Polymaker, headquartered in Shanghai, is dedicated to developing new and functional materials for the 3D printing industry. The company, with offices in the US, Japan, and the Netherlands, aims to bring 3D printing technology to the mainstream manufacturing industry; having just moved into a new factory that doubled its floor space, Polymaker seems ready to continue this mission and expand further into industrial markets.
Today, Polymaker announced a new strategic partnership with Shanghai-based INTAMSYS, which manufactures industrial 3D printers that can print using PEEK and other high-performance functional materials. The goal of the partnership is to provide industrial customers with better solutions through more closely integrating 3D printers and materials.
Dr. Xiaofan Luo, CEO of Polymaker, said, “As a materials supplier, we can only provide part of the solution; by integrating printer and materials we can provide more accurate data and full solutions to industrial customers.”
INTAMSYS FUNMAT HT and FUNMAT PRO HT 3D printers
As the developments in extrusion-based 3D printing have grown, many companies are focusing on building up their strength in only a few specialized technological areas. It seems like no company is immune: Polymaker’s specialty is developing functional, high-performance materials for industrial use, while INTAMSYS is dedicated to making reliable, industrial 3D printers capable of producing good results under high temperatures.
But, while specializing in only certain areas will definitely help to increase advancements across the industry, will it truly help customers by creating well-rounded fabrication solutions?
This is the case for systems integration in the 3D printing industry.
FDM/FFF 3D printing technologies are being used more and more in small-scale manufacturing and functional prototyping today. But to truly take advantage of the possible benefits, it’s necessary for customers to have complete knowledge, and support, of printed parts’ performance, as well as very reliable 3D printers. That’s why Polymaker developed its Printer Manufacturers Partnership Program (PMPP), which now counts the company’s partnership with INTAMSYS as its first success.
“We have created a program to better serve industrial customers by integrating machines and materials,” Polymaker’s Marketing Manager Luke Taylor told 3DPrint.com. “From our experience in the growing industrial sector, customers are increasingly requesting more specialised machines and material data, which will usually be dedicated to one fabrication process in practice. As a materials supplier we can only solve half of the problem, but by integrating machines and materials we hope to offer a solution that can rival Stratasys in terms of holistic manufacturing solutions.”
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- Polycarbonate-PI
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The PMPP is a collaboration platform between Polymaker and 3D printer manufacturers, like INTAMSYS. The program is focused on integrating 3D printers and advanced materials to deliver accurate solutions, and involves creating documents, like Technical Data Sheets, for professional users, developing custom 3D printing materials, and testing as a way to optimize printing profiles and get the mechanical/physical data matrix.
Charles Han, CEO of INTAMSYS, said, “The close partnership between INTAMSYS and Polymaker is highly synergistic as it combines the expertise and capabilities of both companies to swiftly develop customized solutions to our customers.”
The program also allows its participating companies to respond more efficiently to the varying needs of their customers.
Polycarbonate Filament – Powered by Polymaker
With the PMPP, Polymaker will expand its materials’ value by making them available to INTAMSYS customers, while INTAMSYS will have access to the entire Polymaker Industrial portfolio, which includes support materials and over 20 different grades of engineering plastics.
INTAMSYS’ 3D printers have high-temperature extruders and active heating build chambers, which makes them a good choice for engineering plastics like nylon, polycarbonate, and PEEK, and a perfect platform for Polymaker Industrial materials.
“With the rise of more and more industrial materials, the method in which they are printed can effect the properties of the final 3D printed part,” Taylor told 3DPrint.com. “For example, when testing Polymaker Industrial’s C515 filament, the INTAMSYS FUNMAT PRO HT produced specimens displaying 41 MPa which is a 141.4% increase in tensile strength on Z Axis printed parts. This means more isotropic parts and more reliable data for customers. This program is part of our mission to see 3D printing in the manufacturing mainstream.”
INTAMSYS, which recently expanded its manufacturing capacity with a new facility, will be launching four Polymaker Industrial materials, and plans to release more in the future.
Engineers from INTAMSYS and Polymaker will work hand in hand under the PMPP to develop optimized material profiles and industry-specific solutions. The companies believe their new partnership will take industrial 3D printing to a new level, making it more reliable and accessible.
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[Images provided by Polymaker]
