All CAD file(s) shall be checked for errors to the best of your team/group’s ability before they are brought to the lab. Failure to do so will result in long print lead times and require more rework.
RPL Technicians cannot and will not modify your files. All needed modifications will be suggested to you, but it is your choice if you follow these recommendations or not. RPL Technicians make the final call to decide if your part is printed, not what or how it is printed. If you and your approving parties make a design decision that is outside of our recommendation and guidelines, it is your privilege to do so.
If all RPL guidelines are not followed, the RPL takes no responsibility for, nor does it guarantee print outcome.
Ignoring RPL guidelines will result in the inability to re-print a part or parts if a failure is to occur.
Example:
Per RPL policies, all airfoils being printed on our FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) based machines shall be printed vertically (meaning the root of the airfoil shall be on the build platform and be printed upwards). This is done to promote a better surface finish and thus your part will need less post-processing. However, this also results in your airfoils being weak in bending, which is why you design your parts to include support bars. Despite the fact that it will result in much more post processing, some teams may elect to have their airfoil printed laying down in order to have better bending performance. Unfortunately, printing a thin and long part like an airfoil laying down can also result in uneven part cooling, which can lead to miss-shaped parts, or even complete print failure. In this situation, because the group or team elected to go outside of the lab’s standard operating procedures, there would be no opportunity for a reprint due to the miss-shaped parts, or even complete print failure.