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Design For Manfacturing Tool
CaptainBisquick
OS Professional Posts: 33 ✭✭
It seems the app store is a great spot to have a tool which could guide design for manufacturing.
For people who aren't already trained in DFM (like myself), there's still a lot of friction in getting from printable part to manufacturable part without screwing up and taking a big hit in cost. Dragon Innovation is doing a lot to help in this area, but more intelligent tools would reduce friction even further.
Imagine if you could take any printable onshape part and using the tool, pick the desired material, receive guidance to successfully produce the model as either a prototype print (SLA, FDM, SLS) or designed for manufacture piece, then submit the order to a service provider and receive the parts by mail shortly thereafter, whether they're prototypes or molded pieces or whatever.
I know the PrintNow app is trying to provide this, but it looks like they're not there yet. They don't provide services which I can get from proto labs, and their fast turnaround is *crazy* expensive.
For people who aren't already trained in DFM (like myself), there's still a lot of friction in getting from printable part to manufacturable part without screwing up and taking a big hit in cost. Dragon Innovation is doing a lot to help in this area, but more intelligent tools would reduce friction even further.
Imagine if you could take any printable onshape part and using the tool, pick the desired material, receive guidance to successfully produce the model as either a prototype print (SLA, FDM, SLS) or designed for manufacture piece, then submit the order to a service provider and receive the parts by mail shortly thereafter, whether they're prototypes or molded pieces or whatever.
I know the PrintNow app is trying to provide this, but it looks like they're not there yet. They don't provide services which I can get from proto labs, and their fast turnaround is *crazy* expensive.
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I would've been OK with a quote that was 2x even 3x higher -- they did take the time & effort to write an embedded app. But that price was so far away from reasonable, I was compelled to delete the account, and take the time to commit my dissatisfaction to ink.
I did notice that the price they quoted in the embedded app was about 15% less than the quote I got from their website directly. But I see that as little more than a marketing ploy, like offering the customer at an automobile dealership free coffee while they pay too much to have their car serviced. I suppose they felt compelled to make some concession to OnShape... I think they're playing the community for suckers.
I sincerely hope that another 3D Printer decides to link up to the system. For the time being I want to rate DDM with one star to warn prospective people that there are *far less expensive* ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE to this offering.
What a shame.
@paul_passarelli I have to assume you're comparing the commercial-level cloudddm quote to hobby-level marketplaces such as makexyz or 3dhubs.
I've noticed that hobby-level pricing seems to be set according to the "compared to my $1000 machine sitting idle making $0" formula while commercial pricing is set according to the "compared to what it would cost the customer to buy his own $10,000 machine for one job" formula.
No need to clutch at your pearls and retire to your fainting couch, it's just a quote and probably won't physically harm you.
Printed matter used to be laboriously reproduced by scribes. Every document was a manuscript; Gutenberg changed that. It's as if I walked into a Kinko's for a copy, and I was told all their clerks are RISD graduates with heavy student loans. I wouldn't be able to claim I've suffered any physical harm by being presented with such a ridiculous quote, but I would be quite disappointed. Then I'd say: I'm going to Staples to press the Easy Button!
Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from a CloudDDM salesman. The impression I got was that he was A-OK with their product being twice as expensive as their competition who you've identified as 'commercial-level'. If that's their business model, then so be it.
It's not like I was comparing a part made from Kynay or some other engineering plastic to wood-flour filled recycled PLA. Both quotes were for white ABS, both were to be printed using similar layer widths, both called for the same post-print finishing, and both needed to be shipped via USPS to my location. Reality kinda negates the differences between 'commercial' and 'hobby'. I suppose it's has to do with the hobbyists not needing to pay salesmen to follow up on their over-priced offerings...
P.S. Last summer I bought myself the big PlasmaCAM because it was cheaper than paying 'prototypers' to produce my models. IMHO, the problem is endemic to US manufacturing and not confined to any one sector.
Just my $0.02 ($1.00 adjusted for inflation)
Ciao
Only part of DFM is directly related to the geometry of the part (and thus potentially a target for a DFM rules checker integrated into CAD product X). Process selection has a much bigger impact arguably.
That said, for any given process the list of design rules and guidelines is usually pretty short. Search 'myprocess design rules' or 'myprocess guidelines' and you will quickly be up and running.
That's not to say your app proposal is not without merit. Do you represent a new market? How much are you willing to pay? (We already know how much the guys that hire experts will pay...)