Materials
S
New colour options for 3D printing materials tratasys Ltd has
introduced new colours for its ASA thermoplastic and expanded its Digital Materials. Launched in September, ASA is an all-purpose FDM material used for the production of prototypes, manufacturing tools and finished goods.
Adding to the previously launched ivory and black, the eight new colour options for ASA include: red, orange, dark grey, yellow, green, dark blue, white and light grey. ASA now offers the most colour options of any FDM material, allowing users the flexibility to create colourful parts that are UV resistant, strong and durable. ASA offers an exceptional surface
finish and has the best aesthetics of any FDM material available. Compared to ABS, details such as printed text and other features are greatly improved by ASA’s matte finish.
combine Endur with other base materials. Endur Digital Materials allow users to create parts using a range of grey-scale colours with rigid material options, as well as the ability to select a variety of Shore A values with flexible material options.
Compatible with the Fortus 360mc, 380mc, 400mc, 450mc and 900mc 3D Production Systems, ASA thermoplastic can be used by manufacturers in a variety of industries including sporting goods, outdoor tools, electrical, toys and automotive. In addition to ASA’s new colour options, Stratasys is expanding its PolyJet technology (which offers more than 1,000 material options) by adding 20 two-component Digital Materials that
Eight new rigid Digital Materials offer a range of six grey shades and two white shades. Twelve new flexible Digital Materials offer a range of Shore A values. Six of these combine Endur with TangoBlackPlus and six combine Endur with TangoPlus. Endur is an advanced simulated polypropylene material for use with the Objet EdenV, Objet EdenVS, Objet Connex systems, Objet30 Prime and Objet 30Pro 3D Printers. l
For more information, visit
www.stratasys.com
Testing composites more efficiently T
he Composite Material Laboratory at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Delft has selected a Moog Portable Test Controller to be used for single- axis testing of composite materials such as fibre-reinforced polymers. It is used for research, education and commercial projects related to testing composite materials. The test system consists of a hydraulic actuator, hydraulic infrastructure, test load frame, test controller and operator software.
Initially, the lab used the system to perform material tests related to aerospace, and has since extended its scope to cover automotive and sports equipment, such as body work of scooters and various car parts. The increased need for using lightweight materials in a variety of products and parts has accelerated the amount and type of tests performed on composite materials. The characteristics of the composite material depend on the composition of the materials it contains, such as the quantity of carbon fiber in a resin, as well as how the two are combined.
“The Moog Portable Test
Controller and software interface provide us above all with an increase in testing efficiency,” says Bob Brocken, an engineer and teacher at Inholland
University. “We can now integrate more I/O devices than before and we can obtain real-time and realistic measurements from our climate chamber. The test software running on the Moog Test Controller provides a more efficient and user-friendly interface than the old controller. It also gives us more options than other software we have been using for material testing. For instance, now we can change the force we apply to a part during a testing sequence.” The Portable Test Controller can operate electric and hydraulic test actuators and even a 6-DOF hydraulic simulation table in a configuration with a maximum of six servo-control channels. It can be operated directly through the display in stand-alone mode, or by using a mobile device. l
For more information, visit
www.moog.com/test
www.engineerlive.com 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52