verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message solid concepts type private industry custom manufacturing founded valencia california united states 1991 founder joe allison headquarters valencia california united states number of locations los angeles ca san diego ca phoenix az tucson az austin tx detroit mi area served united states canada china brazil products 3d printed prototypes & parts injection molded parts cast urethanes high quality plastics & metals services rapid prototyping direct digital manufacturing tooling & injection molding number of employees 400 divisions additive manufacturing rapid prototyping cast urethanes composites tooling & injection molding subsidiaries zoomrp.com website www.solidconcepts.com solid concepts inc. is a custom manufacturing company engaged in engineering manufacturing production and prototyping . the company is headquartered in valencia california in the los angeles county area with six other facilities located around the united states . solid concepts is an additive manufacturing service provider as well as a major manufacturer of business products aerospace unmanned systems medical equipment and devices foundry cast patterns industrial equipment and design and transportation parts . 1 the company was founded in 1991 in the birthplace of stereolithography . the company derives its name from its original focus on rapid prototyping through 3d printing or additive manufacturing with the idea that virtual concepts can be printed into solid reality as the technologies that founded the company are capable of directly reading cad data and creating parts . solid concepts markets its products under its main name as well as under the website only offshoot company called zoomrp.com . the solid concepts logo originally featured layered lines comprising a s beside a c to represent layered manufacturing but has since removed the layered lines in order to better represent its composite urethane and tooling capabilities . contents 1 origins and history 1.1 acquisitions 2 products and technologies 2.1 applications and industries 2.2 headquarters 3 manufacturing 4 see also 5 references origins and history edit solid concepts inc. was founded by former 3d systems engineers joe allison schuyler mitchell and ray bradford in 1991 . 2 the company began with two sla 250 stereolithography machines . they moved into cnc machining selective laser sintering and composites within a few years after opening and have since gained polyjet z corp 3d colored printing fused deposition modeling direct metal laser sintering urethanes and tooling and injection molding processes . solid concepts expanded throughout the united states especially during the late 1990s early 2000s opening facilities in austin tx during the rise of selective laser sintering ; poway ca during significant advances in urethane technology with a strong focus on medical equipment ; and phoenix az . joe allison has since been awarded the distinguished innovator operator awards known as dinos formerly known as the dinosaur awards by the additive manufacturing users group amug for innovation in laser sintering technology . 3 the awards honor additive manufacturing expertise . in 2001 solid concepts hired former aark employee jeff lemker who headed the evolution of cast urethane products at the company . lemker forged the path for quantumcast cast urethanes a proprietary casting process trademarked by the company . the process involves heat and pressure to enhance the properties of the urethanes during casting . the casting process has found use in the medical industry . 4 in 2008 solid concepts branded and trademarked id light which is a method of printing sla and fdm parts that is 1 12 the weight of regular sla and fdm parts . the process has allowed lighter props for movies involving huge set pieces such as the robots in real steel . 5 solid concepts was ranked in the top twenty manufacturing companies in the greater san fernando valley by san fernando business journal in 2007 . 6 in 2013 the company was awarded a platinum source preferred supplier by northrop grumman . in 2013 the national additive manufacturing innovation institute namii recognized a fdm 3d printed duct manufactured by solid concepts . the air duct has been awarded a place in the visitors center at the facility with the purpose of immersing visitors in the evolution of additive manufacturing technology . in late 2013 the company demonstrated a 3d printed version of an m1911 pistol made of metal the 1911dmls using an industrial 3d printer . 7 acquisitions edit in 2006 solid concepts acquired a model shop from raytheon in tucson az thus beginning their tooling and molding department . in 2008 solid concepts purchased former composites manufacturing company composite tooling technologies to further develop a composites line . the acquisition facilitated a 1 million project for large mri equipment manufactured by solid concepts . 8 on april 2 2014 stratasys announced that they had entered into definitive agreements to acquire solid concepts and harvest technologies which will be combined with redeye its existing digital manufacturing service business to establish a single additive manufacturing services business unit . 9 the acquisition was finalized on july 15 2014 . 10 products and technologies edit solid concepts manufactures products for a range of industries including aerospace business consumer medical and transportation . 11 the company manufactures architectural models prototypes anatomical models and investment casting patterns for metal castings using quickcast sla . 12 the company largely focused on prototypes during their early years but have since branched out to manufacture large composite equipment for industrial use tooling and injection molding end use cast urethanes metals and a range of high quality plastics . 13 solid concepts offers the services of 3d printing composites urethanes tooling and injection molding rather than selling machines and equipment . their additive manufacturing services include stereolithography sla polyjet z corp color 3d prints fused deposition modeling fdm direct metal laser sintering dmls and selective laser sintering sls . 