NEWS RELEASE
DATE: Thursday, 8th July 1999
SOURCE: Swift Technologies Ltd.
STATUS: For Immediate Release
SUBJECT: LIPTOOL BECOMES SWIFT TECHNOLOGIES AND ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF HIGH SPEED MACHINABLE BILLET FOR DIRECT RAPID TOOLING
Cambridgeshire, UK * 8th July 1999
Liptool Limited, one of the UK's leading exponents of applied R&D in the Rapid Prototyping (RP) industry, today announced a change of corporate identity to Swift Technologies Limited (STL) together with the launch of a high-speed machinable billet material for direct rapid tooling applications.
STL has accordingly renamed its proprietary Rapid Tooling System * from "LIPTOOLä" to "Swiftoolä" * to ensure continuity across the Swift brand of technology based products.
The Swiftoolä technology has been developed to meet the needs of designers, engineers, marketers and manufacturers, who need to prove the actual performance of new product designs before committing to production tooling, which is still expensive in both time and money.
The increasingly stringent nature of product conformance requirements (whether due to new legislation or simple commercial pressure) means that the early availability of up to 5,000 parts in production intent material is a key factor in reducing time to market, whilst also enabling and increase in product quality.
Paul Shepheard, STL's Chief Executive Officer stated: "In parallel with the launch of Swiftoolä in billet form, the purpose of the new corporate identity is to reflect our focus on time to market issues. It is a clarion call to our customers that we are giving them what they have been seeking for the last 10 years, i.e. 'Real Parts Real Quick!'".
"For example, the Swiftoolä billet material will suit those customers who prefer the direct CNC method of rapid tooling manufacture. This complements our existing pourable grades, which together provide a choice of direct and indirect rapid tooling methods which is second to none" Shepheard continued.
It is recognised in manufacturing industry that there are two general methods of creating a rapid mould tool * direct and indirect. Direct tooling, as the name implies, involves the manufacture of the tool direct from CAD data (via RP, CNC or otherwise) with no intermediate processes. Indirect tooling, on the other hand, typically involves the production of a master pattern, which in turn is then used to generate the tool. The correct approach largely depends on the geometry of the component to be moulded.
STL already offers a commercial licence for the Swiftoolä Rapid Tooling System (RTS), which uses an indirect process, based on the primary generation of a physical master pattern. It is common practice for the Swiftoolä RTS to yield the first batch of real parts within 3 hours from availability of a master pattern.
The recently developed high-speed machinable billet grade of Swiftoolä material is ideal for direct rapid tooling applications. No licence is required for the purchase of the billet material only, which will soon be made available in bespoke sizes if required.
Swiftoolä billet is around 20% of the weight of steel, and machines a fraction of the time required for aluminium. The machined inserts can be fitted immediately onto a standard injection-moulding machine for processing 100% representative, production intent materials.
Both forms of Swiftoolä are suitable for moulding rubber and plastic components in production intent materials, such as EPDM, ABS, polypropylene, acrylic, polycarbonate, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and glass filled nylon.
Swiftoolä provides the freedom to experiment at the concept stage of a design, when rapid changes and instant feedback are needed * replacing guesswork with hard facts. As a result, products can be launched early, without the need for any post-release design changes. This is essential in today's design & manufacturing environment, where "time to market" is of critical and increasing importance, often making the difference between success and failure.
Swiftoolä tooling has a variety of applications, including moulding, casting and forming for processing a wide range of materials.
For pricing, availability and any further information, please contact Rod Pike, Business Development Director * rod@swiftech.co.uk.
Swift Technologies Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 1354 650 789
140 - 144 Station Road, March, Fax: +44 (0) 1354 650 799
Cambs. PE15 8NH, UK www.swiftech.co.uk
Nick Osborn
Managing Director
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Swift Technologies Ltd.
140 - 144 Station Road, March,
Cambs. PE15 8NH, UK
"Real Parts Real Quick - Because Time Is Money"
Tel: +44 (0) 1354 650 789
Fax: +44 (0) 1354 650 799
www.swiftech.co.uk
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