R&D success story
Background
Nabson’s largest business operation is manufacturing ground power cable assemblies and connectors for the commercial and defense aviation industry.
In early 2019, Nabson purchased a dual-head FDM 3D printer to expedite research and development of new products and the development of one of its product lines.
Based on the success of the FDM printer, in late 2019, Nabson looked to expand their 3D printing capability with an SLS printer that could produce small run parts and prototypes with better accuracy. After conducting extensive market research they selected the Lisa PRO to balance cost and capabilities. Sean Higgins, the manager of Organizational Effectiveness, explained how the LISA PRO has helped the business in 2020.
Problem
To increase safety in a specific product line Nabson was asked to install a series of thermal switches that shut down power to the aircraft if the connector overheats.
There were two issues that they had to resolve:
– The amount of free space in the rubber over-molded connector is severely limited;
– The thermal switches had to be encased in epoxy to protect them from the pressure exerted on the switches during the rubber injection process.
They tasked their Engineer, to work with their assembly team and develop a housing unit that when filled with epoxy, would protect the thermal switch during the injection process and allow sufficient heat transfer to the switch itself.
