Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 32

3d printing

›› Continued from page 31

Freeformer 300-3X build chamber. The
three discharge nozzles are stationary,
the part carrier moves on three axes

It's similar to pouring concrete, where
you can't let the poured material set
before adding more because that will
create a break in the structure?
Exactly. Some systems do it better, some
worse.
The more you pay, the better the
system? Is that accurate?
I'd break it down by saying there are
consumer printers and industrial printers. You cannot compare consumer
printers which cost €3,000 to an industrial machine which might cost
€100,000. They are different technologies for different applications. Industrial models have completely different
hardware and software.
Is part size limited to the actual space
around the application area?
Yes. Every 3D printer has a different work
area and that limits the part size.
Is there any future opportunity to
increase that area, the range?
Yes, but you always need to take into
account whether users really need that.
I understand your thought, but it has to
be a win/win. The bigger the part size, the
longer the print process. It doesn't make
sense to print something that will take
that long.
People off-set the print duration by
having multiple machines. Is that the
only way to batch produce parts?
It's just like other production processes,
when you have more machines, you can
make more parts. Five CNC machines can
make five times more parts than one CNC
machine.
How have production times been
reduced over the evolution of 3D
printing systems? What lends itself to
faster part production?
Good question. The first step to getting

a faster part is rethinking construction.
It doesn't make sense to print a 3D part
which is directly coming from injection
moulding. You need to follow respective
design rules, there is a completely different range of choices, freedoms, with 3D
printing. With rethinking the design you
can also reduce the production time.
Has deposition speed been increased?
Of course. From 2013 to now we have
increased our printing speed, the speed
of the machines. There's also been an
increase in material delivery. In the beginning it was about 200 droplets per
second, now we are up to about 330
droplets. That's with no loss to the accuracy.
Can the production process support
recycled polymer?
You can use recycled material, but the
material costs are not that high because
you're using standard pellets.
But perhaps the customer wants to
use recycled plastic for environmental
concerns?
So yes, it's OK.
How does the cost-per-part compare
to injection moulding?
That's difficult to say, as it depends so
much on the part size and the number of
parts. The two processes don't lend themselves to comparison. It's really down to
the application and selecting the correct
process.
We did a study to see how many parts
could be printed before it made sense to
produce the same on an injection moulding machine. I think it was about 5,000
parts and then it made sense to switch.
But still, it depends on the geometry, the
size and form of the part. But in reality,
this should be done on a case-by-case
basis.
There are some things that 3D printing
can achieve that injection moulding
cannot?
Yes, absolutely. 3D printing is an additional production technology, with different
design rules and freedoms. There are a
lot of benefits, especially when producing
lightweight parts.
That's useful, as you don't want
3D printing overlapping with
Arburg's core products, the injection
moulders?
There's almost no overlap. We launched
the machine as an additional production
process, where you can form different
parts that would not be possible in other
processes, different applications.

Arburg has manufactured a sample
honeycomb structure from TPE Medalist
MD 12130H (Shore A hardness 32)

32

WWW.PRW.COM | May/June 2019

This demonstrates capability for lightweight part construction, including
filter elements

Can you prototype injection mould
tooling?
Yes, we can do small tools in plastic. But
you cannot compare the product to a
metal part.


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Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019

Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - Cover1
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - Cover2
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 4
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 5
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 6
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 7
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 8
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Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 38
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - Cover3
Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - Cover4
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