Sigma Labs Inc (SASI)

[VisionaryInc]

For example, existing 3D printers can only produce objects at accuracies of up to about 0.1 millimeters. But Kariwa’s seasoned machinists can work with a precision up to 100 times greater. Mitsuhashi is using them to develop optimal designs that minimize the need for finishing after printing and speed up prodction. “Through the years of experience, I can tell an error of about one one-thousandth of a millimeter by how it feels in my hand,” said one Kariwa technician.


Mitsuhashi’s team expects to deliver the first products in March 2015.

Mitsuhashi says that the workers’ skill will allow him to take 3D printing to next level. “They show designers where our blind spots are, or provide us with hints for making the products even better,” Mitsuhashi says. The 3D printer has already helped cut the time it takes to make certain parts from two months to about two weeks.

Kariwa may not be a household name, but the new manufacturing method puts the local plant at the forefront of industrial additive manufacturing, along with 3D-printed fuel nozzles, which are already being produced for the next-generation LEAP jet engine, and other components.


Mitsuhashi’s team expects to deliver the first products in March 2015.



http://www.gereports.com/post/112062466570/the-human-touch-these-japanese-metalworkers-use