As INSTAMSYS prepares to unveil the FUNMAT PRO HT to formnext attendees, the company is feeling confident about the 3D printer and its capabilities. We spoke with Charles Han, INTAMSYS CEO, who shared his thoughts on the FUNMAT PRO HT.
What industries and applications to you expect to be the biggest for the FUNMAT PRO HT?
“We expect the FUNMAT PRO HT to be widely used for applications in advanced research, prototyping and all the way to small-volume functional production of end-use parts for aerospace, automotive, medical, dental and oil and gas. This is mainly because applications in these industries often require the characteristics of high performance functional materials such as very strong mechanical properties, high thermal and chemical resistances, and capable of operating in a radioactive or vacuum environment.”
What was the greatest challenge in developing the 3D printer?
“The printing of high performance functional materials requires high temperature nozzle. Engineers at INTAMSYS encountered and overcame a great number of challenges in thermal designs to ensure clog-free smooth materials extrusion, which is found on the FUNMAT PRO HT. Further thermal optimizations on the build plate and chamber temperatures are also achieved after months of works to ensure high performance functional materials printed parts like PEEK and ULTEM which are printed in big-size are free of warping and cracking.”
What made the company decide to develop high performance functional material 3D printers?
“During the past several years, 3D printers have been generally used for prototyping and designs works to accelerate research and development cycles. Recently, INTAMSYS finds that there is an increasing number of users who have moved beyond these requirements and are in fact need a 3D printer which can also do functional testing and small-volume production, based on feedback from industrial customers and partners.
Therefore, INTAMSYS decided to design and develop the FUNMAT PRO HT and FUNMAT HT, the cost-effective 3D printers that are open-materials to make high performance functional materials printing highly accessible to users. The FUNMAT PRO HT reflects INTAMSYS’ resolve to take it one step further by increasing the build volume for big- and full-size printing.”
What sets the FUNMAT PRO HT apart from other 3D printers capable of printing high performance materials at high temperatures?
“There are 2 main advantages offered by the FUNMAT PRO HT which set it apart from other similar 3D printers. First, the open-materials system of INTAMSYS opens up infinite possibilities to users for advanced research and designs.
Secondly, the printer offers highly cost-effective total 3D printing solution for printing strong and big-size PEEK parts on the FUNMAT PRO HT.”
How do you expect the FUNMAT PRO HT to be received by the public?
“Learning from the daily inquiries we received about the immediate availability of the FUNMAT PRO HT coming from all around the world, it is expected that the 3D printer will receive good reception from the 3D printing community and industrial users. We hope the FUNMAT PRO HT will broaden the possibilities for our customers when exploring applications which require critical materials.
Furthermore, INTAMSYS is also announcing the launch of ‘3D Printing Service and Sample Request’ to better assist our clients in a cost-effective manner.”
What are the company’s plans for the near future? Are more 3D printers in development?
“INTAMSYS will continue to bring more innovations and solution that are critical to industrial-grade 3D printing in the near future.”
If you’re at formnext, you can come see the FUNMAT PRO HT at INTAMSYS’ booth, B31 in Hall 3.1.
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[Images: INTAMSYS]