For many years, Covestro has been developing custom polymer materials for all common manufacturing processes for 3D printing. Filament, powder, and liquid raw materials are suitable for many industries and applications due to their diverse properties.
The 2018 German Plastics Industry Trade Fair (Fakuma 2018) will be held at the Friedrichshafen Exhibition Center from October 16th to 20th, 2018. The company will display 3D printed shock absorber samples at booth 4206 in Hall B4 . This complex component marks another milestone from the creation of a single prototype to the integration of various functions and mass production.
Use of multiple production processes
In addition to being highly functional, the shock absorber is unique in that each component is produced through three different manufacturing processes and uses three different manufacturing processes. The outer spring of the 40 x 7 cm part is made of powdered thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is formed layer by layer using selective laser sintering, and has good elasticity and high wear resistance.
The adjustment screws inside the shock absorber must be very strong. Therefore, it is made of filament material from Covestro's rugged polycarbonate material using a fuse manufacturing (FFF) process. The internal air chamber is made of liquid polyurethane resin. Digital light processing methods have proven to be applicable to such elements with a filamentous structure, and they are equally applicable here.
Combination of custom materials
The individual components are then connected to each other. Lukas Breuers, Covestro's marketing manager for 2D and 3D printing, explains: "This complex structure is not possible in traditional production processes. Another new development is the combination of different materials with various custom properties. This allows us to greatly expand the possibilities of additive production and its applications. "
The company's other products for additive manufacturing have good heat resistance, abrasion resistance, abrasion resistance and flexibility.