TECHNOLOGY | 3D PRINTING
The Digital Forge. Its new printer is designed specifically for printing with carbon fibre reinforced polymer. The FX20 can make flame-retardant, high-performance thermoplastic prints using Sabic’s Ultem 9085 PEI filament in combination with Markforged’s proprietary continuous fibre reinforcement technology to produce high- strength, heat resistant, and high performance parts that meet the needs of demanding industries such as aerospace, defence, automotive, and oil and gas. The FX20 uses a heated build chamber capable
Above: SABIC now offers a continuous carbon fibre PEI filament for Markforged’s FX20 produc- tion system
ment and Solvay’s high-performance thermoplastic materials, we are well positioned to address problems that have long plagued manufacturers in many industries trying to use advanced composites — namely high incremental costs, high scrap, and problems achieving repeatability and traceability at high volumes. We believe this collaboration will help solve many challenges and will open entirely new markets and mass production applications to CFRP materials,” says Marco Apostolo, Director of Technology at Solvay. “For the fabrication of structural parts, metals still
prevail because the manufacturing of structural CFRP parts has not been cost-competitive,” says Giovanni Cavolina, 9T Labs’ co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer. “The Red Series platform in combination with Solvay’s high-performance and recyclable materials will change this and make CFRP parts more sustainable, accessible and cost-competitive, especially at higher volumes.” 9T Labs claims its hybrid manufacturing technol- ogy enables high-performance structural parts — in challenging small-to-medium size and thick sections — to be produced in carbon fibre-rein- forced thermoplastic composites in production volumes ranging from 100 to 10,000 parts/year. By combining 3D printing (which offers design freedom, part complexity, and control of fibre orientation) with compression moulding in matched metal dies (providing rapid cycle times, high production rates, very good surface finishes with low voids, plus high repeatability and repro- ducibility) this hybrid production system offers a combination of both additive and conventional manufacturing. Earlier this year SABIC introduced a 3D printing filament with continuous fibre reinforcement designed specifically to work with Markforged’s latest printer, the FX20. Markforged is best known for its metal and carbon fibre 3D printing product,
58 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2022
of maintaining a temperature of up to 200°C temperature and has the capacity to print parts up to 525mm by 400mm by 400mm. It operates up to eight times faster than the default print settings on Markforged’s existing line of composite printers and prints nearly five times larger builds than the company’s next largest printer, the X7. “Markforged continues to build on our innova- tive legacy and lead the way in composite 3D printing — the future of manufacturing. With the releases of the FX20 and continuous fibre rein- forced Ultem 9085 filament, we’re now fulfilling that promise to manufacturers who previously, in the most demanding environments, were unable to experience the benefits of the Digital Forge and our unique materials,” says Shai Terem, President and CEO of Markforged.
Filament innovation The technique most lay people associate with 3D printing today is that which builds objects using a molten, extruded polymer filament. It is a process many refer to as FDM (or fused deposition mould- ing) but as that name is a registered trademark of Stratasys it is also referred to by the generic acronym FFF (fused filament fabrication). Brazil’s Braskem has expanded its 3D printing
product portfolio to include PE and glass fibre- reinforced PP filaments for FFF production, claiming that its products are easier to print, exhibit less warpage, display minimal shrinkage, and have better interlayer adhesion than comparable alternatives. “Braskem continues to evolve its product
portfolio for the rapidly growing 3D printing market. Braskem’s polypropylene and polyethylene products have superior printing capabilities with minimum warpage and are the ideal solution for 3D printing,” says Jason Vagnozzi, Braskem’s Commercial Director for Additive Manufacturing. “Unlike other materials on the market, Braskem’s PE is perfect for packaging and consumer applications and can be used anywhere HDPE would normally
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IMAGE: MARKFORGED
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