ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Material characteristics control made easy
Thermoplastics are often described as being either “crystalline” or “amorphous”. Due to thermodynamic restrictions against conformation of molecular chain in polymeric materials, thermoplastics hardly ever attain 100% crystallinity; thus rather they can be classified as semi-crystalline materials. Most of the mechanical, physical
and thermodynamic properties of semi-crystalline polymers depend on the degree of crystallinity and morphology of the crystalline regions. A typical attribute is that the higher the degree of crystallinity in thermoplastics, the higher is its heat resistance, its dimensional stability as well as its stiffness, but the lower is its creep resistance. The reverse is of course the case should the degree of crystallinity be decreased, hence giving rise to shrinkage effects as the temperature of the thermoplastic is brought below the melting point. These are experimentally proven
effects, thus it can be argued that under appreciably controlled thermo-
mechanical conditions, thermoplastic can be made to exhibit different degrees of crystallinity where the amorphous regions generally exercise properties different from the crystalline regions.
Apium, a Materials Extrusion
3D printer manufacturer based in Germany, has developed its P-series 3D Printers based on its years of experience with PEEK and other high- performance polymeric materials. This generation of Apium machines provide users with the opportunity of easily
Search for improved rail bogies turns to 3D printing
Research at the University of Huddersfield could lead to new generations of railway vehicles with carbon fibre frames and key components made using the latest 3D printing technology. The investigation of novel materials and manufacturing processes is being carried out by the University’s Institute for Railway Research, which has been awarded funding of almost £300,000 as part of an EU-backed project to
develop lighter, more reliable, more comfortable and quieter rolling stock. “We hope that the result will be a
step change in the running gear of rail vehicles,” says the IRR’s Director, Professor Simon Iwnicki. The aim is to explore the potential and any shortcomings of new materials. The benefits would include reduction in the weight of bogies, simpler designs and reduced life cycle costs. RUN2RAIL is the overall title of the new project. It is an element of the EU’s multi-faceted Shift2Rail programme, which fosters research and innovation in European railways. The total funding allotted to RUN2RAIL is €2,732,000 and it has four work packages, shared by leading engineering companies and universities throughout Europe.
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conducting “science” whilst having control of the materials processing parameters. The P-series machines are equipped with Apium Adaptive Heating System – a critical aspect of Apium’s technology – and have been specially designed for printing Carbon Fibre Reinforced PEEK, neat PEEK, high performance polymers, advanced engineering polymers, commodity polymers and filled thermoplastic based materials. The P-series machine brings along a unique level of attraction for scientists and engineers interested in how to endow fabricated components with properties that provide better performance under applications scenarios. The printers bring to bear the chance of cleverly fabricating parts designed with greater precision knowing that materials creation during the printing process can be influenced at the Voxel level by adjusting process parameters and allowing for sought properties at precise locations on the part.
3D PRINTED TOOLS BOOST PRODUCTIVITY AT MANUFACTURING SITE
Ricoh Japan is replacing traditional metal tooling with customised, lightweight 3D printed jigs and fixtures for its Production Technology Centre assembly line – improving manufacturing efficiency while minimising manual tooling errors. By producing the tools in durable
ABS thermoplastic on its Stratasys Fortus 900mc Production 3D Printer, Ricoh can customise each tool precisely according to the part geometry while reducing its weight. This has enabled the firm to accelerate the manufacturing process in which an operator typically handles more than 200 parts each day.
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