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Bondtech Releases Direct Drive System for Creality CR-10S 3D Printer

Established in 2014 by Martin Bondéus, Swedish company Bondtech works to improve one of the key components of 3D printers: extruders. The company develops, designs and manufactures unique dual drive extruders that eliminate the risk of grinding, slipping, under extrusion, and filament deformation. You can have an awesome, high-quality 3D printer, but if the components that make up the system aren’t good, your prints won’t be either. Now, the company has released its latest component – a new Direct Drive System (DDS) for the desktop Creality3D CR-10S 3D printer.

The CR-10S DDR from Bondtech is the the company’s first full 3D printhead set, and comes with a Direct Drive extruder that’s based on Bondtech’s popular BMG version, in addition to an E3D V6 genuine hotend, as Bondtech does not yet manufacture these.

Bondtech really made a name for itself in reliable desktop 3D printing back in 2015, when it came out with its V2 Extruder. Since that time, thousands of 3D printer owners and makers have chosen to upgrade their machines and ensure better, faster prints by using Bondtech’s quality extruders. The company’s innovative Dual Drive Gear technology is continuing to gain a larger presence around the world, as more popular manufacturers keep deciding to adopt the tech as an OEM product.

The company’s new DDS for the CR-10S, which features a build volume of 300 x 300 x 400 mm and has been used to complete such print jobs as a life-size Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones, has a new approach when it comes to setup and ease of use. The system comes fully assembled, along with power cables, connection, and a sensor holder. The plug-and-play 3D printhead upgrade set also includes an integrated Bondtech BMG, in addition to the updated, customized firmware and necessary profiles.

Key advantages offered by this new DDS include extrusion control and reliability, and it also makes it possible for CR-10S users to expand on the range of materials they’re able to process. Its design resulted from a cooperation with Bondtech’s community, and 3D printing enthusiast and maker Greg3D created the original casing for the printhead. The system combines the BMG extruder’s push force with the good extrusion control of the V6 hotend.

Tom Jackson of Filament Frenzy said about Bondtech’s new CR-10S DDS, “Reliability is key.”

“It opens the machine up from being a big PLA printer to be a most material within reason big printer.”

Bondtech’s new DDS for the Creality CR-10S 3D printer also marks an important turning point in the available support content the company’s community enjoys. Its new Online Customer Service is launching, and will provide plenty of step-by-step guides and video Instructables.

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[Images: Bondtech]

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ViscoTec’s Latest Two-Component Printhead 3D Prints Polyurethanes, Silicone and Epoxies With More Precision

Germany company ViscoTec makes systems that are required for conveying, dosing, applying, filling, and emptying medium to high-viscosity fluids. Based in Bavaria with subsidiaries in China, India, Singapore, and the US, ViscoTec first began working with 3D printing several years ago when it introduced a paste extruder, followed by its Fluid Dosing and Deposition (FDD) Starter Kit.

In 2017, the award-winning company launched the first of its innovative printheads, followed the next year by its vipro-HEAD with optional heating function for viscous fluids, and then the vipro-HEAD 3/3 and 5/5 for 3D printing two-component viscous fluids and pastes. Now ViscoTec is launching its latest two-component vipro-HEAD, which allows both of its motors to be directly controlled through a 3D printer – making it easy to precisely mix and print two-component viscous fluids and pastes.

3D printing of silicone midsoles with ViscoTec printhead.

Two-component 3D printing is a big deal, because it can really expand the scope of possible 3D printing applications. For instance, silicone can be 3D printed in this way, which makes it possible to be used in the medical field and for fabricating things like shoe soles. But the latest version of the vipro-HEAD is even more advanced, not just because of its two-component 3D printing ability, but because it’s supported by pressure sensors for more efficient and reliable printing.

The printhead’s main components are the rotor and stator, which make sure that the two components continuously and uniformly deliver material from the suction point all the way to the outlet, no matter how small the quantity and layer height. This volumetric conveying principle means that the vipro-HEAD can guarantee, as the company puts it, “linearity of volume and speed.” Regardless of their overall viscosity, liquids and pastes can be processed through the two-component printhead, making it the perfect choice for materials like acrylates, polyurethanes, silicone, and epoxy or polyester resins.

Each of the two material components can be fed individually, in the exact dosage, into the static mixer through a flow-optimized channel. Customers can choose a specific static mixer, which can be attached to the printhead, based on their materials and the degree to which they need to be mixed together.

