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Welcome to OMNInews from Omnica Corporation, a full-service product design and engineering firm located in Irvine, California. Enjoy our selection of remarkable news, timely topics, and what's happening at Omnica.
Ron Sully - Director of Marketing
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Automated Design and Engineering - We have reached the point when computers can create designs and products that are beyond the talents of humans. Autodesk� has developed "algorithmic design" software to be used with 3D printing (additive manufacturing) for building optimized products for orthopedic surgeons and  engineers. With this "generative design system" users input design goals, and specify objectives like functional requirements, manufacturing method, and materials. The software uses this information to evaluate possibilities and generate optimized design solutions.
A lightweight, load-bearing engine block was built with additive manufacturing.
This type of artificial intelligence won't replace human engineers, but gives them an expanded role in manufacturing that facilitates design without tool-based constraints. As the rapidly evolving ability of additive manufacturing grows, synthesized design systems will be used to create parts and components for medical devices, transportation, and industry that are more refined and less costly.
Injection Molding LEGOs� - Injection molding has been around for more than 130 years. It is the most common method for manufacturing high-volume, close tolerance parts from hundreds of different types of plastics and synthetic polymers. In fact, almost all modern products contain at least one injection molded part or component.
 Injection molded products range in size from tiny implantables to 1500 gallon septic tanks. Somewhere in between are LEGO building blocks. In this short video the EngineerGuy� describes the basic principles of injection molding, explains why LEGOs are exceptionally well engineered, and how they are manufactured in high volumes.
Omnica News and Announcements . . .
Device Alliance Meeting at Omnica April 20 - On Wednesday, April 20 from 5:30 - 8:00 we will be hosting an informative networking meeting including a presenter and professional panel who will discuss Wearable Medical Devices. Nominal admission cost will be waived for Device Alliance members. Here are the directions to the Omnica facility.
Octane Technology Investor Forum May 17 and 18 - We will have a booth at the Technology Investor Forum in May. It is the largest technology innovation and investment conference in Southern California, and will be held at the Hotel Irvine. The organizers expect nearly 800 attendees including entrepreneurs, industry executives, strategic partners, qualified investors, and academicians.
MDM Design and Manufacturing Show Update - According to the show organizers, attendance was up slightly from 2015, but even though attendees were plentiful the second day, we connected with fewer prospects than last year. Talking with other vendors and suppliers, we agreed that overall traffic was down, possibly because visitors preferred to spend their time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. The good news is we weren't besieged by herds of individuals trying to sell us their services.
We always do a competitive analysis before the show, and compared to the past three years, we noted there were only half as many dedicated design and engineering firms exhibiting. I'm not sure what it means, but there were a number of exhibitors we expected to see who didn't have a booth.
Next year we will be in the same spot, near the food court in Hall D
Omnica will continue to display at MDM West. We feel the show is a good opportunity to reinforce our brand and company message with clients and prospects. In 2016 we plan on adding exhibit dates at other smaller venues in Southern California.
 Ron's Red Rainforest Table - Earl has always encouraged us to use Omnica's extensive tool shop for personal projects. As a creative group, many of us make full use of the offer. Earlier this year I wanted to design and build a small wooden table with a shaped marble top. Even though I have a well-equipped shop, I can't cut marble. Stone fabricators create inlays with a water-jet, and I knew I could use Omnica's machine (with help from a co-worker) to complete the job.
I designed the table as full-sized drawings,and made patterns with foam core and masonite. I sourced the marble tile, called "rain forest", and determined how I wanted it cut as an insert for the table top. I did the final layout of the special shape in CorelDraw, and created a .DWG file. Jeff Smith (an Omnica M.E.), used the file to program the cutting path for our abrasive water-jet. I was anxious about botching the job since I had looked for days in the south county and was unable to find another piece of the unusual marble anywhere.
The abrasive water-jet can accurately cut almost any material.
I shouldn't have stressed. Jeff knew what to do, and he cut the stone to my exact specifications. He also created a modified version of the file and cut an acrylic template I used for shaping the wooden portion of the table top. It was a winning combination. After I did my part with the plunge router and some hand tools, everything fit perfectly. The "Space Needle-inspired table" is made from maple, which I dyed red and finished with Good Stuff. Not counting design time (and Jeff's thank you lunch), the job took about 25 hours from start to finish.
April Calendar Quiz - For a free Starbucks Coffee Card, email the answer to this question about the April calendar image. What undersea creature is about to devour the Omnica sphere? If you are having a hard time concentrating, read about the 11 reasons coffee is good for you. Do you want a 2016 Omnica desk calendar? Contact me before they are gone.
Did you miss previous newsletters? Read them here. Links to selected whitepapers:
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Please Call: Ron Sully - 949-472-0275
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