Breakthroughs in Rapid Prototyping Materials

By Todd Grimm

The rapid prototyping industry has seen a lot of activity in materials development over the past year. There have been numerous advancements and even a few breakthroughs in the properties and qualities of the materials that form the prototypes, patterns, and parts made with additive fabrication machines. This level of activity is encouraging because materials development plays a critical role in the growth of the rapid prototyping industry. With each new material, the industry chips away at the primary obstacle to an increase in the use of the technology.

The number of new materials is impressive, and the variety of attributes is exciting. While some advancements targeted strength and durability, which are important for direct digital manufacturing (aka rapid manufacturing), these qualities were not the sole focus of development efforts. Instead, the new breed of materials offers a wide array of physical properties, improved part quality, and simplified processing.

The latest advancements also include new capabilities that open the door to some interesting opportunities. For example, Objet Geometries (Rehovat, Israel) introduced PolyJet Matrix Technology with the launch of its Connex500 system. This unrivaled technology produces parts from two materials in a single operation. During the build process, the materials are blended in user-specified ratios to create a variety of mechanical properties throughout the prototype. The company calls these user-specified blends Digital Materials. Objet followed this announcement with the introduction of Durus, a material that looks, feels, and acts like polypropylene.

Z Corporation (Burlington,MA; zcorp.com) introduced zp 140, a high-performance composite material for its 3D printing process. This new powder material is engineered for simple, fast, and easy postprocessing. After misting it with tap water, a prototype has reasonable strength without the time-consuming process of infiltration. The company also notes that zp 140 offers whites that are brighter than previous materials.

Laser sintering, another powder-based process, has advanced direct digital manufacturing (DDM) of aerospace components with the introduction of flame-retardant polyamides. EOS (Munich, Germany; eos.info) introduced PA 2210 FR, which has taken flight in commercial aircraft after being certified under aviation standards for flammability testing. EOS also notes that PA 2210 FR has a UL 94 V-0 rating.

Quite a few new stereolithography materials were introduced over the past year. DSM Somos (Elgin,IL; dsm.com) launched DMX-SL 100 in a bid to address the growing demand for DDM. Benefitting from new chemistry, this material has been shown to deliver high impact strength and resistance to breakage. According to DSM Somos, DMX-SL 100 reacts more like a thermoplastic than any other resin. Not to be outdone, 3D Systems introduced a number of new materials, including Accura Greystone. This engineered nanocomposite is designed to address the demands of motorsports and aviation in wind tunnel and under-the-hood applications.

While Stratasys (Eden Praire, MN; stratasys.com) focused much of its R&D efforts on the commercialization of new fused deposition modeling (FDM) machines, it also managed to introduce new ABS materials. The formulation of ABSplus and ABS-M30 combine with advances in the FDM machines to offer faster builds and stronger parts with greater detail.

These examples are just a few of the many exciting material announcements made over the past year. The balance of new materials address user requests that include faster builds, simpler processing, improved accuracy, smoother surfaces, new colors, higher temperatures, and greater flexibility. It has been an impressive and exciting year for rapid prototyping materials. Yet, more advances will be needed in the coming years.

Abe Reichental, president and chief executive officer of 3D Systems (Rock Hill, SC; 3dsystems.com) summed it up well, “We believe that it takes breakthrough materials like Accura Greystone to push and expand the end-use applications’ envelope and broaden the adoption of additive manufacturing technology into the mainstream of automotive and aerospace design, development, and manufacturing.” Breakthroughs and advances in materials are what is needed to continue to expand the applications in all industries and grow the use of rapid prototyping technologies.

Todd Grimm is president of T. A. Grimm & Associates, Inc. (Edgewood, KY), a rapid prototyping and reverse engineering consulting organization. Send comments via e-mail to [email protected]. You can also contact Todd at tagrimm.com.