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FEATURE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING/3D PRINTING MAnAging ADDitive M n AN
More and more manufacturers are realising the benefits of mass printing products, however 3D printers can impact air quality if emissions are not appropriately extracted and filtered.
Arran Morgan, product and engineering director at Donaldson BOFA, looks into the need for effective emissions management
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raditionally, manufacturing relied heavily on moulding and tooling to produce high volumes of parts. 3D printing was
primarily reserved for prototyping or producing bespoke, high-value components, in advanced industries. Innovations in equipment technology and materials science, however, mean that more manufacturers are now looking at the benefits of mass printing products. Additive manufacturing techniques are
now supporting the development of new- generation functional materials that can provide higher tensile strength, fatigue resistance and dimensional stability. This supports innovative design and manufacture approaches for increasingly sophisticated products in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, and medical devices. The proliferation of 3D print technology and
its growing cost-effectiveness is also spawning investment in print farms focused on harnessing the value of additive manufacturing at scale. This trend towards creating facilities with multiple 3D print systems aims to exploit the speed, quality, productivity and customisation benefits of innovations in both technology and materials science. Just like traditional manufacturing
3 Design sOLutiOns MAY 2026 8
processes, volume drives benefit in terms of cost and process standardisation. Today, many relatively low-volume, medium-
value plastic products are produced in this way. These include, for example, dental moulds and custom orthodontics where products are bespoke but required quickly.
Maintaining the printing environMent Many 3D print processes require a stable print environment. Likewise, as printers scale up, there is an increased need to manage chamber and airborne emissions that, if not adequately controlled, have the potential to impact the product quality. Alongside this, there are two fundamental pre-requisites for product quality and a well-controlled operating environment: maintaining a consistent envelope in the print chamber, and extracting process emissions that might otherwise degrade the finished product. In 3D print processes, there are three areas
where temperature control plays a critical role. 1. At the nozzle, where a stable temperature must be carefully maintained – not so low that it leads to clogging of the nozzle and poor adhesion, yet not so high that it
loses structural integrity.
2. On the bed where the first layer of material is adhered. This will depend on the material being processed and the process itself.
3. Within the print chamber, where a variation in temperature beyond a defined range can impact bonding and lead to reduced tensile strength, poor layer adhesion, warping, and distortion. At the same time, the cooling process at the end of a print cycle must also be carefully controlled to reduce the chances of internal stresses leading to cracks or brittle failure. Fume and dust extraction systems must
therefore be capable of meeting the ongoing technical advances that deliver benefit to additive manufacturing operators. They should help filter fumes from the print chamber while helping to maintain the temperature envelope needed for a successful end-to-end print process. Many fume extraction systems, such as those designed by Donaldson BOFA, often incorporate HEPA and activated carbon filters to help capture ultrafine particles and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Getting the relationship right between
maintaining a precise operating temperature and achieving effective filtration is critical in
www.designsolutionsmag.co.uk
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