Pic of the Week: The "Wall of Shame"
This wall of sample parts is not a record of failures, but an educational tool for training employees on errors to watch for — and a reminder that the additive process can have variation at any step.
Stephanie Hendrixson
Editor-in-Chief, Additive Manufacturing | Manufacturing Connected
This week’s Pic is a tongue-in-cheek training tool found at contract manufacturer Uptive Manufacturing’s 3D printing production facility in Libertyville, Illinois.
Dubbed informally the “Wall of Shame,” this whiteboard is dedicated to collecting samples of problematic 3D printed parts. These items are used to help train new operators on issues to watch out for, and as a physical reminder to all employees not to get complacent.
“It’s not just a random event every time we make a part,” says Jim Teuber, director of additive market development. Multiple inspection points, plus facility controls, frequent printer calibration and more help the company stay on track and produce consistent additive parts at scale.
- Technologies represented: HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), Markforged desktop extrusion, Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
- Equipment count: 13 MJF printers (served by 50 build units), 17 Markforged printers and 3 Stratasys printers
- Materials used: Polypropylene, nylon, TPA, TPU, Onyx, Ultem and others