MATERIALS | 3D PRINTING
are exceptions: spare parts, niche vehicles and supercars. Carbon, a leading Silicon Valley-based digital manufacturing company, is tapping into all three of these areas. In January, Carbon showed the first digitally manufactured polymer parts in production for Ford Motor Company. The parts include Ford Focus HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Cooling) lever arm service parts, Ford F-150 Raptor auxiliary plugs for a niche market, and Ford Mustang GT500 electric parking brake brackets. These parts are produced using Carbon’s
Above: Carbon AM equipment in use at Ford’s recently- opened Advanced
Manufacturing Center in Redford, Michigan
Right: Lamborghini fuel cap is made using AM technology from Carbon
Collet adds: “For FFF, the product line Luvocom 3F now consists of more than 30 products. The materials are based on many different polymers like PET, PAHT and PEEK. PP, PEI and PEKK are the latest introductions. The materials come in modi- fied neat, reinforced (e.g. with carbon fibres), electrically and thermally conductive and tribologi- cal modified. Bespoke materials are offered as well. Luvocom 3F enables warpage free printing and high Z-layer strength, even when the built chamber is not heated.” Filaments in various forms are available through partner companies and print profiles can be found with established machine brands such as Ultimaker and Roboze. LehVoss supports projects via its own 3D printing facilities in Germany, China and the USA. The German company recently moved into a new laboratory and pilot plant building in a €4.5m investment. Production of automotive components may at first glance seem an unlikely application area for AM, given the high volumes normally involved, but there
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printers, which incorporate its proprietary Digital Light Synthesis technology, and a durable epoxy called EPX 82. Carbon says this material passes Ford’s rigorous performance standards and withstands critical requirements such as interior weathering; short- and long-term heat exposures; UV stability; fluid and chemical resistance; flamma- bility (ISO 3795); and fogging (SAEJ1756) for the selected applications. Carbon has also partnered with VW-owned
Lamborghini, based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. Lamborghini’s first production parts using Carbon’s technology are a new textured fuel cap with the Urus label and a clip component for an air duct. Both parts are on Lamborghini’s Super SUV, the Urus, which was first introduced in 2018. It’s probably fair to say that on the equipment side, the company that has its feet planted most firmly in injection moulding (IM) and in additive manufacturing is Arburg. At the same time as it is adding yet another assembly plant at its Lossburg site to facilitate production of its bigger Allrounder IM machines (now reaching 6,500 kN), it is also scaling up the range of its Free- former machines that use its home-
PHOTO: FORD
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