Patience, perseverance and precision go a long way – especially for Diebold’s global prototyping services team.

“The biggest thing we’re doing with the creation of prototypes is saving the company time and money. The production of in-house prototypes saved Diebold nearly $200,000 in 2005 alone,” said Rich Lute, senior mechanical engineer, global prototyping services. “Plus, the prototype parts we provide to engineers meet project schedules so we can see results quicker.”

For the last few years, under the direction of Jeff Hill, vice president, global hardware
development, the team has been using 3-D     Rich Lute, senior mechanical engineer, global 
design files to create rapid prototype parts      prototyping services, North Canton, Ohio,
for Diebold terminals, modules, election          holds a  prototype created by Diebold's Stratasys systems, and more. Team members include    Titan prototype machine.
Rich Lute, Jim Booth, Mark Douglass,
Garry Kirby, Dale Leopold and Bryan Lindic.
A prototype is an exact replica or model of a part that provides useful information early in the development process.   

Diebold utilizes two different prototype machines:  the Z-Corp 3-D printer and the Stratasys Titan. The 3-D printer creates a prototype based on many intricate layers. It combines incremental layers of powder with a print head to deposit a liquid adhesive on each layer until the build is complete. The layered prototype is fairly brittle, like a cracker, says Lute, so it is coated in wax or epoxy to add sturdiness and stability.

The Stratasys Titan machine uses Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to create a prototype. This process applies a plastic filament to an extrusion nozzle. The nozzle is heated to melt the plastic, creating a thin bead of material to form each layer.

The more commonly used machine, Stratasys Titan, produces models using Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) or polycarbonate material. Compared to the 3-D printer, the Titan models more closely resemble injection molded parts.

“The Titan machine requires no maintenance and can work straight through evenings and weekends,” Lute said. “You can watch it create the model and support structure, and it tells you exactly how much time is left before the piece is finished.”

For prototype creation in the past, Diebold sent the design files to outside suppliers. This method cost the company large amounts of money and at least three to four weeks of lost production time between receiving the prototype and re-creating it if it didn’t work. Although a very small portion of parts is still made through outside suppliers, the cost-savings are high. Lute says on average it takes only three or four prototype trials to create a 3-D model for use in developing an injection mold. Just making a mold may take four to six weeks, so it’s extremely beneficial to quickly have access to a prototype model.

“What we’re trying to do is make a quick prototype,” Lute said. “If it doesn’t work, we can throw it away and make another. By creating a prototype part, tooling changes to the injection mold are kept to a minimum, thus saving time and money.”

Once a successful injection mold is produced, it is certified and shipped to a production facility where the final product is made.

“We are always under the gun to get projects done sooner and either at or under budget,” Lute said. “Our group is just working hard to try and make that happen.”