Case study - Microsoft Advanced Prototyping Center
Case study
Microsoft: PolyJet press molds for shield can prototypes
Redmond, Washington (USA) · Electronics · PolyJet (J850 Prime)
Shield cans protect electronics against electromagnetic and radio interference. Microsoft’s Advanced Prototyping Center (APC) makes their prototypes for hardware engineers.
The challenge
Shield cans are made from thin brass, nickel silver or stainless steel. Printing them directly is not practical. With traditional methods, every design change meant restarting the tooling, which limited the number of iterations.
The solution
The APC prints the press-mold tooling on the J850 Prime. Vero materials give compression strength. Digital ABS Plus offers higher heat and flexural performance. The 14-micron layer resolution and high x/y accuracy capture sharp corners and small features. Trimming and drilling jigs are combined into the tooling.
The results
- Accurate sheet metal shield can prototypes, fast
- Fewer design limits
- Several tool functions consolidated into one part
- Tooling in hours instead of days, so more iterations
Application: PCB shield tooling
PolyJet press-mold tooling to form, trim and drill thin sheet metal shields.
Source: Stratasys Application Guide and Stratasys case material. Photo: Stratasys.
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