3D Printing News Briefs: February 7, 2020

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, ASTM International is developing a new AM standard, and 3D4Makers is launching a Luvocom PEKK filament. INMETRO has partnered with Farcco to raise awareness in Brazil of 3D printing for industrial processes. A case study details how Yeti Tool used CEL-UK 3D printers to bring a product to market, and Triple Eight Racing is working with EVOK3D to use HP’s Multi Jet Fusion in developing a custom race car steering wheel.

ASTM International Developing New Additive Manufacturing Standard

The additive manufacturing technologies committee (F42) of ASTM International is working on a proposed standard (WK71395) that could not only rapidly assess the quality of 3D printed parts, but also the performance of the laser powder bed fusion 3D printers used to make the parts. The standard would use off-the-shelf tools to generate qualitative data, at a higher rate of speed, that’s related to material strength and dimensional accuracy, could help in the production of future LPBF parts for structural applications.

“We are successfully working to capture variations in the laser powder bed fusion process. Now we need to determine the sensitivity of these variations and assess repeatability across various users, materials, and systems,” stated Nima Shamsaei, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering department at Auburn University and the director of the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME), which is a founding member of ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AMCOE).

The F42 committee is looking for representatives from universities, research facilities, and industries that use AM technology to participate in round-robin experiments soon in order to assess how robust this proposed standard really is.

3D4Makers Launching Luvocom PEKK Filament

Dutch filament manufacturer 3D4Makers is introducing the newest addition to its range of materials. The company worked with its compounding partner, Lehmann & Voss, for the new Luvocom 3F PEKK 50082 Filament, which was engineered to out-perform standard PEKK materials in the market. The material is optimized for industrial 3D printing, doesn’t require a heated chamber to print, is non-flammable and very chemical-resistant, and features isotropic shrinkage characteristics and enhanced flow behavior, the latter of which helps to improve layer adhesion.

“The roll was neatly spooled and after unpacking we dried it for 12 hours at 120°C,” said Rajil Pahuja from 3DAMSS, who 3D printed a turbine fan using Luvocom 3F PEKK 50082 filament. “After the drying we put it in the Funmat HT printer and we found that the flowing started at 305°C, after a few tests we got the best processing temperature and the annealing also happened easily. We did notice that a heated chamber produced stronger parts and we would recommend that. All in all it’s a solid material if you want to print strong parts with an high heat and chemical resistance.”

INMETRO Partnering with Farcco 

The National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO) and Farcco Tecnologia Industrial are working together in order to come up with a plan of action to get companies in Brazil to adopt additive manufacturing in their industrial processes. Farcco is a supplier of materials and technologies for industrial AM, actively working with customers and national technological centers to develop new manufacturing processes, while INMETRO, a federal institution similar to NIST in the US, helps national companies increase productivity by adopting machinery and technology that can help improve the safety and quality of services and products. Together, the two will set up a portfolio of INMETRO services in order to, as a press release states, “increase technological capacity of Brazilian companies in additive manufacturing.”

Farcco Director Fabio Sant ́Ana said, “Brazilian companies are very interested in Additive Manufacturing as Industry 4.0 pillar, the objective of the partnership with INMETRO is to accelerate the adoption of Additive Manufacturing here through the research and quality resources already existing in INMETRO and the development of new processes to increase the use of additive manufacturing in the country.”

Case Study: Yeti Tool Using CEL-UK 3D Printers

Startup Yeti Tool, which specializes in CNC tooling, has long created engineering products and solutions, such as direction drilling equipment, and its newest offering is the Smart Bench – a CNC machine that can be torn down, packed up, and moved to another location in just minutes. If you’ve seen most CNC machines, which are highly accurate but usually rather large and heavy, you’ll know that this portable system is a great idea.

Two years ago, the startup started testing out 3D printers in order to speed up its product design and development process, and decided that the reliable, easy to use CEL-UK‘s Robox and RoboxDual systems would be the best bet. Additionally, Yeti could use the Mote and Root devices to connect the six 3D printers in order to give design engineers immediate access, and just in case one of Yeti’s new systems stop working, CEL-UK’s maintenance service contract includes a replacement machine that will be delivered any hour of the day or night. Thanks to this scalable 3D printing solution, Yeti Tool was able to bring its Smart Bench to market in just a year.

Triple Eight Racing Using HP’s MJF Technology

Australian motor racing team Triple Eight Race Engineering, which competes in the Virgin Australian Supercars Championship, requires durable interior car parts that can hold up under the heavy vibrations and high heat and speed of racing, and are structurally fit-for-purpose. In 2017, Australian 3D printing solutions company and HP partner EVOK3D introduced the team to parts 3D printed with Multi Jet Fusion technology, and the three ended up in a joint partnership. Together, they created three pieces for the steering wheel of the race car: the housing for the mounting of switchgears and lights to the hub, a two-part mold to form the polyurethane exterior that goes around the wheel itself, and lightweight cores to sandwich the armature plate. Using HP’s MJF, Triple Height was able to customize the steering wheel to fit the driver, as well as reduce the weight of the parts.

“We were blown away with the part quality and strength, compared to what we were used to. We realised we needed to have access to this technology to improve a whole host of components,” said Triple Eight’s Team Manager Mark Dutton.

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