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3D Printing News Briefs: October 6, 2019

We’ve got lots of material news for you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, starting with a Material Development Kit from RPS. Polymaker and Covestro are releasing three new materials and EOS has introduced a new TPU material for industrial 3D printing. Moving on, CASTOR and Stanley Black & Decker used EOS 3D printing to reduce costs and lead time, and Velo3D is partnering with PWR to make high performance heat exchangers.

RPS Introduces Material Development Kit for NEO800

UK 3D printer manufacturer RPS just launched its NEO Material Development Kit, which was designed by company engineers to be used as a polymer research and development tool for its NEO800 SLA 3D printer. The MDK comes in multiple platform and vat sizes, and allows developers to work with different resin formulations, so that R&D companies can work to develop a range of polymers that are not available in today’s industry. Users can print single layer exposure panes with Titanium software and the 1 liter vat in order to find the photo-speed of the formulation they’re developing; then, tensile testing of different material formulations can commence. Once this initial testing is finished, developers can scale up to the 13 liter vat – perfect for 3D printing prototype parts for use in optimizing final configuration settings.

“This NEO Material Development Kit now opens the door for large industrial chemical companies such as BASF, DSM and Heinkel to push the boundaries of UV photopolymers,” said David Storey, the Director of RPS. “The industry is looking for a quantum jump in materials to print end-user production parts from the stereolithography process.”

New Polycarbonate-Based Materials by Polymaker and Covestro

Advanced 3D printing materials leader Polymaker and polymer company Covestro are teaming up to launch three polycarbonate-based materials. These versatile new materials coming to the market each have unique properties that are used often in a variety of different industries.

The first is PC-ABS, a polycarbonate and ABS blend which uses Covestro’s Bayblend family as its base material. Due to its high impact and heat resistance, this material is specialized for surface finishings such as metallization and electroplating, so it’s good for post-processing work. Polymaker PC-PBT, which blends the toughness and strength of polycarbonate with PBT’s high chemical resistance, is created from Covestro’s Makroblend family and performs well under extreme circumstances, whether it’s subzero temperatures or coming into contact with hydrocarbon-based chemicals. Finally, PolyMax PC-FR is a flame retardant material that’s based in Covestro’s Makrolon family and has a good balance between safety and mechanical performance – perfect for applications in aerospace motor mounts and battery housings.

EOS Offers New Flexible TPU Material

In another materials news, EOS has launched TPU 1301, a new flexible polymer for industrial, serial 3D printing. Available immediately, this thermoplastic polyurethane has high UV-stability, great resilience, and good hydrolysis resistance as well. TPU materials are often used in applications that require easy process capabilities and elastomeric properties, so this is a great step to take towards 3D printing mass production.

“The EOS TPU 1301 offers a great resilience after deformation, very good shock absorption, and very high process stability, at the same time providing a smooth surface of the 3D printed part,” said Tim Rüttermann, the Senior Vice President for Polymer Systems & Materials at EOS. “As such the material is particularly suited for applications in footwear, lifestyle and automotive – such as cushioning elements, protective gears, and shoe soles.”

You can see application examples for TPU 1301 at the EOS booth D31, hall 11.1, at formnext in Frankfurt next month, and the material will also be featured by the company at K Fair in Dusseldorf next week.

CASTOR, Stanley Black & Decker, and EOS Reduce Costs and Lead Time

Speaking of EOS, Stanley Black & Decker recently worked with Tel Aviv startup CASTOR to majorly reduce the lead time, and cost, for an end-use metal production part that was 3D printed on EOS machinery. This was the first time that 3D printing has been incorporated into the production line of Stanley Engineered Fastening. In a CASTOR video, EOS North America’s Business Development Manager Jon Walker explained that for most companies, the issue isn’t deciding if they want to use AM, but rather how and where to use it…which is where CASTOR enters.

“They have a very cool software in which we can just upload the part of the assembly CAD file, and within a matter of minutes, it can automatically analyze the part, and give us the feasibility of whether the part is suitable for additive manufacturing or not. And in case it is not suitable, it can also let us know why it is not suitable, and what needs to be changed. It can also tell us what is the approximate cost, which material and printer we can use,” said Moses Pezarkar, a Manufacturing Engineer at Stanley’s Smart Factory, in the video.