14 the company also provides computer numerical controlled cnc machining composites advanced cast urethanes and injection molding and tooling . 15 cast urethanes by reinforcing urethanes with composites and epoxies the company manufactures urethane prototypes models and industrial strength end use products . composites composites largely focused at the company s troy mi facility facilitate industrial strength components used in mri and medical casings recreational vehicles and marine craft . composites also afford rf transparency protective equipment valuable in the medical industry . 16 computer numerical controlled machining cnc cnc machining milling has virtually no material limitation . solid concepts incorporates their cnc machining centers for the production of master patterns for quantumcast cast urethane products that may require a long mold life . 17 stereolithography 3d printing sla is the technology that started the company back in 1991 . sla is used to create prototypes master patterns for investment casting patterns for cast urethanes art and more . as it is a photocurable liquid resin process the company is able to build large parts by bonding smaller segments . polyjet is used in similar functions requiring tighter tolerances and smaller builds . sls and fdm are 3d printing processes that afford high quality plastics viable in end use products while also being used for prototypes . 18 dmls is viable for metal parts requiring geometries that can not easily be milled . tooling & injection molding injection mold tooling involves machining a mold a core and cavity that is used to produce thermoplastic injected mold parts . 19 the core and cavity are created in a variety of metals typically different compositions of steel . injection molded parts are produced via injection mold tooling to fabricate plastic parts . the process involves an injection molding machine raw plastic material and the mold core and cavity . medical transportation aerospace office equipment consumer products industrial products and electronics are a few of the industries that use high volumes of tooling and injection molding . solid concepts offers offshore and domestic tooling options . applications and industries edit solid concepts services are utilized during early prototyping and design market testing and low to mass volume production . solid concepts material offerings include durable thermoplastics resins nylons and metals for uses ranging from large components and ducts in aerospace to rf transparency protective equipment in the medical industry . industry specific applications include aerospace complex shapes requiring durable plastics in ailerons air ducts attachments and inserts ; prototypes for testing new methods of reducing aircraft noise or drag . 20 typical technologies sls with peek material fdm with ultem material architecture design configurations ; testing form and fit ; models for intricate designs . 21 typical technologies sls polyjet sla automotive large industrial equipment casings ; gas tanks requiring complex conformity ; 22 diffusers ; plenums . typical technologies fdm sls design firms art models ; design intentions and garnering customer interest . typical technologies include sls polyjet sla z corp fdm and cast urethanes foundries specialized quickcast sla processes ; quickcast s drainable inner matrices are due to low and stable viscosity high green strength and low water absorption which mitigates in vat swelling 23 medical equipment casings ; mri coils ; rf transparency barriers ; anatomical models . typical technologies cast urethanes fdm sla composites unmanned vehicles casings and complex pieces for unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely operated underwater vehicles . typical technologies sls fdm and cast urethanes headquarters edit headquartered in valencia california near the beginnings of the los angeles national forest solid concepts also has manufacturing facilities in troy michigan austin texas phoenix and tucson arizona and poway california and a partnership in china . manufacturing edit solid concepts manufactures all products in house . see also edit list of notable 3d printed weapons and parts references edit chupka kevin 2013 04 26 . with 3d printing the future is now yahoo finance . finance.yahoo.com . retrieved 2013 08 24 . 20 year lead on today s trending technology . signalscv.com . 2013 06 21 . retrieved 2013 08 24 . additive manufacturing dinos wall of fame . additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com . 2013 03 17 . retrieved 2013 03 24 . emran mursalin 2013 04 17 . why use cast urethane manufacturing amd aerospace manufacturing and design . onlineamd.com . retrieved 2013 04 22 . real steel an inside look at building robots . core77 . 2011 10 19 . retrieved 2013 04 22 . 1 dead link gross doug . texas company makes metal gun with 3 d printer . cnn . retrieved 9 november 2013 . 2 dead link stratasys to acquire solid concepts and harvest technologies . marketwatch . 2014 04 02 . retrieved 2015 02 24 . press releases . cnbc . 2012 01 29 . retrieved 2015 02 24 . solid concepts . prototypetoday.com . retrieved 2013 08 24 . teschler lee 2010 11 19 . bigger role for prototyping in automotive design news content from . machine design . retrieved 2013 08 24 . teschler lee 2011 06 23 . laser sintering helps build a hot electric motorcycle automotive content from . machine design . retrieved 2013 08 24 . solid concepts offers multiple technologies for custom manufacturing projects . us tech.com . retrieved 2013 08 24 . a closer look at solid concepts . makepartsfast.com . 2013 06 05 . retrieved 2013 08 24 . what is open molding and hand lay up . composite.about.com . 2013 07 13 . retrieved 2013 08 24 . computer numerical control cnc introduction pdf . wings.buffalo.edu . retrieved 24 february 2015 . features materials decisions critical to new watch design . design news . retrieved 2013 08 24 . injection mould working diagram . bpf.co.uk . retrieved 2013 08 24 . stereolithography helps reduce drag noise on aircraft . make parts fast . 2008 09 18 . retrieved 2013 04 22 . brooke rose . 3d printing realises architect s beach palace designs tct . tctmagazine.com . retrieved 2013 04 22 . carbon fiber reinforced polyamide performs in engine part .