The fully equipped CAD / CAM room opens up a host of new avenues for enhancing and supporting the use of CAD and CAM at all levels of the national curriculum. Specialist equiptment includes a 3D dimension printer, a TechSoft 2D laser cutter and an Inbro computerised embroidery machine.
The 3D Dimension Printer
A 3D printer such as the Dimension produces components designed in 3D software such as Pro/DESKTOP by extruding molten ABS plastic to give solid plastic objects that can be handled and used, eg., a camera or a calculator case can be as strong as the real object. It starts with an empty machine bed then a print head passes over the bed and deposits a thin layer of material to form a “slice” of the object. The bed is lowered and the print head deposits another slice. The process is repeated until the complete object is formed. Awkward holes and undercuts are simply filled with a honeycomb of a special “support” plastic which is easily broken off later.
The TechSoft 2D Laser Cutter
The laser cutter will cut a wide range of plastics very accurately leaving a smooth finish. It will also cut wood, MDF, paper, card, cloth, etc. It can engrave or mark all these materials and others such as glass, slate, ceramics, etc.
