MATERIALS | 3D PRINTING


Right: Malping used an Exam 510 from Aim3D to 3D-print a suction ring for the food industry


Brightlands Venture Partners with participation from KBC Focus Fund (Belgium) and others, as well as a group of angel investors.


Service level Germany-based Aim3D says that its 3D pellet printers are enabling a new level of cost-effec- tiveness. One user – 3D printing service provider Malping – is now using an Exam 510 from Aim3D for its customer orders. “3D pellet printers offer us the opportunity to map the properties of conventionally manufac- tured components in a cost-effective manner with an additive manufacturing strategy,” said Bastian Gaedike, CEO of Malping. “Tool-based injection moulding is being supplemented by pellet-based 3D printing.”


Malping supports customers from the product


idea through the construction and design process to re-engineering. Simulations, validations or refinements right up to the final component are also part of its services. “We are a service provider for additive manufac-


turing of thermoplastics like Peek or PEI (Ultem),” said Gaedike. “This market segment is predestined for an additive manufacturing strategy.” In one example, it designed and manufactured a suction ring for the food industry. These are used to aspirate liquid media. The high thermal and chemical resistance of the glass fibre-reinforced PPS makes it easy to clean the filling unit or suction ring with chemicals. For a sealing ring to be mounted later, tight tolerances are required – which was achieved by addition- ally machining the underside of the ring.


The Exam 510 system currently operates at a maximum build rate of 150 cm³/h, with an aim to raise this to 300-600 cm³/h in future. With


this, processing volumes of 1,000-4,000 kg per year could be reached, it says.


KraussMaffei showed its PrintCore


industrial pellet extruder at JEC World in Paris


28 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2025


Injection-moulded and 3D-printed components have comparable material homogeneities with Ultem 9085 granulate, says the company. This is shown in recent tensile


tests, which confirm low standard devia- tions and high process stability. “This is primarily achieved by the


patented pellet extruder technology, which ensures a gentle process- ing of the material and mini- mises the degradation of the polymers in the extruder,” said Aim3D.


Adding strength Aim3D adds its Voxelfill process solves


the problem of inhomogeneous strength in 3D printing. Strength tests show that it can overcome inhomogeneous strengths of 3D components in the X, Y and Z axes – and come close to conven- tional processes such as injection moulding. The process uses 3D pellet printers rather than FDM – which requires filaments. Additive manufacturing of polymers usually gives components inhomogeneous strength properties due to the layer-based build process. This leads to shortcomings in tensile and flexural strength, as well as brittle behaviour along the Z axis. “With Voxelfill, the user has the possibility to


improve the z-strength and the printing speed,” said Clemens Lieberwirth, CTO at Aim3D. “We are therefore developing this technology further.” Material extrusion 3D printing typically achieves


around 50% tensile strength in the direction of printing – while Voxelfill achieves 80% compared to injection moulding, it says. The target is to raise this to 100%. Voxelfill is a combination of injection moulding


and 3D extrusion printing and achieves almost isotropic material properties in all directions, says Aim3D.


Robot future KraussMaffei presented its PrintCore industrial pellet extruder live at the recent JEC World in Paris. It says that PrintCore sets new standards in


large-format 3D printing with its high output and flexible integration into industrial robots and gantry systems.


One highlight was the integration of PrintCore


into robot solutions that enable dynamic, flexible production, making it ideal for complex geom- etries and varying component sizes. This takes it beyond prototyping and into reliable industrial production, says the company. KraussMaffei showed the system in a live print cell with robot configuration, aimed at companies that want to integrate customised, scalable additive manufacturing into their production.


� www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: KRAUSSMAFFEI


IMAGE: AIM3D


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