Carbon, a Silicon Valley-based digital 3D manufacturing company, announced an innovative partnership with Vitamix, a global leader in high-performance blending equipment. Carbon and Vitamix, together with The Technology House (TTH), Ohio-based contract manufacturer, created an innovative micro-fluidic nozzle by reimagining the complete design and production process. Companies claim that the new nozzle is 33% more economical, 10x more durable and surprisingly uses 30% less material.
With a shared vision to use 3D printing to its fullest potential and push the boundaries of industrial design, Carbon, Vitamix & TTH collaborated to rethink how the nozzle could be redesigned & re-engineered, to deliver the same or better performance. The nozzle is a vital part of Vitamix’s blender used to rinse and clean the containers in commercial shops all over the U.S.
Above: Vitamix’s old nozzle design six piece assembly. It was intended to be assembled from six individual injection-molded parts/Image Credit: Carbon3D
The nozzle, initially, was developed to be an assembly of six-different moulded parts which needed to be made from strong, resilient and durable materials that can withstand high pressures and temperatures as well as constant exposure to chemicals and bleaching agents, detergents and sanitizers.
For redesigning their nozzle, Vitamix and TTH collaborated and set a task of converting the six-part design down to a single monolithic part.
Speaking on the redesigning process, Jodi Berg, President, and CEO of Vitamix said, “If you’re going to believe in something that isn’t yet possible, then you have to rethink possible. It’s the only way to get there”.
She continued, “Our partnership with Carbon is very exciting for us because it’s helping us rethink the possible every day. Once you realize you can manufacture something differently, then you can think about how those components interact with other components, and how you can achieve an entirely different outcome. It’s about evolving the paradigm of engineering, and now we have a new tool in our toolbox that we’re learning, exploring, and evolving.”
To make this complex part, Carbon’s complete 3D Manufacturing solution helped them to easily print the part with its Rigid Polyurethane (RPU) material. Using the SpeedCell system, and Digital Light Synthesis Technology, they were able to produce the complex fully functional part with the superior surface finish, high strength and resistant to chemicals.
Above: The redesigned nozzles. These nozzles underwent finite element analysis (FEA) at Carbon to ensure production scale manufacturability/Image Credit: Carbon3D
Due to the superior technology and material made available by Carbon, the resulting part exceeded the quality standards provided by traditional technologies. Vitamix is now deploying thousands of these nozzles into its stores all over the U.S.
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Above: The final nozzle design. The 3D-printed nozzle is now a single part requiring no multi-part assembly/Image Credit: Carbon3D
Elaborating more on collaboration and the experience, Dr. Joseph DeSimone, CEO and Co-founder at Carbon said, “There is a liberating freedom when designing products on the means of production, and our work with Vitamix is a perfect example of the kind of innovation you can achieve when you fuse design, manufacturability, and engineering all into one,”
“Once you go digital, you can’t go back – it fundamentally changes how designers and engineers think, how people collaborate and work, without constraints. That’s true 3D Manufacturing, and it’s revolutionary because it allows for powerful, imaginative thinking to solve complex problems and create new opportunities,” DeSimone concluded.
