The daily maintenance of Deutsche Bahn is a headache for engineers.
With more than 100 years of railway history, there are more than 100 kinds of trains traveling on the German railway network. A large variety of spare parts and components has become a heavy burden on the maintenance department. However, due to various reasons, some parts and components have been discontinued, and the parts supply chain has severely broken. In order to solve the problem of parts supply, Deutsche Bahn AG thought of 3D printing technology.
3D printing technology has many incomparable advantages of traditional injection molding. It can directly convert digital models into physical objects without using any tools or molds. It can greatly shorten the process cycle and reduce production costs, especially for modeling or small batches. produce.
In 2015, Deutsche Bahn launched a company-wide 3D printing project, one of which was used to install a diaphragm in a train brake control valve, with a thickness of only 4 mm, which required very high strength and flexibility of the material. During the repeated market screening process, Deutsche Bahn chose WACKER's ACEO® brand. Their silicone materials and 3D printing technology are in line with the requirements of membrane products.
Silicone diaphragm manufactured using ACEO® 3D printing
How does ACEO®'s silicone materials appeal to the demanding Deutsche Bahn AG? How is silicone related to 3D printing?
The scientific name of organic silicon is polydimethylsiloxane, which is a general term for a class of polymers whose main chain is alternated by silicon and oxygen atoms. According to Liu Lijun, senior technical manager of WACKER CHEMICAL, "Silicon materials are derived from natural silicon ore (sand gravel). Compared to most synthetic rubber derived from crude oil, the silicon-oxygen chain structure of silicones is The carbon chain has a higher bond energy, can withstand higher temperatures and environmental aging such as UV radiation. Its free-rotating side-chain structure allows the material to maintain its soft characteristics in environments as low as -50 degrees Celsius. In addition, since no plasticizer is added to the formula, silicone materials have good food safety and biocompatibility, and can be widely used in food contact or medical devices, which is also unmatched by many synthetic rubbers. "
The outstanding performance of silicones is an important prerequisite for Deutsche Bahn AG approval. Of course, this is also inseparable from WACKER Chem's advance layout in silicone 3D printing.
Create the world's first 3D printed elastomer service online store
The combination of 3D printing technology and silicone materials has enabled many traditional injection molding to meet unmet needs. For example, in the industrial fields such as transportation or machinery and equipment and medical fields, rapid modeling, small-volume production of products, and production of spare parts on demand are very important. .
Based on this market demand, WACKER Chemical exhibited and launched the world's first industrially-available silicone 3D printer at the 2016 German International Plastics and Rubber Exhibition, and at the same time created a new business model-for all elastomer-related products 3D printing services created the ACEO® brand, which makes WACKER Chemical the first company in the world to industrially produce elastomers through 3D printing.
In order to promote the development of 3D printing technology, WACKER has built a 700-square-meter additive manufacturing technology center near the Burghausen production site. "Unlike WACKER's traditionally rigorous business, the ACEO® team atmosphere is very open," said Liu Lijun.
ACEO®'s sales model is also very different from WACKER's traditional business. Liu Lijun pointed out, "ACEO®'s 3D printing will not sell materials, equipment or software separately. We provide customized solutions."
The sales model of ACEO® 3D printing service is mainly through the online store. Users can contact the German customer service staff and upload the design drawings to the customer service server. A dedicated development engineer will review the user's development needs and evaluate the feasible solution. Sex. After the screening is passed, the development engineer prints out the product according to the design drawing, and finally delivers the product and design plan to the user. The ownership of the design plan is the user himself.
In addition to this online store-based digital business model, WACKER also launched an "Open Printing Lab" where customers can receive personal training on-site, which is the first in the industry.
Powering the Automation Revolution
The silence of WACKER's ACEO® campus in Burghausen is heard only by the hum of a copier-sized box. This buzzing box is the world's first industrial-grade silicone 3D printer developed by WACKER engineers.
Since its inception, it has successfully turned many clever ideas into tangible objects, one of which is the robotic gripper developed by Formhand of Brunswick, Germany. The elastic fixture is made of silicone and uses WACKER ACEO® 3D technology.
This humble part is only the size of a thumb and is shaped like a cylindrical container: closed at the top, open at the bottom, and hollow inside. However, although seemingly bland, it is the result of years of hard work, courage and perseverance.
According to Holger Kunz, the inventor of the technology, "that evening, my entrepreneurial partner Christian Löchte mentioned this unsolved problem at the time: how to develop a robotic gripper that can pick up extremely thin materials." It can be used to grab any object that needs to be moved, which can save the company a lot of time and cost for retrofitting automatic control devices. Determined to put his ideas into practice, Kunz came to WACKER, hoping to expand the application area of the product. His USB flash drive contains an electronic version of a blue silicon cap design drawing, which is a sketch of a new size adsorption pad. The purpose of developing this new shape was to enable the vacuum gripper to grasp eight objects the size of a table tennis ball and move them to another position.
With the help of the ACEO® team, Kunz's vision became a reality. "Here we can see another advantage of 3D printing in practice, that is, prototype manufacturing. The 3D printing process can help amateurs and startups like Formhand to quickly produce unique parts, and most importantly, cost It is also relatively low, "said Seitz, ACEO® mechanical engineer.
Expanding applications in the medical field
In addition to industrial application expansion, the combination of silicone's good biocompatibility and 3D printing technology's customized features has also helped WACKER Chemical expand its application market in the medical field.
According to Liu Lijun, customized anatomical models have significant advantages in today's medical applications. They are useful in clinical training, visualization and simulation of surgical plans, notification of conditions, and in the simulation of medical device development. They can also be used as customized models of precision prostheses.
ACEO® medical anatomical model
Silicone elastomers have excellent flexibility and elasticity, and can be cut and sutured. They are especially suitable for replicating soft tissues such as blood vessels, heart, muscles or skin. Technology can be used to print 3D anatomical models with complex structures. The combination of the two makes the fidelity of simulation biomechanics reach an unprecedented level.
3D printed silicone anatomical models are playing an increasingly important role in clinical applications, universities and research institutions.
According to Egbert Klaassen, Global Marketing Director of ACEO®, "The anatomical model printed with real silicone elastomers demonstrates the extreme fidelity that anatomical models can achieve. WACKER works with experts from many universities, clinics and research institutions A basic product line including vascular, aortic arch, aortic valve and tricuspid valve models has been developed and is planned to be rolled out in the mass market. "
It is understood that a series of models developed by WACKER and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg have been officially launched.
Liu Lijun, who is in charge of the ACEO® China market, said, "At present, the Chinese medical market has great potential, but Chinese users have a low awareness of silicone materials and the market still needs to expand."
At present, the ACEO® team is committed to exploring the Chinese medical market. Its silicone 3D equipment has left Germany for the first time at the China International Import Expo, which has just concluded, attracting a lot of industry attention. "I believe that with the medical industry's understanding of silicone elastomer materials gradually, the application of silicone rubber in the medical industry will become more and more widespread." Liu Lijun said.