Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Middle East Foam & Polyurethane
  • UTECH Asia/PU China
  • UTECH Europe
  • UTECH Las Americas
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Coronavirus
  • News
    • Asia
    • Americas
    • Europe
    • M & A
    • Financial results
    • Automotive
    • MPOB develops palm oil polyol
      BPCL Polyol project in doubt
      Japan's lacklustre PU production continued in November 2020
      PU prevents freezing damage to railway tunnels
    • World automotive registrations recover in H2 2020
      Mlily to increase US market share following anti-dumping duties
      US footwear imports up 25% in November 2020
      Introducing UTECH Southeast Asia 2022
    • Wheat waste transformed into PU foam
      EC approves Kingspan's TeraSteel and Wetterbest purchases
      BTC Europe to distribute BASF’s polyurethane ingredients
      World automotive registrations recover in H2 2020
    • BPCL Polyol project in doubt
      PPG buys polyurea company Versaflex
      Recticel buys FoamPartner
      Recticel upgrades Q3 outlook despite raw material tightness
    • BPCL Polyol project in doubt
      Huafon estimates 2020 profit will be up to 40% higher than 2019
      Mlily to increase US market share following anti-dumping duties
      Stellar Q4 performance saves Wanhua 2020 earnings
    • World automotive registrations recover in H2 2020
      Car sales down 25% in Western Europe in 2020
      Patchy coronavirus effects hit global car sales in November
      November continues fall in Western Europe's car sales
  • Data
  • Information
    • Country Overview
    • Market Sector overviews
    • Technical articles
    • Company profiles and strategies
    • China’s PU industry on the path to recovery; plans for technology upgrades
      Chinese cold chains grow bigger
      Flexible foam rises to challenges in the Middle East and Africa
      Life at the cross-roads: what does the GCC offer PU?
    • Europe's flexible foam makers face rising prices as outages hit markets
      Western European car registrations rebound slowed in September
      Western European car registrations regained some ground in August
      Western European Car registrations rebound continued in July
    • Take out the VOC with hybrid release agents
      Batteries give pultrusions power
      Seeing a way through VOC and FOG
      Aromatic polyols for simpler rigid PU formulations
    • Hennecke and Frimo: an automotive partnership
      Pushing ahead: AutoRIM drives KM’s UK growth
      BASF opens it first ‘Creation Center’ in Mumbai with a PU twist
      Persistence pays off for CTM
  • Events
    • Exhibitions
    • Conferences
    • Webinars / Livestreams
    • Become a Speaker
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Issues
  • Subscribe
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information
August 24, 2016 11:00 PM

3D printing technologies old and new

Jane Denny
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    High profile companies such as Hewlett Packard are among those investing in building the systems that will enable 3D print to grow. Here are some of the systems currently available. 

     

    REAL 3D printing - Carbon3D – “Up to 100 times faster” 

    Inspired by the Terminator 2 sequence in which Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character takes the form of a robot, ceo Joseph DeSimone said at an MIT presentation on Carbon3D’s innovation: “Why can’t a 3D printer operate in this fashion where you have an object arise out of a puddle in essentially real time, with essentially no waste and made a great object.

    Carbon3D’s system harnesses light and oxygen to grow a part continuously, according to DeSimone. It “controls the spatial light and oxygen” around the part being created.

    “We see this as owning the intersection between hardware, software and molecular science.”

    Joseph De Simone, Carbon3D's ceo

    “The opportunity of making a part in real time that has the properties to be a [usable] part opens up the possibility of 3D manufacturing.

    “We see this as owning the intersection between hardware, software and molecular science,” added DeSimone.

     

    “We’re thrilled. The parts we’ve tested are strong in all directions, just like injection moulded parts. That’s the target we’ve been chasing after for decades.”

    Ellen Lee, Ford 

    Ford was the first OEM to work with Carbon3D. Ford has worked with 3D print for quarter of a century – from early concept prototypes to runnable and testable prototypes and limited production tooling.

    Ellen Lee, team leader, additive manufacturing research at Ford, said: “What we are looking for in additive manufacturing is to be able to produce directly functional parts to use in our vehicles.

