ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
End of arm tooling printed with the HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D Printer and HP 3D High Reusability PA 12. Image via HP (SMARC)
POLYMER AM G
IROBOTIC NNOVATION VIA
Léonie Hilsdon discusses how polymer additive manufacturing is driving forwards the development of innovative robotic hardware
lobally, the robotics manufacturing field is becoming increasingly competitive, driving engineers to focus on enhancing versatility,
accuracy, longevity and performance. However, for both use and innovation, the UK still lags Europe, Asia and the USA. With the announcement that the UK
Government is putting up £6 million in grants towards late-stage robotics and automation innovation projects, it follows that a surge in robot hardware development won’t be far behind.
ADVANTAGES OF POLYMER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Now that polymers are being created for real world applications, issues such as temperature resistance, tight tolerances and robustness are no longer significant concerns. Polymer parts are lighter, making the robot more energy efficient and cheaper to run. Add in the eradication of tooling costs for complex parts, and the benefits become significant. Indeed, one US manufacturer
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www.engineerlive.com
of pipeline inspection robots has declared that using polymer additive manufacturing for components is on thousand times cheaper than using injection moulding. Warehousing specialist Ocado announced that its new 600 Series robot had over 300 parts created using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology, massively increasing energy efficiencies and reducing costs.
NEW APPLICATIONS With an increase in organic form requirements, particularly for robots performing human tasks, polymer additive manufacturing enables design freedom. It’s also quick, with prototyping to production times being as fast as one week. HP’s MJF, offering a build volume of 380x284x480mm in nylon and nylon composites, is ideal for complex end of arm tooling and electronic housing components. Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology, meanwhile, is ideal for small, very detailed parts with tight
tolerances, such as mounting brackets and pressure pad platforms. Carbon prints in an array of engineering resins, including flame- retardant epoxies, rigid polyurethanes and elastomers.
Carbon has also been collaborating in some specialist robotics innovation and production. Vienna-based Blue Danube
End of arm tooling - model 1 - printed with the HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D Printer and HP 3D High Reusability PA 12. Image via HP
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