Honeybee Robotics is a design engineering and consulting firm known for its contributions to key planetary analysis technologies on NASA's past three Mars missions. Their designs are "destined to work on Earth, Mars, and beyond." Their work also extends to other industries, leveraging their expertise in designing mechanisms and robotic systems to operate in challenging environments. Through Ultimaker 3D printing, Honeybee Robotics can rapidly develop prototypes to test design concepts at an early stage and make internal changes more efficiently.
"When we are building a new type of robot, there's no need to use metal components when designing new items because it's too expensive and time-consuming. We can print something on the same day, put bearings, bushings, and other components into it, and integrate the motors. This allows us to explore different parts of the robot and modify any designs that don't work," says Yoni Saltzman, a robotics engineer at Honeybee Robotics.
Challenge
Initially, Honeybee Robotics engineers and staff were looking for a fast, low-cost manufacturing solution in their office to support multiple modifications and replacements during their early design phase. At the same time, they still needed to continue validating concepts and establishing project parameters.
Solution
On-site professional Ultimaker desktop 3D printers can improve productivity for new mechanical design projects, enabling engineers and designers to create functional mechanical studies quickly and cost-effectively from the earliest stages of project development.
Results
Explore new mechanisms
Testing robotic systems before fully understanding the project's constraints helps engineers and designers quickly learn what works and what doesn't. With this process, the team has the freedom to iterate without straining the budget.
Share improved designs
Not every client and project stakeholder's questions can be answered with drawings and updated project briefs. Providing collaborators with physical models to hold and interactively examine offers a richer and deeper understanding of the subject.
Create conceptual models
Unlike traditional model building, desktop 3D printers allow engineers to adjust scale during manufacturing: miniaturizing large components to present overall goals, or enlarging individual key parts for discussion and investigation.
The success stories of 3D printing being applied in a wide range of fields are increasing, and we are happy to share various knowledge and possibilities related to innovation. If you are interested in 3D printers, you can check out our product page; if you have needs for manufacturing or design, we also provide customized printing services (and we've added a template for the large-sized model of the Ultimaker S5!).
Want to learn more about 3D printing applications? Feel free to refer to our other articles on our website.
Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/knowledge/12-rapid-design-iterations-for-the-early-project-stages