3D printing | materials
unveiled its Fluidic Factory, an FFF 3D printer just for so-called fluidically-sealed devices – and just for use with Topas COC. Dolomite says it offers rapid, easy and reliable printing from as little as $1 per device. With an injection mould costing anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000, moulders would have to produce an uneconomic number of identical products before getting their money back.
Users can choose a design
from the selection in the Fluidic Factory’s Design Library, or create and print their own unique devices using virtually any CAD software. “The Fluidic Factory is ideal for a wide range of applications, including organ-on-a- chip, point-of-care diagnostics, drug development, education, chemical synthesis, and analytical and biomedical assays,” says Dolomite. The lightweight unit is compact and quiet and ideal for benchtop or desktop use. “We selected Topas COC due to the unique proper- ties and benefits it offers over other polymers, making it ideal for microfluidics in biology and medical environments,” says Omar Jina, Dolomite’s Chief Commercial Officer. “It is the polymer most frequently requested by biologists and has won acceptance in the microfluidics industry.” The 3D printer is designed for use with Topas 8007S-04, which is actually a standard injection mould- ing grade for high-performance medical and optical applications. Dolomite converts it into filaments itself. Timothy Kneale, president of Topas Advanced
Polymers, says that by utilizing Topas 8007S-04, manufacturers can start small-scale production with the Fluid Factory and seamlessly ramp up to commercial- scale injection moulding without changing plastic materials. He also notes that the FFF technology used by Dolomite is ideal for producing parts with completely sealed channels. Dolomite points out that ‘traditional’ 3D printers fail to create devices that seal at high pressures.
Marrying AM with IM There are an increasing number of examples of injection moulding companies using additive manufacturing to boost their offering to the market – not only to make prototype parts faster, but also to make short-run tooling for injection moulding. Leading printer manufac- turer Stratasys highlights the case of Promolding, a
www.injectionworld.com
Dutch specialist in global design, engineering and manufacturing of technical components, which increased its prototyping flexibility and slashed injection mould lead times by 93%. Promolding has been outsourc- ing 3D printed prototypes for several years, so it was accus- tomed to the benefits of additive manufacturing for the develop- ment of very complex products. When it decided to take some 3D work in-house, it chose Stratasys PolyJet 3D printing technology to
expedite its prototyping and injection moulding processes. “We became increasingly aware of the
need for a 3D printer that would help us optimise our product development process,” says product develop- ment manager Jeroen Gross. “We looked at several different options, but fell in love with Stratasys’ Objet Connex 3D Printer and its ability to not only improve our prototyping, but also become a key driver for our injection moulding business. “Particularly with bigger and more complex product
developments, it is beneficial to be as quick and efficient as possible in the early development stages, which is achievable with having an in-house 3D printer. This not only means reduced lead times, but delivers the flexibility to develop review and adapt prototypes earlier. We save approximately two days across a typical prototyping phase during product development by having our Connex3D Printer in-house.” Such efficiencies are underscored in a recent project which saw the company design and test a new product called Tigerfix, a glue solution for mounting bathroom accessories to walls without screws. Faced with the task of developing a wall-mount that could easily be installed and removed without leaving any marks, Promolding utilized its Connex 3D Printer to develop prototypes of the wall mount’s metal plate component. The company developed a glue cartridge to fit inside
the metal plate, enabling the flow of glue to the individual parts of the wall mount – critical to ensuring functionality. According to Gross, the ability to 3D print several prototypes early in the develop- ment process allowed the team to quickly iterate the design, perform functional testing and identify a solution. “The ability to print at a high resolution enables us to produce superior quality prototypes
May/June 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 49
Left: Dolomite’s Fluidic Factory 3D prints microfluidic parts using COC polymer
Below: Promolding
produced these sensor
housings using a 3D printed mould
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