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When Manufacturing Goes 3D

A number of industries have started the use of 3D printing for manufacturing of their goods. Makers of 3D printers expect the trickle to soon turn into a flood.

Welcome to the new world of additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing – the making of three-dimensional objects from a digital file. This process involves building a thing or an object by stacking up successive layers of raw material. Each layer can be seen as a finely sliced horizontal thin cross-section of the required object. It is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing, which involves cutting out/hollowing out of a piece of metal or plastic.

The technology, which took its first steps over three decades ago, is now catching on in India, where companies ranging from Tata Motors, JSW Steel, GE Transportation and tens of start-ups, apart from organisations such as ISRO, are using its benefits in the form of higher precision and lower costs. Even the fashion industry of India is using 3-D printing to give its exclusive clients a customised experience. And to deliver to such high demand, players such as HP, Wipro3D and Siemens Digital Industries Software are offering a set of solutions. While the early adoption of this technology was restricted to visualising and prototyping, it has now moved on to the realm of hi-tech and precision manufacturing. You will find many 3D printer some of them even claim to manufacture best 3D printer.

“In India, the market size for 3D printing is about Rs 3,000 crore (including players who provide 3D printing solutions and services – prototyping, product manufacturing and services.) The market is growing by 40-50 per cent a year,” says Vinay Awasthi, Managing Director, HP Inc., India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Global market research and consulting firm 6Wresearch found that India’s 3D printer market is projected to touch $79 million by 2021. The 2019 Wohlers Report has forecast $15.8 billion market for 3D printing products and services worldwide by 2020. This is expected to grow to $35.6 billion in 2024. India clearly has a lot of catching up to do in spite of the fact that 3D printing has opened doors for leapfrogging in the manufacturing sector, especially in high value/low volume products.

High Precision for Key Spare Parts

Some manufacturers are using this technology just to make their important parts as this will give precision to the part which is very important plus it will also cost less and saves time as well.

“From the design perspective, 3D printing changes the innovation paradigm. By freeing designers from constraints that traditional manufacturing imposes – essentially allowing any shape to be printed – it brings automated optimisation to the forefront of the design process. In effect, engineering is tipped on its head; instead of the designer being responsible for defining the form of the part, with the simulationist evaluating the function, additive manufacturing lets the designer define a part’s function, while the software figures out the form. This is the beginning of an age of autonomous innovation,” says Zvi Feuer, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Engineering Software, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Healthcare – The Big Use

This is one of the biggest industry using 3D printing technology or additive manufacturing. This is mostly used to make prosthetics and implants. Generally it come in standard sizes which may not be suitable for some person. After 3D printing technology now we can make any kind of prosthetics and implants according to the patients need and size. The cost of manufacturing does not have much price gap as they are just around the normal price rather more accurate. For example, a prosthetic hand cast manufactured with the help of additive manufacturing can cost you around 350 rupees which is enough for an artificial available in the market.

Fashion – Customisation is the Key

Fashion industry after using 3D printing technology have given their customers a gift of customisation. Recently, sneaker brand Adidas launched Futurecraft 4D customised shoes made using a software programme. An Indian start-up, Spacecrunch, has been making 3D-printed insoles – using images of the feet – that it says can treat foot pain.

“In manufacturing, there are two areas – traditional manufacturing for large volumes and mass customisation,” says Swapnil Sansare, Founder & CEO of Mumbai-based Divide by Zero.

The Challenges

As 3D printing is increasing tremendously it has certain challenges. There are multiple barriers to wider adoption of 3D printing in India. These include high equipment costs, limited availability of material, shortage of talent pool, longer production timelines and absence of formal standards and strong IP safeguards. These are the challenges faced by the industries from a long time. Some of them have made out of it and have solutions to these problems. In spite of the challenges, Indian companies will in all likelihood embrace 3-D printing in earnest and make it essential to manufacturing.…

5 Essential 3D Printing Tips For Beginners

Beginners

The craze of 3D printing is increasing as the time passes. There were very news or related articles on 3D printing before this year. Now, you will find lots of articles related to 3D printing on the internet. It is like a storm which started slow but suddenly get on to its peak in no time. Once this was just limited to the industrial works and was used to manufacturing just because it saves time. But now the 3D printer market have become a boon for the industrialists. It saves their lot of money, labour and also produce less waste or we should say no waste at all. This will ultimately going to save their money eventually bigger profit.

