MATERIALS | 3D PRINT COMPOUNDS
MHOX on an application displayed at the SuperPower Design exhibition in Belgium in March. In 2023, CRP launched Windform XT 2.0 IMG, a high-performance composite material 100% recycled from Wind- form XT 2.0 industrial 3D printing material. Cevolini said: “For some time we at CRP Technology have been studying an alternative and total use of
exhausted Windform powders for selective laser sintering that no longer meet our high quality standards.” At the most recent Formnext exhibition in
Above:
FDM Antero 840CN03 radiation experiment housing with red ULTEM 9085 will be used in a moon trip
Frankfurt, Germany, last November, Evolve Additive Solutions, a provider of industrial 3D printing solutions headquartered in Minnesota, US, announced the commercial launch of its new parts production service, STEP Parts Now. It claims this is the only additive manufacturing process on the market today that can deliver on the fidelity, surface finish, accuracy, and material properties required to reliably and repeatably print end-use parts at scale. Customers can now quote and order STEP parts directly from Evolve through a dedicated online portal which facilitates part ordering availability through Evolve’s strategic partners and their STEP production centres in the US and Germany.
More accessible “What we are launching with STEP Parts Now is much more than parts as a service,” said Jeff Hanson, Evolve’s Senior Vice President of Go-to- Market. “We are increasing accessibility to a newly identified technology category that finally delivers on past industry promises of materials, features, and scalability by additive manufacturing for true production.”
In addition to its launch of STEP Parts Now, Evolve announced the commercial availability of two new materials: Nylon PA-11(A) and Gray ABS. The new Gray ABS material complements Evolve’s existing Black ABS and exhibits mechanical properties within 10% of bulk injection moulded ABS while exhibiting structural colour contrast for fine features and textures, while PA-11(A) offers significant mechani- cal performance advantages over powder bed fusion PA-11, it said. Qualities including a superior elongation at break, higher impact strength, and a higher heat deflection temperature. Recent developments indicate that the sky really is the limit for 3D printing technology. In March this year, Stratasys announced that it is providing 3D-printed materials for an upcoming lunar mission to test their performance on the surface of
30 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2024
the moon. The experiments are part of Aegis Aerospace’s first Space Science & Technology Evaluation Facility mission (SSTEF-1), a commercial space testing service developed under NASA’s Tipping Point program. For this moon mission, Stratasys will provide 3D-printed samples that will be brought to the lunar surface by an unmanned lander in a 3D-printed carrier made from ULTEM 9085 thermoplastic, a material also commonly used in commercial aircraft interiors.
To the moon and back Three materials will be the focus of two different experiments. The first will assess the performance of a sample coupon part made with Stratasys’ Antero 800NA FDM filament filled with tungsten. Antero 800NA is a high-performance PEKK-based thermoplastic with excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and low outgassing character- istics. Adding tungsten is intended to provide shielding against harmful radiation such as gamma rays or x-rays. The second experiment is designed to see how 3D-printed materials perform in space and will feature Antero 840CN03 FDM filament which has electrostatic discharge (ESD) properties for use with electronics. The experiment will also include a new ESD photopolymer manufactured by Stratasys’ partner Henkel for use with Origin One 3D printers and designed for high-heat environments. This experiment will subject coupon samples of the 3D-printed materials to moon dust, low pressure, and rapid temperature swings. “Additive manufacturing is an important technol- ogy for space missions where every ounce of weight matters and high performance is essential,” said Chief Industrial Business Officer Rich Garrity. “This set of experiments will help us understand how to fully leverage 3D printing to keep people and equipment safe as we travel to the moon and beyond.” Aric Yackly, Product Manager at Stratasys, said:
“The landscape of 3D-printed photopolymers is marked by diversity and functionality. Research and development efforts have led to the formulation of materials with enhanced temperature resistance, toughness, and specialised properties like flame retardancy and electrical insulation. This is reflected in various test results, showing these materials’ improved resistance to stress and impact, as well as their ability to retain properties over time. The focus is now shifting towards customising materials for specific applications. Innovations are underway in areas like thermal conductivity, dimensional stability, and sustainable formulations. The goal is
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IMAGE: STRATASYS
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