3D printing | materials
can be retrieved from the cloud via a unique code. The product can therefore be clearly identified at any time, enabling part-specific traceability. You will never lose your scissors again. A relatively new kid on the block is Carbon, which
has developed a 3D printing system called Digital Light Synthesis for making parts by curing liquids with UV light in the presence of oxygen. It does this by having a bath of liquid with a transparent base that allows a laser beam located underneath to pass through and cure a very thin layer of the liquid. The base also allows the passage of oxygen. Carbon says the system operates at high speed and produces parts with very similar characteristics to injection moulded parts. Kirk Phelps, VP of product management, says: “As a
sequence of UV images are projected, the part solidifies and the build platform rises. The heart of the CLIP process is the ‘dead zone’ – a thin, liquid interface of uncured resin between the window and the printing part. Light passes through the dead zone, curing the resin above it to form a solid part. Resin flows beneath the curing part as the print progresses, maintaining the continuous liquid interface. Once a part is printed with CLIP, it is baked in a forced-circulation oven. Heat sets off a secondary chemical reaction that causes the materials to adapt and strengthen.” Asked if the company is seeking to have its technol- ogy used as a replacement for injection moulding, Phelps replies that it sees the two technologies as complementary. “Some of the benefits of Carbon’s technology are inherent to additive manufacturing, such as lower upfront cost compared to injection moulding, agile part production with the ability to adapt to design changes, and lower non-recurring engineering expenses,” he says. “However, there are [in addition] some business scenarios where injection moulding is not the most efficient method to make final parts: impossible-to-mould geometries, part consolidation, parts-on- demand, for example. “We also see industrial and consumer
products companies using our printers to serve parts on-demand instead of maintain- ing or sourcing injection moulding parts especially for low volume parts.” Carbon claims its materials “feature the
widest range of properties in additive manufacturing and uniquely combine high resolution, exceptional surface quality, and mechanical properties tuned for produc- tion.” It cites elastomers for athletic footwear through to cyanate ester materials
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that can withstand high-temperature for automotive applications, and it says it is adding new materials to its offering “at an unprecedented rate.” Materials in the portfolio include a rigid polyurethane
comparable to ABS; a flexible PUR comparable to polypropylene; a cyanate ester comparable to glass-filled nylon, and an epoxy comparable to glass-filled PBT. “We hope to have materials that are comparable to all the main injection moulded thermoplastics in future, and that work is still in progress,” says the spokesperson.
Biopolymers head for a new level Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the 3D printing hobbyists’ favourite materials. All the time though, biopolymers are increasingly of interest for more industrial applica- tions. An example: several European research institutes and companies from agriculture and industry have just kicked off the three-year EU-sponsored Barbara 3D printing project. Barbara (the short name for the project on biopolymers with advanced functionalities for building and automotive parts processed through additive manufac- turing) is coordinated by the Spanish technology centre AITIIP, which has already amassed considerable expertise in 3D printing technologies. The aim is to develop two prototypes that will demonstrate the prospects for biopolymer for key sectors, notably construction and automotive. “The Barbara project aims to develop
new bio-based materials with innovative functionalities through the incorporation of additives coming from bio-mass so that, by means of FFF, prototypes with industrial applications can be obtained,” it says.
May/June 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 51 Above:
Arburg’s fully networked and automated
production line for individual- ised high-vol- ume parts
combines injec- tion moulding and additive
manufacturing, linked by a seven-axis
robotic system
Left: A Carbon printer with its door off. Unlike in other systems, parts are built upside down, with a laser beam shining from underneath
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