Sartomer & Paxis Developing New Custom Materials for WAV 3D Printing

Back in 2016, a small team within 3D printing service bureau CIDEAS launched a new 3D printing company, called Paxis LLC. A year later, Paxis officially released its new AM technology, the patented Wave Applied Voxel (WAV) process for large build area industrial 3D printing. Now, the company is partnering up with advanced photocurable resin solutions provider Sartomer, a business line of Arkema, to develop new advanced custom materials for its WAV technology.

“Sartomer is a historic partner for 3D printing innovators, and we are excited to collaborate with Paxis because WAV technology is positioned to change manufacturing as it exists today. Through our joint efforts, we aim to develop next-generation products and solutions that will continue to disrupt and advance the way parts are mass manufactured,” said Sumeet Jain, senior director, 3D Printing Worldwide at Arkema.

Featuring projected speeds much higher than the fastest large vat photopolymerization systems can offer, WAV technology by Paxis allows for scalability in both size and speed, and was developed to help manufacturers get past the existing limitations of liquid resin-based 3D printing processes.

“Making Progress… a common phrase used by WAV’s inventor, Fred Knecht,” the Paxis site states. “It all began in an effort to solve a well-known issue associated with extremely large, trapped volume parts within vat based processes. Fred described his theory on how to fix the issue to Mike Littrell, president of CIDEAS Inc., and ‘it was like getting hit with a ton of bricks… Fred didn’t just solve trapped volumes, he solved other issues plaguing the vat and jetted based processes for years.’ At this very intersection in time, WAV was born.”

WAV technology offers exotic material management and multiple material production, lower operating costs and reduced post-processing requirements, the ability to add embedded components, and has eliminated the typical large vat that’s used when producing larger parts. Sartomer is part of the 3D Printing Solutions by Arkema platform, and its N3XTDIMENSION UV-curable liquid resins are made to help achieve tailored, high-performance parts.

Now, Sartomer and Paxis will put together several new materials that are custom-made to work specifically with the WAV process, in order to help customers find solutions for their specific applications. The two companies will also be on the lookout for potential new market opportunities that could benefit from the new materials they’re developing for WAV 3D printing technology.

“The most successful way to overcome the limitations of current additive manufacturing technology is through collaboration with like-minded innovators,” Mike Littrell, the founder and CEO of Paxis and co-inventor of WAV technology. “Sartomer is a 3D printing materials pioneer, and its experts push resin advancement to meet and exceed the needs of current additive manufacturing applications. Designed with the end-user in mind, WAV technology will enable the end-user to select the material that best meets their application needs. We look forward to working with Sartomer and focus on developing new vertical markets, as well as advanced manufacturing solutions for the WAV technology.”

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(Source: Make Parts Fast)