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| ACIS - A standard computer file format for exchanging CAD data, typically from AutoCAD programs. ACIS is an acronym that originally stood for "Andy, Charles and Ian's System" |
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| Barrel - The part of the molding press where resin is melted. |
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| Bevel - See “chamfer”. |
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| Boss - A cylindrical protrusion within a part, often designed to accept fasteners. |
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| CAD - Short for “computer aided design”. |
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| Chamfer - Also known as a bevel, it is a flat truncated corner. |
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| Draft - The taper of features. It allows deeper features to be produced in three-axis milling machines. |
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| Durometer - A measure of the hardness of a resin. It is measured on a numeric scale with numbers ranging from lower (i.e. softer) to higher (i.e. harder). |
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| End mill - A cutting tool that is used to machine a mold. |
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| ESD - Stands for “electro static discharge”, an electrical effect that may necessitate shielding in some applications. Some special grades of plastic are electrically conductive or dissipative and help prevent ESD. |
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| Flame retardant - A resin formulated to resist burning. |
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| GF - Stands for “glass filled”, it refers to a resin with glass fibers mixed into it. Glass filled resins are much stronger and more rigid than the corresponding unfilled resin, but also more brittle. Resins can also be filled with carbon fiber, stainless steel, etc. In general, filled resins can be very susceptible to warp. |
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| Gusset - A triangular rib that reinforces areas such as a wall to a floor or a boss to a floor. |
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| IGES - Stands for “Initial Graphics Exchange Specification”. It is a common file format for exchanging CAD data. Protomold can use IGES solid or surface files to create molded parts. |
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| Medical grade - Resin that may be suitable for use in certain medical applications. |
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| Parasolid - A file format for exchanging CAD data. |
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| Parting line - The location where the side of a part come together. A thin line is sometimes created on the part here. |
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| Radiused - An edge or vertex that has been rounded. Typically this occurs on part geometries as a natural result of the First Cut Prototype milling process. |
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| Reinforced resin - Refers to base resins with fillers added for strength. They are particularly susceptible to warp because the fiber orientation tends to follow flow lines, resulting in asymmetric stresses. Typically these resins are harder and stronger but also more brittle (i.e. less tough). |
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| Rib - A reinforcing member of a part. |
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| Splay - Discolored visible streaks in the part, typically caused by moisture in the resin. |
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| STEP - Stands for "Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data”. It is a common format for exchanging CAD data. |
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| STL - Originally stood for “STereoLithography”. It is a common format for transmitting CAD data to rapid prototyping machines and is not suitable for rapid injection molding. |
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| Undercut - A portion of the part geometry that would prevent the part from being ejected from a straight-pull mold without a portion of the mold passing through (and destroying) the part. The simplest example of an undercut feature on a part would be a through-hole aligned perpendicular to the direction of part ejection. |
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| Vestige - A visible mark created by the manual process of finishing parts when the tab is trimmed. |
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| Wireframe - A type of CAD model consisting only of lines and curves, in 2D or 3D. Wirefame models are not suitable for the First Cut process. |
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