New Technologies and Capabilities

Additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, is the industrial process of creating three dimensional objects by depositing materials in layers. The PTA Plastics Additive Manufacturing Team was created as part of our company’s efforts to broaden our expertise in additive manufacturing through new technologies and capabilities. Initially, this was implemented in several stages, involving the installation of 3D printers in our Oxford, Connecticut, and Longmont, Colorado locations. These printers were made available to all Employee-Owners as a way to foster collective learning. In November 2020, Ray Marquis, an Automation Technician, joined the Additive Manufacturing Team and played a crucial role in implementing the Phase 1 Prusa 3D printer in Connecticut. He not only assisted the team in completing the grant application for the HP 540, but he is also proficient in operating the HP to transform ideas into reality.

Thanks to our newly established 3D Printing Lab, PTA Plastics is capable of printing diverse, high-quality fixtures and parts for EOAT. In addition to being a Maintenance Technician, John Smith is a valued member of the Additive Manufacturing Team, contributing countless hours of research and assisting in the day-to-day process of 3D printing and post-processing parts.

The lab houses our 3D printers, post-processing equipment, and accessories, while ensuring a clean environment for all printing requirements. We handle each request for printing fixtures individually, in one room, from design file to finished product. Greg Thayer, a Work Instruction Specialist, specializes in different additive technologies and procedures, with a specific focus on their proper utilization. This lab facilitates faster turn-around needs through a shift from Subtractive Manufacturing to Additive Manufacturing, enabling design changes or repairs, and shortening the timeframe for rapid prototyping. The capability to 3D print dimensionally-accurate parts opens the door to turning designs into physical objects with just a CAD drawing.

Through the Additive Manufacturing Team and the 3D Printing Lab, PTA Plastics has been able to broaden our knowledge of 3D print technologies and integrate them into our manufacturing process. Moreover, this provides Employee-Owners with the opportunity to not only advance professionally but also foster the expansion and development of the entire company.