New methodology moves beyond 2D infill, empowering designers and engineers to create consistent, predictable, printed objects that leverage material and structural characteristics, while substantially reducing the time to final manufactured product

RAPID 2016 CONFERENCE ― Type A Machines®, the market leader in Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers for Additive Manufacturing, today announced Absolute Dimensions and 3D Internal Structures, two new innovations designed to dramatically improve the function of the internal geometry, or "Infill," of a 3D printed part. Designed to work in concert, these new methodologies lead to parts that meet specified material and structural characteristics more accurately over previous methods. The company has incorporated these innovations in a public beta release of Cura Type A, now available for download.

"Thinking of a parts internal geometry as infill is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of internal structure in a 3D printed part," said Andrew Rutter, Type A Machines Founder and CTO. "It is akin to ignoring more than half the object. The term "infill" is inaccurate. We need to understand it for what it truly is, internal structure."

Until now, the state of the art in fused filament additive manufacturing has been to use percentages to specify the density of a printed part. Unfortunately, with no common standard for converting percentages into density, significant differences in output exist across various products. In addition, infill is typically built up from a simple 2D pattern repeated on each layer. As a result, engineers, manufacturers, and 3D printer operators cannot accurately predict the mechanical characteristics of the printed part, leaving most to over-engineer in an effort to meet strength requirements - a time consuming, and material wasting practice.

Moving to Absolute Dimensions
Instead of attempting to correct the existing broken paradigm by creating a standard formula for converting percentage to volume, Type A Machines sees this as an opportunity to move to a more functional, more precise and more reliable method of defining an interior structure using a common measurement, millimeters. It is a small change, but a fundamental shift in thinking about the printed part.

Leveraging True 3D Internal Structures
The shift to Absolute Dimensions is a first step in changing our approach to internal structure as a key controllable aspect of a 3D parts geometry. The second step is moving beyond the paradigm of 2D infill to a true 3D isotropic structure throughout the object. Type A Machines 3D internal structure is an infinitely repeating tessellating cubic lattice, providing isotropic strength (equal in all directions), predictable print times, reliable results, and more predictable and consistent part performance.
Combined, these two innovations are critical to the engineering of final parts intended for real world usage. The future is one where the internal geometry of 3D printed product is as much part of the design space as the external geometry.
Absolute Dimensions and 3D Internal Structure capabilities are key features in the public beta release of Cura Type A 1.5,, available for immediate download via the companys website.

About Type A Machines
Type A Machines, Inc., located in San Leandro, CA, designs and manufactures the Series 1™ and Series 1 Pro™ 3D printers, and the industry-first Print Pod™, a centrally-managed manufacturing solution scalable up to 60 individual Series 1 3D printers. The Type A Machines Print Pod is a parallel production FFF Additive Manufacturing solution delivering lower cost­-per-­part as compared to injection molding. It is ideal for print farms, low volume production, labs, classrooms, and other heavy printing environments. An industry pioneer, Type A Machines delivers the future of manufacturing, today.
Type A Machines, the Type A Machines logo, Series 1, Series 1 Pro, Print Pod, and ProMatte are trademarks of Type A Machines, Inc. Other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.