Filkemp
Filkemp facility correct caption
Filkemp HQ in Mem Martins, Portugal.
Earlier this year, Ultimaker announced to the industry Volkswagen Autoeuropa’s efficient use of its desktop 3D printing machines to produce tooling components. During 2016, the Portugal-based automotive assembly centre 3D printed around 1,000 tools on seven Ultimaker printers, saving hundreds of Euros and days of time per part. It received a lot of attention, not least at TCT Towers: TCT Magazine covering it in Volume 25, Issue 4, and the TCT Awards recognising it as the best Automotive Application at its inaugural ceremony in September.
Overlooked in the success story was the material used by Volkswagen Autoeuropa in the manufacture of the tools. The company who can lay claim to the role of material developer is Filkemp, a fellow Portuguese outfit who has been developing industrial filaments since 1952, just outside Lisbon in Mem Martins. ISO certified by TUV Rheinland, Filkemp is a producer of several types of Nylon, PET, and PLA resins and compounds, of which its four 3D printing offerings are based on.
At the recent formnext powered by TCT, the company was present to not only hear Volkswagen Autoeuropa’s Process Engineer, Miguel Jose recount the use case study at the Frankfurt-based show’s conference, but also to showcase its 3D printing filaments to the 21,000+ visitors. While the tooling application was still fresh on everybody’s minds, the material specialist was keen to drive awareness of another use of its products.
“This [turbine blade] is a technical product but when we think about Volkswagen, we’re talking about tooling. Tooling is functional but it’s not under stress,” Jose Ingles, Sales and Marketing Director, highlights. “This is very interesting. This [component] is really under pressure because of the speed and the flow of air coming in. A lot has been written about the Volkswagen case study. But this one is [even more] interesting because everybody can see the stress this small piece is under.”
Filkemp
Close up of the Warthog A10 turbine blades, 3D printed in Filkemp's PLAN material.
The turbine blade was manufactured using Filkemp’s PETG 834Q material by an aeromodeller, who assembles military warbirds. When putting together a Warthog A10 large scale RC Jet, he had previously used ABS material for the fans, but with serious degradation problems causing them to break after only two flights, he sought an alternative.
Filkemp suggested its PETG 3D printing material, citing its superior resistance and ability to be printed at high speeds. After heeding Filkemp’s advice, the aeromodeller is most pleased with how his Warthog A10 is flying. At the time of speaking, he had flown the plane around 40 times at 250km/h, with the fans working at 10,000 revolutions per minute (RPM).
Filkemp
Filkemp Warthog A10
The Warthog A10 at the centre of Filkemp's latest use case example.
Teamed with Volkswagen Autoeuropa’s use of its PLA 881N (referred to as PLAN by the company) material, the Warthog A10 use case demonstrates the versatility of the few 3D printing materials Filkemp offers. PLAN was three years in development before its release to market. It fell into the hands of VW Autoeuropa ‘by accident’ according to Ingles, and is said to boast high impact, mechanical and temperature resistance. While much of the automotive plant’s tooling has been manufactured with PLAN, VW Autoeuropa has also successfully tested it in painting ovens up to 140°C over 50 times. Compatible with most of the PVA on the market, Filkemp says PLAN is ‘a perfect clean, biomaterial alternative to ABS in almost all cases.’
The company’s Nylon 856 material is non-amorphous with low humidity absorption index with a saturation point of 10%, enabling users to print for longer without experiencing humidity problems. It has been specially developed to be printed at 230-240°C, and according to Filkemp, boasts much lower warpage and shrinkage index compared to other Nylons on the market. Compatible with the majority of PVAs, Filkemp believes Nylon is ‘no longer a taboo’ and could be revolutionary within the additive space.
It was 2014 when Filkemp decided to leverage its 65 years’ experience to enter the 3D printing market. In addition to the PLA 881N, PETG 834Q, and Nylon 856, is the PLA 883P. While all offer users different capabilities, they all offer a level of reliability that the Portuguese company has prided itself on since 1952 (the firm started within the Hoechst Group in Germany).
VW Autoeuropa wheel protection jig
A wheel protection jig, manufactured by Volkswagen Autoeuropa.
So impressed with PLAN was VW Autoeuropa, it last year requested that with every material developed 50km down the road by Filkemp, it would have license to pre-test them before their launch to market: “If it’s good for Volkswagen, it’ll be good for everyone,” Ingles suggests. “They are willing to help us because it’s also in their best interest, and we take advantage of that of course.”
A particular benefit of this agreement is that Filkemp sees industry professionals test all of its products on a variety of machines, in a variety of departments, for a variety of applications.
“They don’t have one guy in a printing centre,” Ingles explains, “they have the pilot plant for example, they have the tooling plant, and each one of the departments has their own machines. That means they we have different experiences with different machines and different diameters. They will say it worked well here, but not very well on that. It’s a partnership that works very well.”
Filkemp was born from the reorganisation of the Hoechst Group in the late 1990s, CEO Wolfgang Kemper, former Manager of Hoechst’s Portuguese division, leading them for the last 20 years. It has since embarked on a steady growth in which it has expanded its presence in Europe, North America and Asia. With its venture into the additive manufacturing space it has secured a reputable ally in Volkswagen Autoeuropa – one with the potential to earn plenty more column inches, and perhaps a few more awards too.