To learn more, check out the case study, or watch the video below:

PWR and Velo3D Collaborating on 3D Printed Heat Exchangers

Cooling solutions supplier PWR and Velo3D have entered into a collaborative materials development partnership for serial manufacturing of next-generation heat exchangers, and for the Sapphire metal 3D printer. PWR will be the first in the APAC region to have a production Sapphire machine, which it will use to explore high-performance thermal management strategies through 3D printing for multiple heat exchange applications. Together, the two companies will work on developing aluminum alloy designs with more complex, thinner heat exchange features.

“PWR chose Velo3D after extensive testing. The Velo3D Sapphire printer demonstrated the ability to produce class-leading thin-wall capabilities and high-quality surfaces with zero porosity. Velo3D and PWR share a passion for pushing the limits of technology to deliver truly disruptive, class-leading, products. We are a natural fit and look forward to building a strong partnership going forward,” said Matthew Bryson, the General Manager of Engineering for PWR.

“Heat exchanger weight and pressure-drop characteristics have a huge impact on performance and are significant factors in all motorsport categories. Using additive manufacturing to print lightweight structures, enhancing performance with freedom-of-design, we have the ability to further optimize these characteristics to the customer’s requirements whilst providing the necessary cooling. The broad design capabilities and extremely high print accuracy of the Velo3D Sapphire 3D metal printer will help us optimize these various performance attributes.”

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Sinterit’s SLS 3D Printing and Flexible Materials Used to Make Strong Textiles for Opera Costumes

Spongee printed from Flexa Soft

Engineering, textiles, and additive manufacturing are different industries with different growth patterns, but they are connected by an important point: structures. Additionally, each of these industries have to struggle with limitations in order to build products for less money and materials and at a higher rate of speed. But rapid prototyping has changed how these things are built and opened the door to numerous new possibilities.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing, also known as powder bed fusion, is an accurate and durable technology that, while perhaps not the fastest method in time to part, is definitely a good choice when it comes to machines that can provide repeatable results or that print batches of many things at once. It also gives users more design freedom, which is why it’s possible to 3D print materials inspired by knitting and weaving.

But engineers aren’t typically interested in textile applications, which is why the fashion industry is driving the push to reproduce flexible features through 3D printing…leading to the invention of such innovations as hexagonal shapes corresponding to hinge joints with a pivoted angle. This kind of textile structure does not have a flexible, elastic surface, but can bend under pressure and deform.


There are many applications for flexible structures in the textile world, from decorative fabrics for interior design to upholstery and scenography, which is the design and painting of theatrical scenery. Along these same lines, SLS 3D printing can be used to create flexible textiles for theatrical costumes as well, which is what Mingjing Lin and Tsai-Chun Huang – PhD candidates in Fashion and Textile research at the Royal College of Art in London – have been working on.

Lin said, “3D printing is our media to probe creative possibilities generated from merging unlike/dynamic elements, such as digital technology and craft, traditional opera and modern performance, as well as East and West.”

Two years ago, the two began working with Polish desktop SLS 3D printer manufacturer Sinterit on creating costumes for Beijing Opera performances of “Farewell My Concubine.” Lin’s specialty is 3D printing, while Huang’s is in pleating, and the two were challenged to create 3D printed costumes that were both sustainable and flexible.

These couldn’t be just any costumes – in this opera, the costumes are an extremely important part of the performance, and had to be utterly amazing. The material used for the costumes needed to fulfill two functions: successfully create and hold the shape that the artist designed, while also being wearable enough that the performers could move freely about the stage. Clearly, this was no job for sewing mere materials like silk and cotton: 3D printing was needed to create more “dramatic geometry,” as Sinterit put it.


For this daunting task, Lin and Huang used the company’s Lisa 3D printer and special Flexa TPU material, which comes in Black, Soft, and Bright for use in various applications. Flexa is very wearable, and the costumes created with the material were able to synchronize with the performers’ bodies while at the same time retaining their shapes, which would not have been possible to achieve using more traditional materials.

The deep color of Flexa Black made it perfect for this particular opera, though Flexa Bright may be a better choice for textile fiber and costume designers, as this durable material can be dyed into different colors; Flexa Soft has the lowest hardness of the series, and is often used to design sportswear prototypes and sensory fabrics.

Obviously, those who work in textiles can find a myriad of uses for 3D printable materials that are both strong and flexible. But here’s the thing – while I noted above that engineers aren’t typically interested in this kind of application, I also believe that it would be to their best interests if they were. Think of the kinds of products they could make with materials, like Sinterit’s Flexa, that are strong enough to hold the specific shapes that are needed for different applications but are also flexible enough to bend and deform under pressure and then spring back into position. But maybe I’m not the best judge – does anyone out there know of any engineering-related applications that are using flexible textiles? Let us know!

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