Shot peening close up. 3DPRINTUK
Shot peening close up.
Service provider 3DPRINTUK has announced expansions to its 3D printing material and post-processing capabilities with the addition of PEBA 2301 material and DyeMansion’s PowerShot S system.
The company’s prototyping and production service offering is underpinned entirely by Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology, with almost all print jobs being completed with the use of PA2200 Nylon material and post-processing options limited to polishing and dyeing.
PEBA 2301, a polyether block amide from the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) family of materials, boasts flexible and rubber-like characteristics, with strength, chemical resistance, water resistance and excellent detail resolution properties. It is said to exhibit rubber-like fatigue behaviour, while having a high melting point, making it suitable for ‘rugged’ end-use applications, such as air ducts, encapsulation components, seals and gaskets, and sports equipment and footwear.
The addition of the PowerShot S system, meanwhile, enables 3DPRINTUK to offer a shot peening service for low, medium and high volume runs. DyeMansion’s PowerShot S systems shoots parts with a stream of particles with considerable force using compressed air to give printed components a smooth and matt-glossy finish with improved scratch resistance. This process typically takes a matter of minutes to complete, helping to increase efficiency within production processes and deliver parts to customers at quicker speeds.
3DPRINTUK PEBA 2301
PEBA collection - actual sizes:
A. 50 mm x 50 mm x 16 mm
B. 13.5 mm x 13.5 mm x 41 mm
C. 102 mm x 102 mm x 40 mm
These developments have come as a result of 3DPRINTUK’s move into a new, purpose-built 10,000-square-foot facility earlier this year.
“This is a big day for us. There were limiting factors in our previous facility that prevented us from adding new materials,” commented 3DPRINTUK founder and CEO Nick Allen. “Now with our new factory and with our in-house developed order management system, we look to introduce a number of new offerings, with PEBA being the first of these.
“At 3DPRINTUK, we have honed and optimised the SLS 3D printing process over many years to achieve the best possible results off our machines for a wide range of relevant applications that continue to grow in scope. However, the post-processing of parts – from cleaning through to further optimised surface finishes – has always been a necessity for many of our clients. Expanding our post-processing capabilities is a vital part of the business, and the. DyeMansion PowerShot S system is an important next step in our expansion, enabling us to offer our many and varied clients the benefits of shot peened 3D printed parts from a single source.”
Want to discuss? Join the conversation on the Additive Manufacturing Global Community Discord.
