Snow Business is the world leader in snow and winter effects. The company develops falling snow machines for the film and television industries, as well as for Christmas
exhibitions and other live events.
They use Ultimaker 3D printers for prototyping, functional testing, and manufacturing final parts for their falling snow machines. In-house 3D printing significantly speeds up their
iterative design process and saves substantial costs throughout the process.
Due to their collaboration with large production companies, there's a chance you've seen the snow they produced in films. The snow in all films such as James Bond 007, Kingsman,
Bridget Jones's Diary, etc., was created by them. Paul Denney is the Head of Research at Snow Business, responsible for designing the falling snow
machines. Much of R&D's focus is on the machine's nozzle, which is where the machine mixes air with fluid to create the falling snow effect.
Iterative R&D Process
Paul explains that the nozzles have complex air and fluid flow geometries, which make them impossible to produce using injection molding. He says that the only way to create new nozzles is through
3D printing. New nozzles are developed through a process of printing, continuously repeating attempts, and adjusting the model, often undergoing numerous modifications before reaching a design that meets the company's high-quality standards.
Snow Business uses Ultimaker to 3D print final nozzles. The development of new nozzles proceeds through an iterative process, often involving multiple modifications.
Outsourcing
Before the company began working with Ultimaker, they outsourced nozzle production to an SLS service bureau. Paul explains, "The quality of parts provided by suppliers was good,
but slow and expensive."
Whenever he needed to change a design, he had to place a new order for at least £125, which would then take 7 days to deliver.
This significantly hindered the R&D cycle, so the company began to explore an in-house solution that could accelerate the iterative design process.
"What I really needed was a technology I could use myself, being able to get hands-on with it was what I needed. So we bought our first Ultimaker."
Desktop 3D Printing
Paul acquired an Ultimaker 2+ for prototyping and manufacturing new nozzles for the falling snow machines. In stark contrast to outsourced solutions, he can print new parts in just
a few hours, at a very low cost (only the cost of some filament). While he still uses SLS services occasionally, the in-house solution is more cost-effective in the long run.
In fact, Paul estimates that the first printer they purchased for the company paid for itself in just 2 weeks.
Design Freedom with Ultimaker 3
The nozzles were printed using ABS on the Ultimaker 2+. Paul used to split the model into two parts and glue them together after printing. The reason for this was that when printed together,
the support structures on ABS would leave marks on the final part. Recently, the company's Ultimaker 3D printer range expanded to include theUltimaker 3.
Now, Paul can use Nylon and water-soluble PVA support to print single nozzles without leaving marks on the finished product, and saving post-printing assembly time.
Due to cost savings with Ultimaker, the price of the first printer is estimated to have paid for itself in 2 weeks.
3D Printing in Engineering
Paul hopes that in the future, "very large" objects will be 3D printed, as it will enter the automotive and aerospace sectors, among others. As he puts it, "It's the best printer
in the world."
He is excited to start using this technology.
In-house desktop 3D printing can revolutionize how businesses develop and produce parts. Snow Business uses Ultimaker at different stages of product development
, including prototyping, functional testing, and final use parts.
For more industrial 3D printing case studies, please check our website content.
Original source: https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/50488-snow-business-3d-printing-final-parts-for-high-value-snow-machines