    "What we are doing with Carbon3D is looking at the materials and helping to create the materials that would have these properties.

    When you look at a typical SLA process it is a layer method where a layer of resin is put down one layer at a time. After the cure the next layer is put down.

    In the Carbon3D process we are able to cure the layer while maintaining a continuous liquid interface so instead of having that stepwise layer by layer process we are able to do it more continuously. It can be done faster and the properties of the part are not impaired. They are stronger in both the printed direction and the other direction.

    Ford used Carbon3D’s continuous liquid interface Production (CLIP) device to create an elastomer grommet to protect inner door wiring within its Focus Electric. CLIP technology allowed for a two third drop in production time, according to Carbon3D.

    Similarly, after placing a V8 engine into a new vehicle body design, Ford required an oil connector. It designed an oil fill tube made with from both rigid and elastomeric PU materials to enable access, avoiding major redesigns to several components of the vehicle.

    Lee said: “We’re thrilled. The parts we’ve tested are strong in all directions, just like injection moulded parts. That’s the target we’ve been chasing after for decades.”

    Fused Deposition Modelling

    Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) uses thermoplastics deposited in layers to create a 3D printed object. During printing, the plastic filament is fed through a hot extruder nozzle. The plastic is softened to enable precise placement of the material with the print head.

    The melted filament is then deposited layer by layer in the print area to build the item.

    FDM was developed by Scott Crump in the late 1980s and commercialised by Stratasys in 1990.

    StereoLithoGraphy

    StereoLithoGraphy (SLA), like FDM is an additive method. Models are built layer by layer. SLA, however, uses a curable photopolymer – typically a liquid resin – that is hardened by applying focused light or UV light to cure.

    SLA printers usually build the models from top to bottom and the build platform lifts the model upwards out of the resin bath.

    The light source is either a laser or a digital projector (the technology is called DLP – Digital Light Processing). Lasers draw the layers; in DLP, an entire slice (a two-dimensional layer) of the model is projected at once into the resin bath.

    Selective Laser Sintering

    Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a technique that uses a laser as the power source. The laser sinters powdered material. Aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model binds the material together to create a solid structure.

    It is similar to direct metal laser sintering but differs in technical details. Selective laser melting (SLM) uses a comparable concept, but in SLM the material is fully melted rather than sintered.

    SLS is a relatively new technology that so far has mainly been used for rapid prototyping and for low-volume production of component parts.

    Rapid jet fusion method

    It involves using inkjet printing technology to apply a heat-absorbent ink onto a powder bed, which is then cured using an infrared lamp.

    California, USA-headquartered Hewlett Packard unveiled its long-awaited Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer range in May 2016. BMW has begun a process of integrating HP’s new technology into its manufacturing methods for parts production, according to a July 2016 press release.

    Covestro has a range of PUs that it said are “ideal for the rapid multi-jet fusion method”.

    Recommended for You
    EU production growth heads eastwards
    EU production growth heads eastwards
    Making the case for TPUs
    Making the case for TPUs
    From cell to slope
    From cell to slope
    Latest Issue
    Click HERE for Free Download
    View All Archives
    Get our newsletters

    Breaking news and in-depth coverage of essential topics delivered straight to your inbox.

    Subscribe today

    Register to access our archive of leading information on the polyurethanes industry.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Youtube

    Follow us on social media for the latest polyurethanes industry news and event updates.

    Logo
    Contact Us

    Office 127,
    61, Willow Walk,
    London
    SE1 5SF
    E-mail us
    +44 (0) 203 287 5979

    Customer Service:
    +1 313 446 0450

    Resources
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Staff
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Coronavirus
    • News
      • Asia
      • Americas
      • Europe
      • M & A
      • Financial results
      • Automotive
    • Data
    • Information
      • Country Overview
      • Market Sector overviews
      • Technical articles
      • Company profiles and strategies
    • Events
      • Exhibitions
      • Conferences
      • Webinars / Livestreams
      • Become a Speaker
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Issues
    • Subscribe