Case Study 6

Part name: Spider

Material: Beryllium copper

Thickness: .010

Challenge: To produce a rapid prototype of a geometrically sophisticated formed part with multiple curved surfaces from a challenging material.

Solution: Customer drawings were translated to IGES files and imported to our cad-cam program. Material was purchased and arrived two days after the order was received. The piece was produced in the flat via wire EDM. Forming tooling was produced in-house using a CNC lathe. After some experimentation, the proper geometry was obtained for the form tool, and the parts were formed using a small hydraulic press. These ten prototypes were completed within one week.