INEOS Styrolution
INEOS Styrolution is working to develop energy saving styrenics-based materials for powder bed fusion 3D printing technology.
Funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs, the styrenics supplier worked on its PolySLS project between August 2017 and November 2020 to develop and test a styrene-based polymer compound for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).
The resulting material is said to enable a 67% energy saving throughout the entire life cycle of the polymer compound when compared to the ‘energy intense’ PA12. A direct energy saving of 25% can be attributed to the printing of the styrene-based polymer because of the lower process temperatures required. Lowering the build chamber temperature to between 140-145°C, energy can be saved in the heating of the build environment, while also shortening the overall cycle because less time is needed to heat up and cool down the machine.
INEOS believes the material, which also exhibits ‘very little curling and warpage’, would be suitable for prototyping applications, but has not yet decided on whether or how it will proceed in terms of commercialisation. The company is, however, encouraged by the findings of the PolySLS project, both in the capabilities of the material, which it could see being applied in product design processes, and its sustainability, in which the company thinks there’s room for improvement for 3D printing technology.
INEOS Styrolution Bianca Wilhelmus
INEOS Styrolution's Bianca Wilhelmus.
“3D printing is a fascinating technology,” Bianca Wilhelmus, Global Application Development Manager at INEOS Styrolution & Project Lead for PolySYS, told TCT. “Sustainability is one of the core values of INEOS Styrolution. However, in the beginning, the focus was not directed to the sustainability of the process, especially on the efficiency of material and energy consumption. We think there is a lot of room for improvement in 3D printing to make this technology more sustainable, after it has come out of its infancy. Now it is time not only to look at the technology side, but also on the sustainability side.”
Wilhelmus, in her role at INEOS Styrolution, is involved in global R&D projects alongside external institutes and universities. And despite her Ph.D in chemistry, her previous experience as an R&D Manager at Honeywell Specialty Chemicals and having been with INEOS since 2014, is said to be amazed there are still new things to explore within styrenics based materials. Well aware of its ‘incredible, beneficial properties’, she and her colleagues at INEOS are working to extend these properties to 3D printing, and while the company will not yet comment on if and when its styrenics-based polymer will be commercialised, the company says to ‘watch out for future news.’
“3D printing was identified as one of the growing technologies where Styrenics could excel,” Wilhelmus said. “Styrenics bring valuable benefits to FDM and we wanted to explore if we can bring value to SLS as well. And indeed, we believe that our results are very encouraging.”
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