment with product design, test it, and make changes without having to go to tooling. And then we can start getting production parts within a few days, versus what could extend into months. Having no outside vendor to deal with is another benefit of DDM." "We had a savings of about $30,000 on engineering time and tooling for the bezel alone. Add in the other parts, and the machine paid for itself within months of our purchase." | ||||||||||||||||||
| Image 4: Loading vials into the pill-dispensing machine. Each bezel allows only the correct vial type to be accepted. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Image 5: A robotic arm picks up a vial, takes it to the dispensing cell for filling, then places it on a conveyor. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Image 6: After labeling, the conveyor moves the vial into a collated collection station | ||||||||||||||||||
| For more information about Fortus systems, materials and applications, call 888.480.3548 or visit www.fortus.com | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fortus 3D Production Systems Stratasys Incorporated 7665 Commerce Way Eden Prairie, MN 55344 +1 888 480 3548 (US Toll Free) +1 952 937 3000 +1 952 937 0070 (Fax) www.stratasys.com info@stratasys.com | Fortus 3D Production Systems Stratasys GmbH Weismullerstrasse 27 60314 Frankfurt am Main Germany +49 69 420 994 30 (Tel) +49 69 420 994 333 (Fax) www.stratasys.com europe@stratasys.com | |||||||||||||||||
| ©2009 Stratasys Inc. All rights reserved. Stratasys and FDM are registered trademarks and Fortus, Real Parts, Fortus 200mc, Fortus 360mc, =ortus 400mc, Fortus 900mc, Insight, Control Center and FDM TEAM are trademarks of Stratasys Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. *ULTEM 9085 is a trademark of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change without notice. Printed in the USA. AP-SCRIPTPRO 02/09 | ||||||||||||||||||