Functional components can be manufactured with voxeljet's HSS technology.
voxeljet AG, has announced the launch of two new speciality materials for its High Speed Sintering (HSS) line of 3D printers.
The company, which specialises in binder jetting technology for plastic and sand, is now able to print in Polypropylene (PP) and Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) and is currently evaluating these new materials with partner customers from the sports and automotive industries.
Dr. Ingo Ederer, Chief Executive Officer of voxeljet, commented: “We are really excited about the speed we see in the qualification of new materials for our High Speed Sintering process. In less than nine months we were able to qualify various grades of Polyamide powders and are successfully printing several types of Thermoplastic Polyurethane. We are also working on some very customer specific materials including Polypropylene – which is one of the most widely used plastic materials in the world. Polypropylene features extremely interesting properties and addresses a broader set of applications.”
Polypropylene is one of the most versatile polymers on the market with good electrical and chemical resistance at higher temperatures and resistance to stress-cracking. The material offers potential for applications in the automotive, electrical, consumer and household goods industries.
The material is currently being tested on voxeljet’s smaller entry-level VX200 HSS systems but the company plans to apply the material to its new VJET XHSS product, a larger automated production system, set to be commercially available at the end of 2019.
The second material, TPU, is a fully thermoplastic elastomer which can be used to print ultra-flexible objects with very high levels of precision and resolution. Due to its unique structure, TPU offers a considerable number of physical property combinations, making it an extremely flexible material with good impact resistance, compression set, and resilience. Potential application areas including the sporting goods, industrial parts, and manufacture of hydraulic seals and gaskets.
Dr. Ederer added: “We believe these technology and material combinations have the potential to change our industries in the long-term. voxeljet has always been committed to bring the best innovations to our customers at every level and we are doing so in a powerful way.”