High-quality sensors are used to guarantee quality prints by monitoring outlet pressures of each component, which is obviously extremely important when it comes to the repeatable part quality that’s necessary in series production. These sensors, along with the vipro-HEAD’s use of separately controllable drives, are major improvements, in addition to an optional venting screw, which allows excess air to vent quickly. The sensors, which come with detachable 5 m long motor cables, also help in avoiding quality differences or process delays that come from hardened mixers, which helps protect both the stator and the rotor from being damaged.

Because both components enter the stator through a separate inlet, and the materials can be individually dosed, the vipro-HEAD can achieve high-quality, reliable 3D printing of liquid two-part components that have excellent chemical resistance and mechanical properties. In addition, ViscoTec’s pressure-tight, self-sealing displacement system is used in both sizes of the vipro-HEAD, ensures controlled rotary movement of the rotor, which conveys the components through displacement in the stator. This means that the material is returned through reversing the rotation direction, which ensures high quality and a controlled material thread break.

Because the new vipro-HEAD can help 3D print components that are able to withstand chemical and mechanical stresses, ViscoTec can provide companies in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, and medical fields with an optimal solution for two-component 3D printing of viscous fluids and pastes.

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[Images: ViscoTec]

 

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ECCO Steps Forward with 3D Printed Custom Silicone Midsoles

German company ViscoTec, which manufactures systems required for conveying, dosing, applying, filling, and emptying medium to high-viscosity fluids for multiple industries, including automotive, medical, and aerospace, is well-known in the 3D printing world for its two-component print head for viscous materials like silicone. The Bavaria-based company, which began working with 3D printing four years ago, employs about 200 people worldwide, and is now putting its print head to the test through a collaboration with Danish heritage footwear brand and manufacturer ECCO.

ECCO, a family-owned business founded in 1963 with factories and subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Portugal, Slovakia, Thailand, and Vietnam, has a vision of becoming the top premium brand for leather goods and shoes. The latest innovation to be introduced by the Innovation Lab of ECCO is called QUANT-U, an experimental footwear customization project.

QUANT-U relies on three core technologies: real-time analysis, data-driven design, and in-store 3D printing. The project combines these technologies to create custom, personalized midsoles, in just two hours, out of a heat cured two-component silicone.

Most everyone likes personalized products such as shoes, but due to the necessary cost, production time, and expertise involved in making custom footwear, they’re typically not available to everyone. But thanks to ECCO’s partnership with ViscoTec, this is going to change.

3D printing of silicone midsoles with ViscoTec printhead.

In order to specifically coordinate the material properties and the process, ECCO had to rethink its approach to customization, and now plans to utilize ViscoTec’s print head technology and two-component silicone to 3D print customer-specific midsoles for its customers, so each person can enjoy their own tailored fit and comfort.

According to the Innovation Lab ECCO website for QUANT-U, “A midsole is the functional heart of the shoe. It plays a key role in the performance and comfort of your footwear. Two years of research has proven that replacing the standard PU midsoles with 3D printed silicone can tune its inherent properties; viscoelasticity, durability and temperature stability.”

The QUANT-U process has three steps, starting with using scanners and wearable sensors to measure the customer’s feet and build a unique digital footprint. This biomechanical data is then evaluated and interpreted using a sophisticated algorithm, and a unique configuration is generated through structural simulations and machine learning.

This augmented pattern is optimized for each person’s respective feet and activity level by making adjustments to its densities, patterns, and structures, and the final 3D printed midsoles are personalized according to the customer’s own orthopedic parameters for a far more comfortable fit than you’d get with typical store-bought midsoles. Within just a few hours, you’re able to take home your custom 3D printed midsoles, along with your chosen pair of ECCO shoes.

Thermal cross-linking of the individual silicone layers.

By 3D printing the two-component silicone, ECCO is able to optimally counteract the high mechanical stresses we often deal with in everyday life; this is thanks to the midsole’s algorithmic designs combining with the silicone’s unique properties. By utilizing 3D printing, ECCO will be able to fabricate large quantities of personalized midsoles.

Using ViscoTec’s print heads gives ECCO several unique advantages, such as the usage of heat cured two-component silicone and precise 3D printing results, in addition to making sure that the silicone is uniformly mixed in the static mixing tube.

The footwear industry, which often utilizes 3D printing, has been growing fast over the last few years, with its global market expected to reach $371.8 billion by 2020. We often see 3D printed insoles and midsoles available for purchase now, and ECCO’s collaboration with ViscoTec and its unique 3D print head will certainly help keep it in the game.

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[Images provided by ViscoTec]