The German 3D printing company voxeljet AG is known for its industrial large format 3D printers, which have just introduced some special materials for their high speed sintered 3D printers. Two new HSS3D printing materials, polypropylene (PP) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powders. Currently, it is being evaluated by voxeljet customers in the sports and automotive industries.
The introduction of PP and TPU powders for HSS 3D printing has the potential to open up new applications for this technology. For example, polypropylene is a more versatile polymer and has been widely used in the end-use market. The beneficial properties of this material include Resistance to stress and cracking, as well as good chemical and electrical resistance, even at high temperatures.
In the automotive sector, bumpers, cladding and exteriors are often manufactured using PP. Therefore, the potential to print 3D parts from PP using HSS may affect the way the automotive industry adopts and uses additive manufacturing. In addition to the automotive industry, 3D Printing PP also has potential applications in the electrical/electronics industry as well as in the industrial, consumer and household goods sectors.
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'We are amazed at the speed of new material certification for high-speed sintering processes.' Dr. Ingo Ederer, CEO of voxeljet commented. 'In less than 9 months, we were able to identify various grades of polyamide powder. And successfully printed several types of thermoplastic polyurethane. '
'We are still researching some very custom-made materials, including polypropylene - one of the most widely used plastic materials in the world. Polypropylene has extremely interesting properties to meet a wider range of application needs. We are smaller The PP was successfully printed on the VX200 HSS system and is expected to transition smoothly to our large automated production system VJET XHSS, which we expect to be available by the end of 2019.
For its part, TPU is a thermoplastic elastomer that is highly sought after for its flexibility. Furthermore, it is known to be melt processable and suitable for high precision and high resolution printing. Compared to other thermoplastic elastomers TPU is also highly adaptable, which means it can be used in a variety of applications, including construction, automotive and even footwear markets.
This adaptability is largely attributable to the fact that TPU is a material with high elasticity, good compressibility and high resistance to impact, tear, weather, abrasion and hydrocarbons. It is said that voxeljet is used in HSS. The main applications of the new TPU powders are sporting goods, industrial parts (which are themselves very wide) and hydraulic seals and gaskets.
'We believe that these technologies and material combinations are likely to change our industry in the long run,' added Dr. Ederer.
As Dr. Ederer emphasized, voxeljet has successfully used its new PP material on its VX200 HSS system, but is still preparing materials for its large automated production system VJET XHSS, which is expected to be released in 2019.