There are lots of 3D printers are available in the market right now. You can buy for industrial purpose and for your home also. There are low costs 3D printers also available which will be a better present for someone.
If yiu have got 3D printer at home and you are curious about it and its use then do not worry as we are going to help you. Here are some pro tips for youto take out the best from your 3D printer. Let us start.

1. Get Safety Gear

Safety should be the first thing to consider if you are going to operate any kind of machine. If you have a resin 3D printer then you have the best 3D printer as it can manufacture almost everything. It uses UV light which makes its products more fine and accurate. UV light can be harmful for your skin so be aware of it. Resin on one hand is also dangerous for your health. It’s fumes can be fatal and if someone touches it then they should get medical checkup.

If you have laser 3D printer then you should not worry much but it would be better if you wear a noise cancellation buds as it produces noises which can be bad for your ears.

Disposable gloves is a must. You should wear it everytime you are working with 3D printer no matter what kind of. Black colour gloves will be best as you can see if any of the resin is stick to your hand or not. The gloves should be hard in just case if you have to scratch some molded material from the printer’s surface. Then comes the respiratory mask which is must needed if you have resin 3D printer. Breathing molded material can cause serious lung problems. So be careful when you are operating a 3D printer as this is not a kid’s toy.

2. Read the Manual

Reading about your machine is very important. You should know about your machine as well as it’s working and it’s about it’s safety measures. After reading your manual carefully you will be able to assemble your 3D printer before you start any making. While assembling your machine you must calibrate it’s parts also otherwise you are going to print a more damaged and failed prints. Spending more time to make one thing is far better than making a failed thing first and then making the perfect one.

There are some 3D printers which will be assembled in factory before coming at your door. So, if you have one of these then you don’t have to worry about it’s assembly and calibration.

3. Be Patient

After the assembly and calibration stuff you are now ready to print your ideas. Before going to start one thing you should have other than safety gears is patience. Yes, it is required if you want your work to be perfect. It will take lot of time some may even take half a day so be patient while your work is in progress. It takes time because it’s working involve step by step and layer by layer manufacturing. If you want your work to be more precise then you know that it will require lot of time and calculations. Bigger your product the more time it will take.

4. Always Be Tinkering

Since it takes a lot of time this does not mean that you should not be worry about it and while your work is in progress you can watch Netflix and chill. No, this is not the right way to handle your 3D printer. It involves a lot of messy materials, resins which can get stuck to interior of your 3D printer and may impact on its working. So while work is in progress keep an eye on it and clean it timely.

5.Get Creative

The more creative you will be more admirable your product will look. Print new ideas, take your time to think and think out of the box to create something new. Afterall, you are the creator of your things.…

How to unlock MI bootloader?

Android Development

Android is one of the most popular mobile OS out in the market According to Wplov and a lot of developers have been developing custom firmware for different devices running android. Many OEMs including Xiaomi have started locking bootloaders of their devices for security purposes. For normal purposes, a device with a locked bootloader is fine but for some other valid reasons, the bootloader needs to be unlocked. Most of the OEMs provide official ways to unlock the bootloader of their devices.

How to unlock MI bootloader?
In this article, we will see how you can unlock the bootloader of a Xiaomi device.

What is bootloader?

The bootloader is a software program embedded into the firmware of the device that starts whenever the device is powered on. The main purpose of the bootloader is to activate the right operating system whenever the device is powered on. The concept of the bootloader is not only restricted to android devices but all devices that run an Operating System have this piece of software.

Suppose a device has more than two operating systems at once then the bootloader is the part of the device that helps to boot up the operating system depending on the user’s choice.

Why do OEMs lock the bootloader?

OEMs lock the bootloader of their devices to prevent the installation of any other operating systems. Many OEMs ship their devices with their custom versions of Android which they want the users to use. So to prevent users from installing other operating systems, OEMs lock the bootloaders. Though most of the OEMs allow unlocking the bootloader for the more geeky customers who want to customize their device as per their choice.

What are the risks of unlocking the bootloader?

Since OEMs lock the bootloader then obviously there might be some risks related to unlocking the bootloader. Some risk factors depend on the OEM but in general cases, the risks are

Unlocking the bootloader allows you to modify some parts of the system that may cause permanent damage to the device.

