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AME-3D, an industrial 3D printing service provider with more than 20 years of experience within the additive industry, has invested in two Uniontech RSPro SLA industrial printers from Europac3D. The new machines complement and expand AME-3D’s existing capabilities within the SLA and SLS service sectors.
The Sheffield based technology group, headed up by managing director Rich Proctor, has chosen a Uniontech RSPro 450 and RSPro 800 with build volumes of 450 x 450 x 400mm and 800 x 800 x 550mm respectively. This significant investment expands AME’s existing capabilities both in terms of the quality of parts that can be produced and the size of components that can be manufactured.
Proctor comments: “The installation of these SLA machines has seen an instant boost to our new business and we are now benefitting from enquiries for larger parts which we previously were not able to fulfil.”
Uniontech becoming the largest SLA manufacturer in the world
Uniontech SLA machines have significant advantages, but are perhaps lesser known in Europe and the US in comparison to some of the ‘big players’ that traditionally dominate. The Uniontech machines use only the highest grade compoments such as Panasonic, Optowave and Scanlab of Germany. These components combined with a granite recoating platform helps create an incredibly stable machine that produces the highest quality sidewall and detail on components within the SLA field.
Uniontech industrial systems also have an open source policy associated to the resins that can be run in the printers. In the case of AME they have chosen to run Accura Xtreme Grey on the RSPro 450 to continue to supply their existing customer base which is accustomed to parts manufactured in this material. The new machines are also proving to improve efficiencies as the parts coming out of the machine are significantly higher quality and with an improved surface finish. This means that parts now take only a third of the time to hand finish, reducing production times, cost and increasing overall productivity.
AME-3D also purchased a second interchangeable resin vat for RSPro 450 machine, that will run Somos Waterclear Ultra. This second resin vat enables the team at AME-3D to adapt to changing demand for different materials and swap to this clear material quickly and efficiently when required. This also helps reduce waste when printing multiple orders.
The second machine installed at AME-3D is a Uniontech RSPro 800. This system offers a significant addition to their service portfolio, increasinging the size of parts that can be built in a single piece to over 1 metre. Running with Somos Evolve 128 from Covestro, the white resin offers a fantastic balance between accurate detail and extremely easy to post process parts. It is similar to traditional thermoplastics and therefore makes it ideal for building end-use parts like jigs and fixtures, or prototypes for functional testing applications.
Build volume capability has increased by 8 fold, this means that low to medium production runs can be easily achieved in the space of a couple of builds. At the other end of the scale large automotive and aerospace protoypes can now also be built on this machine.
John Beckett, Managing Director of Europac 3D, adds: “This agreement is a further indication of Europac3D’s strong working relationship with AME-3D and the absolute confidence in the quality and performance of Uniontech printers. It’s increasingly clear that Uniontech is a brand to watch as they not only offer large volume SLA printers but can match any machine out there in terms of quality.”
Uniontech is rapidly becoming one of the largest manufacturers of stereolithography machines with over 5,500 SLA machine sales worldwide. Europac3d, based in Cheshire provide full sale and support of Uniontech machines with a reach across the UK.