Fixture Designs in a “Single Click”

Get ready to mask up! And we’re not talking about face masks.

Stratasys and nTopology have worked with customers to release an expansion on their FDM™ Fixture Generator: the “Masking Fixture Module”. We've built on the Assembly Fixture Module released in 2020, the Masking Fixture Module automates the design of protective jigs and fixtures like plugs, seals, and spray masks.

"We are always pursuing ways to improve our masking and part protection," says Dan Buzicky, Vice President of Operations at Ultra Machining Company (UMC), a premier precision machining company. "The FDM™ Fixture Generator looks to be a great way to save time designing these types of fixtures."

Customers like UMC worked with Stratasys and nTopology on this tool to save time and labor costs. And now it’s available for you to put to use!

Use the FDM™ Fixture Generator Today

Last year, Stratasys and nTopology teamed up with a common vision: to make design for 3D printing as simple as 3D printing itself. Less than 1% of fixtures today are 3D printed, and it isn’t because manufacturers wouldn’t benefit from 3D printing. The industry needs more design-for-additive manufacturing tools to overcome the knowledge and culture barrier of new manufacturing processes.

The FDM Fixture Generator automates 90% of the design work required for simple jigs and fixtures. The Assembly Fixture Module released in November 2020 got the world talking about automated fixture creation. Customers started speaking up about how much time they spend designing for 3D printing, taking away from the speed-to-part that additive offers.

Over and over we were asked: “Can we make simple fixture design as simple as a single click?”

Earlier in 2021, Stratasys and nTopology teams sat down with some of our customers to turn this “single click” idea into a reality. We knew from customer input and market research that protective mask jigs were the next thing to automate; they have naturally complex surfaces and are a perfect fit for 3D printing.

Here was the original workflow concept:

This idea got Stratasys, nTopology, and our customers really excited, so we got straight to work in February building the “single click” tool. The FDM Fixture Generator is hosted on nTop Platform, which specializes in reusable workflows, so it wasn’t long until we had a test version to show some of our customers. After a few weeks of customer feedback, user testing, and 3D printing result validation, the final Masking Module was complete.

In the competitive markets of Medical Device and Aerospace, we are committed to use the best technology available to meet customer expectations. Quality is core to who we are at UMC, and we see this creating efficiencies with our process. With our facility expansion underway at UMC we see this fitting into our Manufacturing of the Future vision.

Dan Buzicky, Vice President of Operations at Ultra Machining Company

The FDM Fixture Module is waiting for you to use it! Head over to nTopology to watch our application videos and get started with the tool.

Use the FDM™ Fixture Generator Today

Fixture designs in a "single click".