This week we printed something different, something that racer boy would yearn for – Motorcross Helmet. The best part is right after the model was printed, we had the opportunity to showcase this during Innovating Malaysia Conference 2014.

Here is how we did the printing, and some underlying reasons of material & technology selection:

File Source: Rapid Model Development Sdn Bhd
Technology: FDM
Printer:  Fortus 380mc, uPrintSE
Materials: PC-ABS (Black), ABS (Red)
Production Time:

[av_table purpose=’tabular’ caption=” av_uid=’av-wduvbv’] [av_row row_style=” av_uid=’av-ug2v8b’][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-t6zpl7′][/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-rxd1sb’]Fortus 400mc[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-pvnst7′]uPrintSE [/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=” av_uid=’av-nels57′][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-mwqka3′]Build Time[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-kzc2aj’]86 hours 24 minutes [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-j836p7′]7 hours 44 minutes[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=” av_uid=’av-h0wbiz’][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-fyuxor’]Assembly Time[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-dv88pn’]-[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-bu9ct7′]30 minutes[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=” av_uid=’av-bhow8b’][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-xrc97′]Support Removal Time[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-85k9i3′]16 hours[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=” av_uid=’av-5x9quz’]6 hours[/av_cell][/av_row] [/av_table]

Screenshots prior printing:
[av_gallery ids=’2929,2930′ style=’thumbnails’ preview_size=’portfolio’ thumb_size=’portfolio’ columns=’5′ imagelink=’lightbox’ lazyload=’avia_lazyload’ av_uid=’av-3vjuqj’]

Outcome:
[av_gallery ids=’2926,2934,2935,2936,2938,2939,2940,2941′ style=’thumbnails’ preview_size=’portfolio’ thumb_size=’portfolio’ columns=’5′ imagelink=’lightbox’ lazyload=’avia_lazyload’ av_uid=’av-abpvv’]

Implications:

• Traditionally, the production material for helmet is polycarbonate (PC) for best endurance and heat resistance. However, as we wanted the helmet in black and red which is not in the range of our PC material, we opted for PC-ABS instead.
• PC-ABS combines the best of both materials (PC & ABS) – the superior strength and heat resistance of PC and the flexibility of ABS.
• For drop testing and pressure testing etc, this prototype will serve as a good gauge for improvements as compared with existing product.
• Noticed how the black helmet base was printed in a go but we had to print the decor separately? This is due to FDM does not support multi-material modelling as that is under Polyjet’s feature.