3-D printers save money for manufacturers, architects

In shape and size, it looks like an ATM.

And while it might not shoot out wads of cash, it's saving manufacturers big bucks when it comes to designing and redesigning products before they hit the assembly line.

In an economy where every penny counts, the three-dimensional printer - a device that forms plastic models using a computer-generated object - is king.

"If you're a manufacturer, you come up with two-dimensional drawings. You need dies cut just so you can produce that thing to test it," said Lou Mazero, regional manager and business development for Print-O-Stat. "Maybe you get it back and it doesn't work. It's a very expensive process to do over and over."

Along with selling the Stratasys line of 3-D printers, the York-based company has one in its West Market Street office that is used to print objects for clients, from architects to manufacturers.

They bought the machine for in-house almost three years ago.

"I was surprised," said Ron Seiple, Print-O-Stat applications engineer. "We had an open house here for some of the printers, and people kept gravitating toward this thing. Within a week, we had orders."

A 3-D printed model starts as a stereolithography, or STL file of the project to be printed. That file is programmed into the printer, which unravels a spool of thin plastic filament into a nozzle that heats the plastic to 300 degrees. Once heated, the machine layers the plastic into the shape specified by the STL file.

If you look closely, you can still see the thin pieces of plastic melded together in the model.

"Not only are you printing 3-D, but you're printing with moving parts," Mazero said, showing a 3-D printed monkey wrench with a twistable part for tightening. "It's all one print. You don't have to assemble the part after."

Recent projects for clients have included prototype shapes for surveillance cameras, tractor parts, and even a 3-D model of the amphitheater at Long's Park in Lancaster County.

"Now

MONEY AND MORE. Lou Mazero, who does strategic planning and business development at Print-O-Stat, talks about 3D printing in the West York business. YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS--JASON PLOTKIN (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS--J)

architects are using it for visualization," Mazero said. "You can see a 3-D model in a computer, but when you go to show it to a client, visualization is important. You want something big enough that it's going to be impactful."

Print-O-Stat charges $25 per cubic inch for models, Seiple said.

Having your own printer can cost a little more. A small "desktop" 3-D printer costs between $16,000 and $18,000.

The one Print-O-Stat uses - the Dimension SST 1200es - can print objects measuring 10 inches wide by 10 inches long by 12 inches high. It costs about $36,000, Seiple said.

"Yes, the printer costs 'X' amount of money, but we made that up in the last two years," said Cory Golden, expeditor at Voith Hydro's hydraulic testing lab.

The West Manchester Township company, which manufactures large components used in hydroelectric generation, bought its first 3-D printer six years ago.

That printer - one of the earlier versions of the technology - built parts out of a plaster-like powder that needed to be coated with glue to keep it from easily breaking.

"They were flimsy," Golden said. "If you touched it the wrong way, it would literally break."

That printer was used only a couple times per month - mostly for desk ornaments, Golden said.

Soon, more useful, newer technology emerged.

Voith bought its Stratasys printer from Print-O-Stat more than two years ago for use in its lab, which sits across East Berlin Road from the company's manufacturing plant. The printer is used at least a couple of times per week, Golden said.

At the lab, Golden said, employees test small-scale hydroelectric equipment models in large tanks using two 500 horsepower motors that pump 150,000 gallons of water.

Those smaller models start on the design floor where an engineer creates a computer simulation of a turbine runner, rotor blade or related part.

The object can then be 3-D printed in plastic and turned into a mold for a stainless steel, testable component.

This process has come a long way.

Before 3-D printing, Golden said, Voith sent its designs to an 80-year-old man in York who would build the model component from half-inch sections of wood before blending it all together to fit the specs.

It took the man two weeks to model some parts, Golden said.

The printer, at maximum, takes four days to create some of Voith's detailed parts, which can also be shown off to customers who want to know what kind of product they're getting.

What's next?

Maybe 3-D printed consumer products you and I can buy at our local stores, Mazero said.

"A few years ago, nobody had any idea about this kind of technology," Golden said. "Now it's growing."

What is 3-D printing?

3-D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. The technology helps manufacturers and architects cut weeks - even months - from design schedules.