SCIGN employed a company to render the 2-D drawing set into 3-D CAD and make a half-scale SLA prototype of the tall dome and base plate & ring assembly. This work was performed by Scicon in Valencia. The prototype was shown at the SCIGN annual meeting. The Pro-E drawings have been received, along with views of the parts and assembled tall and short dome models. Below are links to these images and to the DXF-format drawing files for the tall and short dome models.

The 3-D CAD drawings and SLA prototype will be used by the machinist who will make the 'tools' (molds) for injection molding. The machining is done on CNC equipment, which can read in files output by the 3-D CAD software. We have reviewed the drawings we now have, and also viewed the drawings on a 3-D CAD workstation, to evaluate and make sure the part is exactly as we want it and to ensure the tolerances and specifications are very clearly defined. We will use a hard copy drawing marked up with tolerances to define our expectations in the final parts (we'll transcribe tolerances from the 2-D drawings for critical dimensions - e.g., 0.125" +/- 0.005" for dome wall thickness, and other dimensions that effect how the parts will fit together).

(last update April 6 at 10:50 a.m.)

Tall Dome Model:

Short Dome Model:

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