Recreating unavailable components before the remaining spares ran out.
The customer needed replacements for laboratory equipment components reported to be obsolete or unavailable from their manufacturers. No CAD models or drawings were available, and remaining spare stock was limited.
The priority parts were left- and right-hand blue housings from an Applied Biosystems Veriti thermal cycler and small black mechanical components from a Bright OTF 5000 cryostat.
The customer supplied original samples for inspection and measurement. CJM recreated the components in CAD, capturing the housing forms, mounting holes, internal features and mechanical interfaces needed for the replacements.
The physical samples provided the reference for reconstructing the geometry before preparing the parts for SLS nylon manufacture.
Replacement housings and mechanical components were produced in SLS nylon. The customer reported that both component types fitted well and operated satisfactorily, including the cryostat components at approximately −30°C.
This outcome is based on customer feedback following use. The photographs on this page show the original samples and CJM’s CAD models; photographs of the SLS replacements were not available.
The project established replacement CAD geometry and produced parts from physical samples where no digital design information existed. It gave the customer an alternative source of spares before the existing stock was exhausted.