Hyphen hatches prototypes
Perhaps more often than not, the shape of things to come is a work in progress.
Aiming to dominate the audiovisual presentation technology industry, Kitchener-based Christie Digital Systems needed the ability to nimbly build, tweak and test a range of ever-evolving parts and products. So they began assembling the tools for an in-house workshop that could prototype new projector and speaker casings, production rigs and other pieces that would help break new ground in the realm of projected imagery and amplified sound.
This extra capacity has grown into a separate division at Christie called Hyphen Rapid Prototyping, a 3D printing and part-making service provider located in the Kitchener HQ. While the lion’s share of business comes from within the mothership, Hyphen has cultivated a mostly high-end clientele both locally and internationally by custom-creating test models, building molds for mass production and cranking out early runs of new product lines.
“We’re always looking for new technologies, new types of material,” says Mark Barfoot, Hyphen’s managing director, noting some new metal printing capacity among the many processes they can already do. The company services a range of sectors and is capable of producing complicated stuff that would normally be cast (CNC machining) or handling small, particular production cycles (they recently made a bunch of teeth for a dental industry to use for making orthodontic molds).
While one side of the Hyphen lab is dedicated to prototype-making, the other half is about prototype-breaking. There are thermal chambers for testing temperature and humidity thresholds, resistance to corrosion and durability. To verify shipping standards, there are drop and motion simulators. Repetition impacts (such as with oscillating doors or a keypad being pressed constantly) can be calculated, the audibility or power connection of electrical components can be gauged, and compression testing can determine the support needed for a stack of projector frames or a ceiling-mounted unit. A random vibration table evaluates the sensitivity of stacked hardware during shipping, or alignment issues related to operations – a Christie projector may need to withstand G-force during a flight simulator, for example.
“That dual capability has really helped Christie over the last several years,” says Barfoot of the make stuff, break stuff setup. “If we can prototype something in a few days or a week, try it and then build it and rebuild it if we need to, well then we’re not waiting for 16 weeks for tooling. By the time we go to tooling, we know that it’s right because we’ve already tried it two or three times, we’ve optimized the design and everything fits together, and we’ll have tried to destroy it in a few different ways.”
“This was done for a local medical company,” explains Barfoot of the image above. “They wanted a model that showed the skull and brain with a tumour in it, and they’re able to use that to show how their instrument goes in and laser abrades an actual tumor.”
Hyphen uses Polyjet technology to mix rubber and harder parts – just as you might mix colours in an inkjet printer – in order to make things like a drill or phone case or toothbrush, or any other object that has softer grips. The lab can produce more than 100 different combinations of materials, and while they’re somewhat limited by the size of their machine, different parts can often be assembled to create a larger prototype.
“This is a lamp holder for one of Christie’s projectors. It holds three lamps and it’s a slide-in cartridge. We CNC machined all the metal parts, and we were able to 3D print them in a high-temperature material that withstands the temperatures needed around the lamps. We were able to produce this prototype, and we also handled the first few months of production on this piece of equipment.”
The CNC (computer numeric control) machine creates shapes by taking away from a block of material. Lots of metal parts are made this way (a 140-pound block can be reduced to a 4.5-pound part in about 10 hours, for example), as are parts made with plastics that are not easy to 3D-print.
“This is one of many iterations of a remote control that we’ve made. It’s got hard components as well as keys with the text printed on it, but also in behind is actual rubber so that the keys can be responsive to fingers pressing them. We use this quite a bit for ergonomic studies, or to take it out to customers to ask about what kind of configuration of buttons they prefer. We might do 10 or 15 iterations of a remote to get one that people like from an ergonomic standpoint, mostly just by seeing how different options feel in their hands.”
The process used to create this object, FDM (aka fused deposition modelling), squeezes out a weed-eater type cord that builds up layer by layer to create a really strong, durable part. The materials can handle high temperatures, and Hyphen’s large machine (24” x 36” x 36” capacity) can build large projector skins or other substantial items, or do a slightly larger run of a small part. Once completed, wash tanks dissolve any excess material away.
“This is a sculpture part for an artist. It shows the capabilities we can do with SLS. Because you’re able to blow out the powder, you can do very thin and intricate geometry.”
SLS, or selective laser sintering, uses a nylon-based powder to quickly build very robust and elaborate designs. Parts can be packed inside or on top of each other using this process. Barfoot says that finding the part after it’s been made by their hardware is a bit like digging through the sandbox and revealing buried treasure.
“This mask wouldn’t really hold up in an actual game, but we use it to show an example of what we can do – we can polish SLA material to make it nice and clear, or we can also paint it and get a nice finish, depending on the kind of part you’re interested in making.”
Stereolithography (SLA) wields a smooth surface finish, it can be sanded and painted really well, or covered in a clear coat to prevent discolouration. Parts are created out of a vat of gooey liquid, within which a laser traces and solidifies a 3D design, and the tray just keeps lowering down in layers as the part is created. A good pressure wash gets rid of the goo.