The Ultimate Guide To Design for Manufacturing
Join us for a comprehensive overview of design for manufacturing, or DFM. It’s a term that’s often used but rarely explained, so today we’re going to explore the details and show why it’s so important for getting the most out of product development. What is Design for Manufacturing? Design for manufacturing (DFM), also known as […]
What Every Engineer Needs to Know About Machine Screw Thread Design
Machine screw threads, along with many other kinds of threaded fittings, are used around us every day in millions of applications. In fact, they’re so ubiquitous that they largely go unnoticed by most of us, and to the inexperienced eye they all look and perform pretty much the same. In fact, screw threads are surprisingly […]
Metal 3D Printing – How Does it Work?
What Is Metal 3D Printing? Metal 3D printing is a revolutionary technology that produces impossible-to-make parts directly from CAD data. Advantages to this process include the ability to produce strong, complex geometries, internal lattice structures, conformal cooling channels and other features that cannot be made with traditional machining. Parts can be made quickly with a […]
Molding Defects: The Top 5 Plastic Injection Molding Defects (and How to Solve Them)
Plastic injection molding is the most widely used mass-production process in modern manufacturing. It’s so popular because useful products of every conceivable size, shape and function can be made quickly and efficiently with reliable and repeatable performance. As versatile as it is, getting the best results from plastic injection molding still requires adhering to good […]
Porosity in Pressure Die Casting and How To Control It
Pressure die casting is the fastest and most cost-effective way to make high volumes of parts in aluminum, zinc or magnesium. Die cast parts have excellent surface finishes, maintain consistent features and tolerances, and waste little raw material. Pressure die casting is used to make engine blocks and motor housings, appliance parts, heat sinks, fittings, […]
8 Design Tips to Improve Metal 3D Printed Parts
Additive manufacturing offers exciting design opportunities for next-generation parts that need to be strong, complex and lightweight. You can design and build parts that are virtually impossible to make conventionally or that would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming. However it’s not quite plug-and-play. You should be aware that designing for a metal part is much […]
Advanced Vericut Software Improves Your CNC Machined Parts
CNC machines are controlled by sophisticated CAM software that transforms digital designs into solid parts. But not all programs are alike or produce the best results for every design. To optimize your parts Star Rapid has invested in an additional layer of security called Vericut, the world’s leading virtual simulation software for CNC machining. Learn […]
Top Five Product Design Lessons from a Master
Dieter Rams is one of the most influential consumer product designers of all time. His work at the German firm of Braun was legendary and created the design language that we now take for granted. His style is minimalist, and he described his philosophy of design as “less, but better.” He had ten principles of […]
The Micrometer, Its Parts, and Why It’s Essential for Making Quality Parts
What is a micrometer? A micrometer is a sensitive tool for making accurate measurements of linear dimensions. It’s one of the most important measuring instruments ever made. It has a rigid C-shaped frame. One side has an anvil that is fixed, and on the other side is a moveable spindle. The feature to be measured […]
From Prototypes to Product Launch: Questions to Consider
Prototypes are ideal for testing an idea, improving on the look and feel of a design and for getting a sense of how the market is going to respond. After all, most successful crowdfunding campaigns have started off with prototypes that brought an enthusiastic response which helped fund more development work. But it’s at this […]
