JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #136 - September/October 2020 - 15

When 3D printing meets sustainability

We support our customers
through a four-step process including: 1) analysis of the part's
environment and development
of specifications, 2) part design,
recommendations on the most
suitable materials and selection
of a 3D printing process, 3)
production of the part via its
technological hub (composites,
polymers, alloys or ceramics),
and 4) quantification of durability under in-situ conditions.
We differentiate ourselves from
other players with our scientific
knowledge and our ability
to offer tailor-made services
depending on our customer's
needs.
We are a spin-off of Centrale
Lille and we collaborate with
three cutting-edge laboratories
(Mechanics,
Multi-physics,
Multi-scale
Laboratory/
LaMcube - Centrale Lille,
Engineering Mechanics in
Materials Mechanics Laboratory/PIMM - ENSAM Paris,
Industry Research Centre Belgian Ceramics - BCRC Mons,
Belgium).
Through this service offer,
4D Pioneers wants to revolutionize industrial practices in
the field of obsolescence, to
demonstrate that 3D printing is
a particularly effective solution
both for replacing obsolete
parts and for extending the life
of machines by replacing existing parts with parts combining
optimized design with more
efficient materials.

In which sector(s) do you work
the most?

N.G.: The automotive, civil

engineering, sporting goods,
energy and medical industries
are particularly interested
in our services and additive
manufacturing technology.

What are your mid-term goals
and how are you planning to
achieve them?

N.G.: Our services have
attracted attention from the
largest players across industries. We are currently focused
on delivering the best service
and customer experience. We
want to focus on key customers and develop a catalogue of
technical spare parts together
with them.
But we are also engaged in advancing science with two main
areas of research: sustainability, i.e. evaluating the longevity
of the parts produced under
real conditions of use, and
process
innovation
for
neo-materials. The purpose of
this holistic approach is to use
additive manufacturing processes to produce components
with an extended lifetime,
whatever the materials.
To really change the paradigm
for the industrial use of 3D
printing, we need to improve
additive manufacturing technology and its application to
high-performance materials:
PEEK, PEKK, PEI... Many
printers can do the job, but the

Ceramic printing

process is not efficient enough
and must be improved for
high-tech industries.
Considering the strong potential of additive manufacturing
and the problems encountered by the industry, we are
working on a new process. We
want Industry 4.0 to become a
reality. Therefore, our objective is to develop new printers
capable of printing composites
with high-performance matrix
materials and continuous
carbon fibre.
In addition, our discussions
with our industrial partners
have shown that there is a real
interest in elastomers. Therefore, the next step is to develop the printing technology
for elastomers and composite
elastomers.
Our last line of development
is the search for new materials

N°136 September - October 2020

compatible with additive
manufacturing
technology.
The family of polymers and
composites available is very
wide and we really need to
focus on how to print them
while taking into account
their functional requirements
or, ideally, improving their
performance. Qualifying the
longevity of the parts produced will be a key focus in
the development of printing
solutions.
Our ambition is to accomplish
these goals within the next
24 months. Our motivation
is extremely strong. We want
to be major players in the 3D
revolution in the industrial
world... right now.
More information:
www.4dpioneers.com

/ jec composites magazine

15
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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #136 - September/October 2020

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