MNL recently upgraded its SLA 5000 machine to a deeper vat and filled it with the new DSM Somos WaterShed® XC USP Level VI medical grade SLA resin.
MNL - "A Passion for Prototypes" ...

Watershed® XC’s role in developing a home use haemodialysis unit.

Quanta Fluid Solutions, who are developing a Haemodialysis unit for use in the patients home have used MNL and their new somos SLA resin watershed® XC to speed up their development process thanks to the SLA resins new USP class VI bio-medical and skin contact classification.
Patients who have kidney failure ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) have to endure 3-4 hours of dialysis 3 times a week just to exist. For many this involves a trip to Hospitals or Clinics and for those a little more fortunate, large expensive machines can be installed into their homes.  Quanta Fluid Solutions are developing an improved solution to this problem.  Their aim is to produce a unit that is cheaper, easier to install and cleaner in its day to day use than any other unit currently available.
One of the considerations of the design is the impact it has on the blood itself.  The unit must obviously function correctly by reducing both toxin and water levels (a symptom of ESRD), but it must also be “kind to the blood”. Being “kind to the blood” has various considerations. A poor design may cause stagnant areas (areas with little or no blood flow), this may result in clotting of the blood. Other “unkind” design faults include sharp edges or features which may cause chemical stress, weakening of the cell structure, or worse still, rupturing of the cells.By using SLA prototypes from MNL made from DSM Somos Watershed XC and its newly passed USP VI bio-medical classification, Quanta Fluid Solutions were able to obtain prototypes and start testing within a couple of days as opposed to several weeks waiting for injection mouldings from aluminium mould tools. This not only saved money but also allowed more design iterations therefore de-risking the design process prior to laying down expensive production tooling. MNL have aided Quanta Fluid Solutions in various stages of the development of this project using their expertise in model making to produce visual representations of the entire dialysis unit.

Improved Clarity and Colouring

In addition to the USP VI classification mentioned above, WaterShed® XC is also clearer and with less colouration than its predecessor. Unlike standard watershed® that had a slight green tint similar to glass, WaterShed® XC's colouration is almost non-existant, if anything it has a very slight blue/grey tint similar to most "clear" engineering plastics. The photo to the right shows XC parts in both their finished and unfinished states, partially hiding one of MNLs models from many years ago (concept model for turtle wax)

WaterShed XC 11122 offers many properties that mimic traditional engineering plastics including ABS and PBT. This makes the material ideal for many applications in the automotive, medical and consumer electronics markets and include:
- Lenses
- Packaging
- Water flow analysis
- RTV patterns
- Durable concept models
- Wind tunnel testing
- Quickcast patterns

MNL have developed techniques for tinting these clear SL models. An excellent example for applications of tinting is for automotive light clusters (red stop lights and orange indicator lenses)

Deeper Vat Enhances MNLs capabilities

MNL has more than doubled its capacity. A new vat has been installed at MNL to enable parts to be built up to 580mm tall without the need to cut the parts.

MNL - "a passion for prototypes"

Since 1971, Malcolm Nicholls Limited has established itself as one of the most prestigious prototyping companies in Europe. Priding itself on the quality of it's work, MNL offer concept models through to fully operational working prototypes, for all market sectors.

The services that MNL has to offer include:

Fully Functional SLS models; A recent introduction to the facilities at MNL is the HiQ Sinterstation. MNL currently offer 3 choices of material including Innov'PA 1550 Nylon, Innov'PA 2550 GBAL and Castform PS. The Nylon parts are available in natural or coloured to customer specified Pantone numbers. Castform PS parts, when infiltrated with wax, become investment casting patterns. Castform patterns are ideally suited to complex functional metal castings, as traditional tooling considerations for waxes are eliminated.

Large format SL models; with the SLA5000 MNL can produce parts up to 500x500x580mm in one hit, however a recent project saw production of a fabricated SL model assembly 2 metres tall, 800mm wide by 900mm deep.

Very intricate SL models; with the Viper SL machine very thin walled parts down to 0.15mm in some cases can be built. The 0.075mm diameter spot size produces amazingly crisp detail, coupled with the latest Si50 resin which produces beautifully smooth walled parts with an ABS look and feel.

Vacuum cast components; with several large format vac casting machines MNL are able to produce polyurethane parts from tools as large as 900x600x500mm. MNL's experience of vac casting, which started in the 70's, enables them to cast components most other rp companies shy away from. Recent casting materials include, real nylon, PVC simulant, clear & flexiclear, a range of Shore A rated elastomers, high temperature resins (up to 200°C), low temperature resins (as low as -40°C), FDA approved (no wets), as well as a multitude of simulants for most thermoplastics.

Vacuum cast non-ferrous metals; utilizing standard vac casting machines to produce waxes from silicon tools, MNL are able to give the foundry an excellent sacrificial pattern for their vacuum assisted casting process. This casting process is able to produce superb results in terms of intricacy, thin walls, and porosity.

Traditional modelmaking team; Most of MNL's team have each been with them over 20 years. The skills MNL's team offer, not only enable full scale modelling of projects such as; railway platform systems, foam block models, hammer-form tools; but also simple design changes to RP models.

Quality starts by knowing exactly what customers require from their prototypes. Communication with you the customer on all aspects of your project is paramount in today’s frantically tight schedules.

Malcolm Nicholls Limited
Waterloo Industrial Estate, Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire B50 4JH.
Tel: 01789 490382
Fax: 01789 490130.
Registered in England no. 1364746 .

Should you require a further insight to our services or the materials we can offer please don't hesitate to contact me.

For a competitive quote within 24Hrs; send your data to rp@mnl.co.uk

Tracy Nicholls - 07801 547289 - tracy@mnl.co.uk
UK Technical Sales Manager