You will lose the warranty of your device once you unlock the bootloader.

Unlocking bootloader makes your device more vulnerable to malware attacks.

Anyone can flash custom ROM and recover your device if it ever gets stolen.

Some apps and features that demand higher security levels from the device such as banking apps, find the device, etc will no longer work properly.

Why you should unlock the bootloader?

Everything has its downsides as well as upsides too. Similarly, unlocking bootloader, other than the risks mentioned above has a lot of upsides to it as well. Unlocking bootloader has these upsides

You can root your device to gain complete control over it.
You can install custom ROMs.
You can modify system settings if you are experienced enough.
You can customize your device as per your liking.

Steps to unlock bootloader in your Mi device?

So, if you have decided to unlock the bootloader of your Mi device but don’t know how to, then in this article we will tell you how to. This procedure can be applied to any Mi device with a bootloader. But before beginning the procedure you need some prerequisites that will be needed when unlocking the bootloader.

Prerequisites

Take a full backup of all of your important data before unlocking the bootloader as unlocking it will format your device.
Install Xiaomi USB drivers that are available with the Mi PC Suite.
Enable USB debugging options from the developer settings. To activate navigate to Settings Additional settings Developer options Enable USB debugging. If you cant see the Developer options then go to Settings About phone and tap on “MIUI version” seven times.
Make sure that you have an official MIUI ROM installed in your device.
Unlocking the bootloader will void your mobile’s warranty so proceed with caution.
Make sure you have a SIM card inserted in the device with a working internet connection.

Unlocking the bootloader

In the earlier days, Xiaomi required you to get permission from them 15-20 days prior to unlocking the bootloader. But now Xiaomi has changed its policy and you can unlock your device within 24-48 hours.

To start unlocking your device’s bootloader follow the below-given tutorial

Firstly you need to download Mi unlock tool from here.
The Mi unlock tool will be in a zip/7z archive, extract it to your desktop.
Now in your mobile go to settings Additional settings developer options and enable OEM unlocking option.
Once the OEM unlocking option is enabled goto Settings Additional settings Developer options Mi unlock status.
After clicking on the Mi unlock status button you will be taken to a new screen which should show a lock with “This device is locked” and “The phone is secured” written under it.
Make sure you have a working internet connection (WIFI connection will not work, you need a mobile data connection) and Now click on the “Add account and device” button at the bottom of the screen.
If you are already logged in your Mi account in your mobile then it will automatically add your account to the unlock process, if not, then you need to log in your Mi account.
Once it shows a toast saying “Added successfully. Mi account is associated with this device now”, just power off your device and go to Fastboot mode by pressing your power button + volume down button together for few seconds until the screen lights up again.

If you are successfully booted into Fastboot mode then you should see a picture of a bunny repairing an android robot and Fastboot written under it in blue letters.
Now on your computer open the folder where you extracted the Mi Unlock tool. Open the “miFlash_unlock.exe” file.
Make sure you have a working internet connection on your computer. Once you open the Mi flash unlock tool you should see a login screen for your Mi account.
Log in the same Mi account that you used to log in your Mi mobile and click on sign in.
After signing in, connect your mobile with your computer using a USB cable.
The Mi unlock tool should show “Phone connected” and an Attention message below it.
Click on the Unlock button at the bottom and wait for some time. It will show a popup with a warning text in red color. Click on the Unlock anyway button to proceed.
Once it shows Unlocked status your device will restart on its own.
Now you have an unlocked bootloader.

Troubleshooting

Mi unlock tool shows “Not connected to the phone” even when the phone is connected via USB

If you face this error it is most likely due to driver issues.
To fix this issue you will need to install drivers for your phone. To install drivers, click on the small gear icon at the top right corner in Mi unlock tool.
Now a small window will popup having few options. Now click on the “check” button in front of the option that says “Click the button to install the drive”.
Now follow on-screen instructions to install the drivers.

Mi unlock tool shows “Couldn’t unlock” status while unlocking bootloader

This error mostly occurs when you try to unlock the bootloader just after adding the Mi account to the “Mi unlock status” option in your device.
To solve this issue you have to wait for 720/360/72 hours or whatever time is mentioned in the error.

What to do after unlocking the bootloader?

