technology | 3D printing
Below: Additive manufactured gear compo- nents produced by Igus using its proprietary low friction polymers
machines. However, the wide range of products and the growing demand for customer-specific “specials” delivered in small volumes, as well as shortening product life cycles, encouraged the company to introduce additive manufacturing as a complement to injection moulding. The company uses a number of 3D print processes, including Arburg’s APF technology. “We see it as a major advantage of the
Freeformer that we can use our own high-perfor-
mance plastics for prototypes and functional parts,” says Tom
Krause, Igus product manager. “This means we are now able to combine freedom in design with the
wear-resistant properties of our tribological materials.” Of the more than 40 special materials that Igus uses,
three are currently used for additive manufacturing although the company expects to add more in the future. With the Freeformer, it is possible in principle to process the same plastics as used for injection moulding. However, the materials have to be qualified first. This includes, for example, the precise adaptation of parameters such as temperature, droplet discharge or layer thickness to the specific properties of the material. “The Freeformer currently mainly processes Iglidur
Right: These development mould cavities were produced for Unilever
Italy in Digital ABS resin from Stratasys
I180, which is suitable for industrial applications, and uses this to produce parts such as bearings, grippers and gear wheels in an additive manufacturing process,” says Krause. “Our tests showed that this material is around fifty times more resistant to wear than conventional ABS for 3D printing. In the test laboratory, a bearing made from the injection moulding material Iglidur J260 in an additive manufacturing process was found to be just as wear-resistant as an injection-moulded part made from the same material.”
Speeding development In general, additive manufacturing offers significantly more freedom in geometric design than injection moulding. And when it comes to the development of new products directly from 3D CAD data, any changes in design can be implemented immediately so that the
16 INJECTION WORLD | May 2016
next generation of the prototype or design sample, or an ongoing product, can be quickly produced without requiring a mould. Igus now provides a 3D printing service to customers.
It claims this is the ideal way to test a new product in practice before it is moulded in large quantities (the additive manufacturing process is also an ideal way to produce replacement parts). “The customer uploads the 3D CAD data to our website. We check whether the requirements are feasible, produce a quote and ‘print’ the required part from our Iglidur material after we receive the order,” Krause explains. “The Freeformer also allows us to process two different components. For example, we can use support material to create complex geometries or to produce a component mainly from conventional ABS, reserving our wear-resistant high-performance plastic for the sliding surfaces only.” Igus is planning to make more injection moulding
materials printable in a step-by-step approach. Krause believes that the Iglidur standard materials will be of particular interest for the future, alongside specialist materials such as conductive products and materials that are approved for use in the food industry.
Direct to the part Additive manufacturing technology can also be
combined with injection moulding to produce functional prototypes or even short series production components. According to Nadav Sella, Solutions Sales Manager at Stratasys, when customers see it is possible to 3D print a mould that can be used to obtain the parts they need for functional tests with their new product, either to pass certification tests or to validate a design, they want to try it. “Our customers are enthusiastic about the possibilities and challenge us to develop this capability for even bigger moulds, more complex parts and higher grade materials,” he says. “The desire to make spare parts in low volume or a short series of customised products is also a need that is raised and drives change.” The company’s Polyjet
technology allows mould cavities to be printed directly in Digital ABS 3D material, which is a tough impact resistant resin that simulates the performance of ABS. The printed cavity can then be installed into a metal bolster and mounted in an injection moulding machine. Depending on the size, a mould cavity can be manufac- tured in a matter of hours and can produce up to 100 parts (mould life will depend on the moulding material
www.injectionworld.com
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