Laser Reproductions | rapid prototyping + manufacturing + product development

Where Innovation and Technology Merge

Spring 2009 — In This Issue

• Laser Reproductions Adds Black Parts to its Material Line
• Laser Reproductions Participates in COSI Exhibit
• Laser Reproductions Revises Company Core Values: Go BIGS or Go Home!
• An Interview with Tim Effler of Digital Blue

Home > Resources > Newsletter > Spring 2009

In Production

Company: Digital Blue

Client: Tim Effler

Project: Lego Alarm Clock & CD Boombox

Toy Legend, LEGO, granted Digital Blue an exclusive license to produce electronic LEGO toys. Digital Blue's concept development team designed two toys, an alarm clock and CD boombox that are exact replicas of lego blocks, amplified 10 times. Laser Reproductions supplied authentic-looking, strong and rigid prototypes by using its Somos 11122, a PC-like SLA material. The prototypes have been featured at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Nuremburg, Germany Toy Fair and the New York Toy Fair. In addition, the Digital Blue sales team has presented the models to major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. All of the feedback has been extremely positive and the products are expected to be available for sale in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Company: Midwest Licensing, LLC

Client: Nick Chucales

Project: sportsmugZ^TM

Nick Chucales of Midwest Licensing, LLC contacted Laser Reproductions to aesthetically and functionally improve the design of a football helmet coozie to imitate the "revolution-style" helmets college and pro football players wear today. The sportsmugZ^TM are approximately 1/4 scale of an actual helmet. Unlike the original product that was developed through a labor intensive process using sonic welding and tiny screws to hold ten separate pieces together, the new product, designed with the help of ZukunPlan LLC, has only four pieces that snap together, making it easier to assemble during production. In addition, Laser Reproductions' design allows the product to be used as a can or bottle holder, drinking cup or a desktop caddy for items such as pens, pencils and other accessories.

During the design process, Laser Reproductions chose DMX SL100 SLA resin due to its high strength characteristics. Once the design was finalized Laser Reproductions used cast urethanes made from a combination of high impact styrene and polypro-like materials to create several different high school and college designs. Each helmet was then painted and decorated based on the particular school's logo.

The Ohio State University has granted permission for its logo to be used on the product, which should be available for sale to central Ohio high schools and several colleges by May. Retailers such as Buckeye Corner, Kroger and College Traditions have all expressed interest and hope to stock its shelves with the product by the 2009 football season.

Click here to view other projects.

Behind the Scenes

Profile: John Parsons

As the day shift lead/quality control manager, John, aka "Lumpy," Parsons has been a dedicated Laser Reproductions employee for over seven years. His daily responsibilities include preparing the morning schedule, inspecting parts, finishing parts and ensuring Laser Reproductions delivers quality parts with every order. Before taking on his current role, John's previous positions with the company included shop technician and machine operator.

John is a graduate of Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Ohio, where he grew up. He is also an ordained minister by the Ministry of Salvation Church Inc. of Chula Vista, California, and has been licensed by the State of Ohio since 1993. He and his wife, Janine, live in Westerville, Ohio with their son, Charlie, and daughter-in-law, Nicole, and their many pets. John and Janine also have a daughter, Virginia, who is 19-years-old.

Laserworld

Laser Reproductions Participates in COSI Exhibit

Click to Enlarge At the request of COSI's design team, Laser Reproductions is participating in the "Turning Digital Designs Into Reality" display within COSI's new Innovation Showcase Exhibit. COSI's Innovation Showcase is designed to inform visitors about great people, products and solutions that are happening in Ohio. Laser Reproductions was chosen for the exhibit because the company is known for its innovative work in rapid prototyping.

In this exhibit, Laser Reproductions demonstrates the process of rapid 3-D prototyping by crafting COSI's lovable and curious rat mascot, RATi0, with a liquid resin in an ultraviolet laser. Included in the display is a videotape of the various stages of RATiO's prototyping process. The video player is connected to an interactive wheel that allows guests to spin forward and backward to see the process in slow or fast motion.

Laser Reproductions Revises Company Core Values: Go BIGS or Go Home!

Realizing that the rapid prototyping industry is ever-changing and customers are increasing their expectations of their prototyping partners, Laser Reproductions decided it was time to revise its company core values. A team of ten employees met and agreed upon the acronym, BIGS. The letters within this catchy phrase stand for Balance, Integrity, Genuine and Solution-focused. By focusing on relationships as the key to the company's success, accomplishing excellence with every project, remaining honest and ethical, and providing expertise and practical solutions to its customers, Laser Reproductions believes it will remain an industry leader for many years to come.

Laser Reproductions Honors Employees

Each week, Laser Reproductions recognizes one employee with a Helping Hand Award for exceptional work performance. The employee with the most Helping Hand Awards at the end of each year receives a bonus, their name engraved on a plaque that hangs in the main lobby next to other company awards, and bragging rights, of course.

Congratulations to John "Lumpy" Parsons, our 2008 Helping Hand Award winner, who accrued five awards throughout the year. Thank you for your continuous dedication to and enthusiasm for your work at Laser Reproductions. Congratulations to all other award-winners in 2008:

Creating Impressions

Profile: Digital Blue

laser's edge speaks with Tim Effler, vice president of concept development at Digital Blue, about this company's latest products, LEGO alarm clock and CD boombox. The authentic, 3-D prototypes of these product designs that Laser Reproductions developed have helped Digital Blue gain support from major retailers so its products can be available for purchase this year.

Q: What did you like most about working with Laser Reproductions?

A: Based on a recommendation of a trusted partner of my company, I contacted Laser Reproductions to find out if its team could handle our project scope, timeline and budget restraints. After a few conversations with the company's sales team, I realized that Laser Reproductions was the perfect fit for our project. They met our timeframe and offered cost-effective solutions to deliver quality, authentic-looking prototypes.

Q: How has this partnership been beneficial to you and your company?

A: The models that Laser Reproductions produced allowed me to garner support of my sales team to take the toy design to our major retailer buyers who have given us very positive feedback. Without these models, we wouldn't be able to take these toys to market this year.

Q: Would you recommend Laser Reproduction/use Laser Reproduction again?

A: I would definitely recommend Laser Reproductions to other companies and we plan to consider Laser Reproductions for many of our 2010 projects.

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