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Bremen University of Applied
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Prof. Dirk Hennigs
Mechanical Engineering Dept.
Bremen University of Applied Sciences
Objet Helps Engineering Students Gain
Practical Experience Using Professional Tools
To get ahead in today’s job market, students need all the professional training they can get while still in university.
The Rapid Prototype Laboratory at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences was established two years ago to provide its students with practical experience in a simulated professional environment. After years of depending on a fused deposition modeling (FDM) system, the laboratory added an Objet Alaris30 Desktop 3D Printing System.
With this addition, the laboratory now supports all of the University’s education and research tasks.
For the University’s Mechanical Engineering Department, state-of-the-art integrated product development processes (such as CAD, CAE, FEM and Rapid Prototyping [RP]) are a core educational component and a standard pre-requisite for an in-depth engineering education.
A system that enables students to design structures on a CAD system and produce them in a quick, cost-efficient manner is vital.
Ease of use and safety vital for student use
To be suitable for student use in a laboratory, a RP system must be both easy to use and absolutely safe for student operation. This means students cannot be exposed to any risks caused by the machine, its operation or to any hazardous substances released by the materials used during construction or in post-processing.
In view of all these requirements – high resolution, safe use and easy operation – the University decided that the Objet Alaris30 Desktop 3D Printer was the ideal solution for its Rapid Prototype Laboratory.
“We owe it to our students to ensure that they receive the best education that we can provide,” says Prof. Dirk Hennigs, Mechanical Engineering Dept, Bremen University of Applied Sciences. “By installing the Objet Alaris30, we enable our students to gain practical experience with the systems they’ll meet in the real world when they begin their careers.”
Quicker design and realization
Through the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory, students get to know and use an up-to-date, innovative component of integrated product design and development during their professional education. This allows them to become aware of the potential benefits of this technology before beginning to work in their selected fields.
A cost-efficient system enables quick validation of 3D models within the framework of students’ construction projects, with early detection and removal of potential defects.
Prof. Hennings notes: “The faster adequate prototypes are available for validation, the greater the costs saved by the early detection of defects. However, the early detection of defects does not only result in cost savings but also helps to drastically shorten production development cycle times, speeding up the development process.
” The Rapid Prototyping Laboratory supports the study program at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences through various student projects, starting from simple lab courses up to applications within the framework of master theses. For example, one project involved a test rig for examining the buoyancy of rotor blades.
The Objet Alaris30 enabled the student to examine the aerodynamic properties of completely different wing profiles relatively quickly.
After designing the wing profile on the CAD system, the true-to-scale rotor blades were quickly printed on the Objet Alaris30 and examined in the test rig. “It became easy to optimize the profile, because new profile versions could be quickly generated on the CAD system and then output on the Objet Alaris30 printer for further testing,” recalls Prof. Hennings. Thus, the students were able to not only theoretically examine wing profiles but also to test them practically.”
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Bremen University of Applied Sciences Brochures
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Case Study
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- Enable students to create high resolution components and prototypes with, very fine details and a highquality surface finish
- Provide a cost-efficient
rapid prototyping system that is both easy and safe for students to use
- Objet Alaris30 Desktop 3D Printer.
Results
- Quick validation of 3D models.
- Early detection and removal of potential design defects in engineering projects
- Students are better able to
design trial structures for wind tunnel tests, water channel flow tests, etc.
- Students gain practical experience using an up-to-date, easy-to-use, professional system that provides life-like prototypes for testing
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