App Solutions | Smith International

InVision™ 3-D Printer Facilitates Smooth Communications at Smith International

Introduction
In today’s global manufacturing environment, the communication between engineering and manufacturing operations can result in an information technology Tower of Babel. When engineers try to convey complex part designs to manufacturers, the process can be difficult, time-consuming, and often perilous to the successful launch of a product. This is especially true when that communication takes place over long distances, which is often the case in Smith Bits, an operating unit of Smith International, Inc. (Smith), based in Houston, Texas, USA. Three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology has been used to facilitate communications between engineering and manufacturing with impressive results since 1999.

"As we move into the engineering design process, it can be difficult to explain a three-dimensional concept to someone over the phone when they don’t have the object in hand," says Layne Larsen, senior project engineer at Smith Bits. "CAD drawings are not always the answer; they don’t provide a sense of real feel or scale. On the other hand, if we send our manufacturing partners a three-dimensional prototype that they can hold and turn over in their hands, then communications are greatly improved. In many instances, it also saves us the time, trouble, and expense of traveling overseas to present our ideas to manufacturing in person."

Recently, Larsen’s business division upgraded its 3-D modeling capabilities by installing the new InVision™ 3-D printer from 3D Systems (Valencia, California, USA). "We wanted to take advantage of the time and cost savings associated with the InVision printer’s smooth surface finishes," says Larsen. "InVision printer-built parts come out of the machine clean, so we no longer have to spend time re-touching them," says Larsen. "It was important to us that we didn’t have to add any additional personnel to operate the InVision printer and to finish the 3-D parts."

The Shape of Communications
Smith International is a leading worldwide supplier of products and services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, the petrochemical industry, and other industrial markets. The company provides a comprehensive line of technologically advanced products and engineering services, with manufacturing plants in the United States and Italy.

The company’s diverse product line includes parts with a myriad of shapes, angles, and geometries. "There are a lot of different shapes associated with inserts, for instance." says Larsen. "Due to the subtle nuances of these parts, it’s difficult to view them on a CAD drawing.

Instead, we rely on our InVision printer to facilitate changes during the design process. With the InVision printer, we’ve been able to make modifications during the design review process because we had the model in our hands. This helps us get a product to market faster and more economically."

The company’s complex parts can also present other challenges. The company’s rock bits are a good example. Smith builds rock bits out of three 120-degree legs (each leg is one-third of a bit) that are machined from a forged part. The three legs are welded together to make one rock bit. "When designing our new rock bits, we encountered a problem with the weld grooves that held together the three sections of the rock bit," says Larsen. "The way they are welded together is critical for manufacturing. To describe it over the phone was difficult. So we took the section of the weld groove and created an InVision printer 3-D model, which we then sent to manufacturing. With the model in hand, they were able to determine the best way to gain access to the weld groove and suggest changes that were critical to the welders. Had we moved forward with the forgings without making the critical changes to the weld grooves, it would have cost several thousand dollars to modify or remake the dies. Not only were we able to get the part made right, but we also saved the time and expense of traveling to Italy to resolve the problem."

Before Larsen acquired 3D Systems’ 3-D printing technology, the company would go to the expense and trouble of outsourcing prototype creation. But the turnaround time for outsourced projects can take days. "Now that we have the systems in house," says Larsen, "it’s much more convenient. We selected 3D Systems’ 3-D printer because it doesn’t require anyone to operate the machine and it’s as easy to use as a paper printer. Any machine can give you a model, but this one is low maintenance and simple to use."

To make things even more convenient at Smith, Larsen has the InVision printer on the company’s computer network. When 3-D CAD drawings are completed, they are saved in the .stl file format and sent directly to the InVision printer from the engineer’s desktop. From these computer files, the InVision printer creates durable models with a smooth surface finish.

The InVision 3-D printer combines 3D Systems’ patented multi-jet modeling (MJM) printing technology with an acrylic photopolymer model material, which results in a high-quality model that is durable enough to withstand the stresses of shipping and handling.

The InVision 3-D printer works much the same as a traditional network printer. It uses technology that is based on ink-jet printing—but instead of using ink, the InVision printer deposits an acrylic photopolymer to create a solid model. Layer by layer, a three-dimensional object is formed that can be held and evaluated. The InVision printer’s dual polymer system features a special wax support material that melts at low temperatures, thereby making it easy to remove unwanted support material from the model.

"It is a seamless process," says Larsen. "Once we send the file to the printer, we go to the machine and pull out our prototype and after melting away the low-temperature support material, it’s good to go."