3D PRINTING | MATERIALS Replique is now looking to expand its reach and
acquire new customers in various industries. Despite becoming an independent company, it maintains a close relationship with BASF as a customer – and with its subsidiary BASF 3D Printing Solutions, one of Replique’s material partners.
Ultem expertise At NPE, Arburg also showed its expertise in processing Ultem 9085 – using a high-temperature version of its Freeformer 750-3X to 3D-print aerospace components in a heated build chamber. For processing high-tempera-
ture material, the build chamber can be raised to 200°C, with plasticising taking place at a maximum of 450°C. The machine, with three discharge units, looks identical to the Freeformer 300-3X – but, at around 750 square centimetres, the part carrier is around 2.5 times larger. This allows larger functional components to be produced and small batches to be additively manufac- tured on an industrial scale. A compact melt pressure generator is used for precise dosing and injection. The 3D-printed components are compa- rable in quality to injection-moulded parts, says Arburg. The company’s Gestica control system is optimised for additive manufacturing in terms of process stability, component quality and build time. Based on the slicing data, the system calcu- lates how much material is needed to build each layer. Variable dosing behaviour helps to reduce residence time. A reliable additive manufacturing process is essential for the use of additively manufactured functional components in safety-relevant areas – such as patient-specific implants and ventilation ducts in aeroplanes, says Arburg. Production parameters for each component must be fully documented and traced. Arburg does this with its customisable ‘ProcessLog’ customer portal app, which reduces rejects and error rates. As well as high-temperature materials, the
Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) open system can process a range of original and certified plastic pellets. The industrial machine, which is suitable for clean rooms, can also be used in medical technol- ogy – such as to produce resorbable implants, breast prostheses and medical devices and aids. The company also showed customised multi-mate- rial applications including shoe insoles made of flexible TPE and a hard zone made of PP.
www.injectionworld.com July/August 2024 | INJECTION WORLD 35 Flying colours
Additive manufacturing has been used to create a full-scale helicopter simulator cockpit. Reiser Simulation and Training commissioned
Murtfeldt Additive Solutions to produce a modular cockpit for a full-flight helicopter simulator. It was made on a Queen 1 system from QBig 3D. The company says that its variable fused
granulate fabrication (VFGF) system helps to speed up production. The special feature of VFGF, compared to other methods such as FDM, is the use of commercially available standard granulate without filaments in 3D printing, it added. The aim of the project was to overcome
previous limitations of conventional manufacturing strategies. Classic mould- based processes, especially for large- volume components, incur high tooling costs and long lead times. The partners say the project can be completed within six months. In addition, conventional FDM printers are usually unable to produce large-volume 3D compo- nents, have uneconomical build
rates and use material containing filaments – which can be seven times more expensive per kg compared to a granulate 3D printer. The cockpit measures 2,260 x
1,780 x 1,705mm and weighs only 200kg. Manu- facturing all components took just over a month. Murtfeldt expects shorter build times for a follow- up project by optimising the process chain. The longest single build job was almost 100 hours. The cockpit frame was built from a partially
aromatic polyamide with 25% glass fibre content (Q.mid GF25). With 0% lengthwise and 0.2% crosswise fibres, it has high dimensional stability, temperature stability up to 200°C and high stiffness. The finished cockpit assembly received a
Left: Arburg’s documentation of process data plays an important role in processing Ultem 9085 into ventilation ducts and other aerospace components
Below: Murtfeldt Additive
Solutions used a Queen 1 system from QBig 3D to produce a 3D-printed cockpit for a helicopter flight simulator
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