University of Exeter
Uni Exeter Victrex EOS
Laser sintered aerospace brackets manufactured with Victrex PAEK and nano-reinforced PAEK.
The University of Exeter has installed an EOS P 810 3D printing system as it teams with high-performance polymer company Victrex to optimise its PAEK materials on the platform.
EOS launched the P 810 machine, designed for processing high-temperature polymers, at RAPID + TCT last spring. The University of Exeter’s Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM) has become one of the first organisations to purchase the system.
Through a strategic partnership with Victrex, CALM will look to accelerate the commercialisation of PAEK to enable high-performance parts to be produced on the P 810 platform. The P 810 is capable of processing materials that have melting temperatures around 300°C and the partners will begin to test Victrex’s low-melting point PAEK polymers, which have been designed and optimised specifically for additive manufacturing.
“We can now further our research by utilising the next generation of high temperature systems,” commented Professor Oana Ghita, the lead of CALM at the University of Exeter. “The new equipment allows us to link the fundamental research with the commercial manufacturing process to optimise the materials and their application, whilst accounting for the new thermal, optical and mechanical upgrades and providing us with accurate insights into the detailed dynamics of laser sintering.”
“This is an exciting milestone in our collaboration with the University of Exeter, creating an effective ecosystem to accelerate the commercialisation of AM materials for performance parts to meet customer needs,” added Ian Smith, Victrex Director of Innovation.
The installation of the EOS P 810 at CALM follows a partnership which the two organisations struck back in 2018. This alliance was formed in order to validate Victrex’s low-melting point PAEK materials against the SLS and FDM 3D printing processes and assist industries like aerospace and medical to additively manufacture durable components.
