Defond, the manufacturing arm of DNA Group, Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has taken a further step toward providing second-generation prototypes. Using an oven-set aluminum epoxy-casting compound, the company can create a single-cavity mold in as little as three days directly from a 3D solid first-generation model. This model could be a SLA (stereolithography) sample, FDM (fused depostion modeling) sample, or machined prototype that is then copied in the casting process.

All this activity happens at Defond's Hong Kong headquarters where two common themes prevail: product integrity and rapid response.

Engineers and workstations create the software and programs to direct the 25-plus wire-cut EDM and CNC machining centers in Hong Kong and the 50-plus machine tools in China used for mold production and maintenance.

Workstations and work teams are organized as semi-autonomous groups to bring the best engineering solutions to customers' requests.

The emphasis is on speed-to-market. One entirely new mold is released every day from the Hong Kong tooling operations.

Supporting players

Two new and advanced technologies are dedicated to supporting the need for speed.

During the past 12 months, Defond technicians have relied on a FDM machine to create first-generation samples. These samples, created directly from the software instructions, are one off the actual size prototypes. They're useful for showing size and construction details, as well as potential mounting and rating concerns. However, they are limited in value due to marginal strength and finish quality.

The second technology is a rapid injection tool using MCP (Fairfield, Conn.) tools resin (EP250). This allows Defond to shoot 200 to 750 shots in the mold using the actual plastic material that will be used in the final product. These prototypes can be used for life tests, UL submission, consumer focus groups, and prepilot engineering and pilot production runs, even before building the final production tools.