company as well as low-volume custom injection
molding. With that came custom automation work.
The company cut its teeth in AM on rapid
prototyping (RP) and eventually began to farm out
enough of it that it became viable for ownership to
bring the technology in-house and recoup some
of the costs. It was then that Premier started to
realize AM's potential for many applications—for
both itself and its customers.
"It's not just rapid prototyping," says Joel McCue, engineering manager. "You need to look at
this as assisting you with the manufacturing side
of your business."
Machine Technology
Premier bought its frst uPrint 3D printer from
Stratasys in 2010 and later bought a second one.
The machine features a 6 × 8-inch build envelope
and is well-suited for tiny parts such as small
workholding devices and assembly fxtures for
injection molding work.
In 2011, Premier added a Fortus production
system because of the need for different materials
and larger 3D-printing builds. Today, the company has two Fortus printers, which McCue says
enables Premier to produce relatively large, elaborate fxtures involving high strength and forces,
along with tight repeatability and accuracy. If the
company needs to build something that requires
precision, it always runs on the Fortus 400.
Meanwhile, if a part requires texturing and
sandblasting, the mold shop will print off a mask
on the uPrint, because this machine is capable
of a fast turnaround. According to McCue, the
shop follows this guideline: If something small and
cheap is needed fast, use the uPrint; if it's more
complicated or larger, use the Fortus.
McCue says the shop made the jump to the
larger, production-oriented machine after a customer started using the so-called RP parts not as
prototypes, but as disposable tooling fxtures.
"It worked really well, but if we got really
aggressive we were still breaking the parts," McCue says. The shop began to look at the larger
machine because of its ability to print in Ultem, a
stronger material.
Here is an example of a camera arm that Premier Source rapid-built on its
Fortus 400 for a piece of automation the company is building for a customer.
AdditiveManufacturingInsight.com August 2013 — 11