Once the bootloader is unlocked your phone will restart on its own. If not, press the power button until the screen lights up. Once the bootloader is unlocked, your device will be reset and all the data present on the device will be automatically deleted along with the Deleted Xiaomi Mi account. Now, with an unlocked bootloader, you can do lots of stuff with your device such as installing a custom recovery, rooting your phone, modify system settings, etc.

But if you plan to use the phone with the stock MIUI ROM then you don’t have to worry about OTA updates as they are not affected by the unlocked bootloader.

If you face any problems signing in your Mi account after unlocking the bootloader or if your phone isn’t allowing you to enter into it then you can use mi account unlock tool box.

Conclusion

Unlocking the bootloader has its pros and cons that you need to consider before unlocking it. If you are a geeky user and need complete control over your device than unlocking the bootloader is worth the risks, whereas if you are just an everyday user who doesn’t fiddle with the device much then it’s better to leave the bootloader as it is.…

Learn more about the advantages of 3D printing

3D Printing

As far as recent inventions are concerned, the advantages of 3D printing technology makes it one of the most promising technologies and will be same in future if we consider it’s today reach. Through making layers, 3D printing opens a whole new method in which products are created and it gives a lot of advantages as compared to other usual traditional manufacturing methods. In the main, the advantages of 3D printing are that it reduces time in which it takes to get a product manufactured, and that it removes constraints that are often experienced through the usual traditional manufacturing methods.

There are many more types of 3D printing technologies available, but the benefits discussed here are applicable to the whole industry. Through fast design, to the point accuracy and the ability to make informed decisions, the following 3D printing advantages make this technology a real prospect for businesses but also highlight its importance in future production techniques.

Reduce costs

This is one of its greatest advantage which attracts more and more manufacturers. There are generally 3 types of costs it saves for any industry which are machine costs, labour costs and material costs.

A. Machine costs

It does not contribute much in the manufacturing costs. It is obvious that a single step manufacturing will cost less than the manufacturing which involves multi steps.

B. Labour costs

In 3D printing technology labour costs are kept low which is its major part of money saving. In traditional process of manufacturing, it requires a lot of people as machine operator, some required to assemble the produced goods while some required as helpers 3D printing technology removes this. Therefore, the labour costs are significantly lower as there is no need for skilled machinists or operators to form part of the process.

C. Material costs

It is clear by now that one of the advantages of 3D printing is that it allows for the creation of prototypes that authenticate form and fit and most of all, the costs are a lot cheaper than those associated with other manufacturing methods. Creating complex mechanical parts requires skill and precision which results in an increase in the cost. However, 3D printing technology not require any kind of additional costs for complex parts as the parts can be designed prior to being uploaded for printing and are then sent for creation in just one simple process.

Apart from these major money savers there are few more way by which 3D printing can save your money. Less waste, traditional manufacturing process produces a lot of waste which can not be used further and it is like money going in waste 3D printing produces almost no waste therefore saving money. Less travel costs, one can make 3D print of an object even from a long distance one not have to take part to that place through 3D printing technology one can just make that part at that place. This reduces travel costs.

Reduce time

A part manufactured from 3D printing will take much lower time than a part manufactured from traditional way. And it is well said that time is money. If you have more time you can make more goods which will increase your productivity and hence your profit. This is so advantageous over traditional methods as they can take weeks or months to go from the design stage to prototype stage and right through to the production process.

Stay ahead of competition

Delivering better products in short period of time will make any industry to stay in market for long time. The quality of products will attract more and more buyers. One can also make a prototype of their products before producing in masses. This will help in case if people does not like their products. Through these prototype manufacturers can asks for feedback from their potential buyers.

Reduce errors

3D printing are mostly done in just a single step. The less no of steps be, more will be it’s efficiency. Efficient works have less errors. In multistep manufacturing the chances of errors increases as the number of step increases. There are chances of errors in every step. It can also alleviates risks by making a prototype first and then checking it’s liability or any other characteristics which should be good for the success of the product.

Confidentiality

Continuous prototyping and manufacturing in-house with a 3D printer ensures that designs never leave the company premises, safeguarding your intellectual property.

Production on demand

On demand production is possible in 3D printing. Customized good can be manufactured on the spot. This is what fashion industry is using it for. This will help to satisfy your costumers which ultimately leads to a greater bond.

It is clear to see that there is a wide and varied array of 3D printing advantages.…