DyeMansion Teases Powerfuse S PP adds Lubrizol TPU

German post processing company DyeMansion announced that it is releasing the Powerfuse S PP at the Rapid+TCT Detroit event. The Powerfuse S is the company´s vapor smoothing solution. This uses a food contact approved vapor under pressure to completely smooth parts. Vapour smoothing is an exciting technology because mechanical smoothing is difficult, especially for flexible or soft parts. DyeMansion now has made a PP version of the machine. Polypropylene is a tough, soft, and flexible material that could be ideal for braces, seats, sports equipment, and many other applications. PP is fast growing in 3D printing in material extrusion, especially in powder bed fusion, which is DyeMansion’s bailiwick. The Powerfuse S PP should make it easier to finish PP parts on an industrial scale. This lowers the cost per part by eliminating handling and manual labor. At the same time, it makes human errors less likely and increases the repeatability through the uniform processing and finishing of parts.

DyeMansion Powerfuse S PP parts at Rapid 2022. Image courtesy of DyeMansion.

The Powerfuse S PP is currently in a pilot phase and will be unveiled at Formnext 2022, starting November 15 in Frankfurt. The company has developed a solvent for the material and tested it with the materials from HP, BASF, EOS, ALM, Prodways, AM Polymers, and Covestro.

DyeMansion CEO Felix Ewald says,

“One of the biggest limitations in Additive Manufacturing is material availability. Enabling the industrial use of PP will be a big driver for further growth in our industry. We are very happy that we found a way to provide injection molding like surfaces and enhanced properties through our Powerfuse S PP and we are very much looking forward to seeing the first high-volume use cases soon.”

Lubrizol Estane 3D TPU Available for the Powerfuse S

Furthermore, the company has released the Lubrizol Estane TPU material, on HP Multi Jet Fusion, for the Powerfuse S. The material now has a specific program on the Powerfuse. The company sees the material finding use in orthotics and automotive. One part produced so far is the Quatro Prosthetic Sock by Quorum, where the quarto wearers of prosthetics can dynamically adjust the fit of the prosthetic socket throughout the day to maximise their comfort.

DyeMansion Lubrizol Estane 3D TPU part at Rapid 2022. Image courtesy of DyeMansion.

The company will also present a case study on using DyeMansion parts in NASCAR together with Stratasys and has also announced the addition of new resellers in North America.

Kai Witter, Chief Customer Officer at DyeMansion, stated,

“I am delighted to welcome six new partners in the United States to the DyeMansion Sales Partner platform. The consequent execution of our reseller centric go-to-market strategy is highly valued by our customers around the world. Together with our partners, we make end-use part-specific consulting and the respective leading DyeMansion Print-to-Product workflow solutions available to all Additive Manufacturing users.”

DyeMansion seems to be building its business and growing its library of materials. By having dialed in process parameters for its materials, the company can get assured results time after time. This means that it is a burden to qualify and test new materials all the time as they come out. But, as long as they keep doing this, users can quickly adopt new materials and print technologies and employ them along with DyeMansion. AMT and PostProcess are also continually releasing new software and settings-based recipes for different materials. This kind of plumbing work may sound a bit boring, but it is absolutely essential for users to get the results they want. Over time, the sheer number of recipes will become an obstacle to new competitors. New entrants will take time to make their own recipes for all available materials. Bit by bit, we can see the established post-processing companies trying to build moats and castles to deter future invaders.