For many years, Covestro has been developing custom polymer materials for all common manufacturing processes for 3D printing. Filaments, powders, and liquid materials are suitable for many industries and applications due to their diverse properties.
The 2018 German Plastics Industry Trade Fair (Fakuma 2018) will be held at the Friedrichshafen Exhibition Center in Germany from October 16th to 20th, 2018. The company will exhibit 3D printed shock absorber samples in booth B206, Hall 4206. This complex component marks another milestone from the creation of a single prototype to the integration of various functions and mass production.
Use a variety of production processes
In addition to its high degree of functionality, shock absorbers are unique in that they produce parts from three different manufacturing processes and use three different manufacturing processes. The outer spring of the 40 x 7 cm part is made of powdered thermoplastic Made of polyurethane (TPU), layered by selective laser sintering, and has good elasticity and high wear resistance.
The adjustment screw inside the shock absorber must be very strong. Therefore, it is made of filament material in the solid polycarbonate material of Covestro, using the fuse manufacturing (FFF) process. The inner air chamber is made of liquid polyurethane resin. The digital light processing method has been proven to be suitable for such a component with a filament structure, and is also applicable here.
Combination of custom materials
The components were then connected to each other. Lukas Breuers, 2D and 3D print marketing manager at Covestro, explained: 'This complex structure is impossible to achieve in traditional production processes. Another new development is to combine different materials with A combination of various custom properties. This allows us to greatly expand the possibilities of additive production and its application areas.'
The company's other products for additive manufacturing have good heat resistance, wear resistance, wear resistance and flexibility.