Jabil Digital Manufacturing

Let’s team up to get your items produced with the expertise and quality of a major manufacturer. Jabil is a leader in manufacturing for a range of industries including retail, aerospace, healthcare and digital technology. Part of our manufacturing toolkit includes additive manufacturing, aka 3D printing. Our global facilities feature several different printer technologies so we will use the right machine and the right materials for your project. Additive is a great application for prototype iteration and when you need quick parts, jigs, fixtures, tooling and handling accessories. Grab your design files and let’s get started!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Additive manufacturing is referring to several manufacturing processes which produce three dimensional objects. It is used in a variety of industries including Medical, Aerospace and Industrial. Additive manufacturing can also be found within every step of the product lifecycle, from prototype to production.

Additive manufacturing has many benefits, some of the most widely used applications are, Bill of Materials consolidation or making a complex assembly less complicated. It also allows designers and engineers more freedom to create geometries that were never before possible, this is quite useful in applications such as light weighting. Additive Manufacturing has a larger part in Industry 4.0, where it can be part of a diversified and distributed supply chain allowing parts to be produced virtually anywhere.

We will validate your design prior to printing it, but one major design consideration to make is wall thickness. Features tend to print better with a wall thickness around 1.0mm. Thinner walls can be executed but it is significantly more difficult to replicate consistency at production.

Additive Manufacturing Platforms & Materials

Description

HSS is a production grade additive manufacturing process that produces both functional prototypes and end use parts. Parts made are nearly isotropic – meaning high strength in all 3 dimensions. HSS has a high economy of scale by utilizing batch printing principles which lower part cost. There is no support material necessary in this printing technology, which makes it a great place to start with part conversion from injection molding. There are only 3 materials available for HSS, and is often expensive compared to some other 3D Printing methods. The surface finish is porous, and often will need primer if being painted.

Platform Specifics
  • Max Part Size = 375 x 375 x 280 mm3 or 14.75 x 14.75 x 11.00 in3
  • Highest Resolution (Layer Height) = 0.08 mm or 0.0031 in Z dimension
  • Lowest Tolerance = +/- 0.3 mm or 0.012 in for features in X-Y dimensions, +/-0.4mm or 0.016 in for features in Z dimension
  • Color Capability: Gray or Black Dyed
HSS Materials
  • PA 12 (Polyamide 12): excellent mech. properties, high density, chemical resistivity, watertight
  • PA 12 GB (Polyamide 12 with Glass Beads): 40% glass bead filled, similar properties as PA 12 except more stiff/rigid and heavier
  • PA-11- Polyamide 11 – Ductile, High Impact Strength

Description

FDM is the most common and simple 3D printing method that offers mid-range quality and variety of materials. It uses an extrusion process utilizing filament. Parts are printed layer by layer from the bottom upwards. There are a wide range of materials offered when compared to other Additive manufacturing methods. This process allows for large parts to be printed in a variety of materials, many of which are certified for regulated industries. FDM/FFF offers a lower quality surface finish and dimensional accuracy, parts are also not isotropic, and are weaker where the bonds lay, especially in the Z direction. FFF/FDM also does not offer economies of scale, because it can only produce one part at a time and does not utilize batch printing

Platform Specifics:
  • Max Part Size:
    • Fortus 450MC = 406 x 355x 406 mm3 or 16 x 14x 16in3
    • Fortus 900MC = 914 x 609x 914mm3 or 36 x 24x 36in3
  • Highest Resolution:
    • Fortus 450MC = as low as 0.127 mm or 0.005 in
    • Fortus 900MC = as low as 0.178 mm or 0.007 in
  • Lowest Tolerance:
    • Fortus 450MC = as low as +/- 0.127 mm or 0.005 in
    • Fortus 900MC = as low as +/- 0.127 mm or 0.005 in( XY), -.000, +1.5 layer thickness (Z)
  • Color Capability: Colors are Material dependent, but we offer Black, White, Gray, Blue, Red, Yellow.
FDM Materials
  • ULTEM 1010 (Polyetherimide 1010): food safe, biocompatible, high heat resistance, high chemical resistance, high strength (tensile)
  • ULTEM 9085 (Polyetherimide 9085): flame-certified, smoke-certified, toxicity-certified, high heat resistance, high chemical resistance, high strength (flexural), good for commercial transport (planes, trains, buses, cars, boats, etc)
  • PC-ISO (Polycarbonate - ISO 10993 USP Class VI): biocompatible (ISO 10993 USP Class VI), high strength, sterilizable using gamma radiation or EtO sterilization methods, good for medical applications
  • PC-ABS (Polycarbonate Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene): high strength, high heat resistance, good surface finish
  • ABS-ESD7 (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene - Static Dissipative): static-dissipative, great for electronic applications
  • ABS-M30i (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene - ISO 10993 USP Class VI): biocompatible (ISO 10993 USP Class VI), sterilizable using gamma radiation or EtO, good strength
  • ABS-M30 (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene): dimensionally accurate - good for checking fitment of parts, good for prototyping, stiff
Description

Similar to HSS, parts print inside a powder bed, but SLS utilizes a laser fusion system. It has a larger build envelope allowing for larger part production and has a larger material set than HSS. Parts can be used for nearly isotropic functional models, great for prototyping, bridge production, and in some cases serial production.

Platform Specifics
  • Max Part Size = 1000 x 500 x 450 mm3
  • Highest Resolution = 0.12 mm or 0.005 in (in all dimensions)
  • Lowest Tolerance = +/- 0.3 mm or 0.012 in
  • Parts are built in a powder bed and allow for the most design freedom of any process.
SLS Materials
  • Nylon 12 PA: strong and versatile material with good chemical resistance, low moisture absorption, high durability, high strain failure, low elastic modulus
  • Nylon 12 GF: glass-filled, more rigid and brittle than Nylon 12 PA, good surface finish