Additive Manufacturing Allows for Unique Textured Designs
Written by Joanna Carbajal
If you are a manufacturer that uses injection-molded plastics to apply textured design surfaces to products, you may only be able to afford a few stock designs, due to the high cost of tooling. This means you will have to use the same designs for your entire product line.
Lehrmitt Associates, Inc. has taken advantage of the benefits of additive manufacturing to provide a solution. They developed Surface Skins that product developers can use to create many textured designs.
Surface Skins has an easy four-step process. Choose a design from a library of over 100 Surface Skins, or create your own 2D textured product surface if you prefer. They will wrap a skin on your CAD file so that you can see how your product will look. You can then 3D print your file, and evaluate your prototype to create an in-mold texture.
You no longer have to use the same designs for your entire product line. With additive manufacturing, you can add unique designs to your objects. Your options are now limitless.
This is a knurling pattern that allows for a better grip.
Textured designs serve as an important technique for maritime spare parts. We can add knurling or other textured patterns to allow for a better grip. By adding friction on slippery surfaces, we can control the direction of sliding parts through texture. We can also add tactile information in low-visibility areas or use texture to hide surface imperfections.