On July 17, Lehvoss North America LLC, a provider of high-performance compounds and 3D printing materials, announced that it would formally cooperate with Forward Engineering North America LLC. This collaboration aims to fill the "technical gap" in additive manufacturing design in the automotive industry by providing guidance on converting performance characteristics between additive manufacturing (AM) parts and injection molded parts.
FENA is a newly established branch of Forward Engineering GmbH (Munich, Germany). Forward Engineering GmbH is a global engineering and consulting company dedicated to the cost-effective application of fiber-reinforced polymer composites in mass-produced automotive structures.
Together, Lehvoss and FENA established an AM laboratory in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA to support automotive manufacturing and product development engineers to accelerate their product development plans. According to Lehvoss, in the AM laboratory, engineers can work with the team to select suitable materials and processes to meet their application requirements, and in many cases implement functional prototypes produced on site.
"Successful product development requires design, and a combination of materials and processes," said Adam Halsband, managing director of Forward Engineering North America. "The Lehvoss/Forward Engineering cooperation and the establishment of the AM laboratory integrate these resources into a responsive software package that their engineers can use when needed."
Lehvoss said that one of the current challenges of using 3D printed parts as automotive structural parts is the availability of AM materials, which can simulate the performance of highly filled structures and semi-structural automotive grade injection-grade resin compounds. The company said that as a series of 3D printing materials including Luvosint and Luvocom 3F enter the North American market, the application range of polymers has expanded. In addition, Lehvoss NA claims that these materials will ensure that products produced using them in many industries can meet stringent functional and performance requirements.
Lehvoss pointed out several solutions, including a series of high-performance compounds, these materials can be used in the form of particles, filaments and powders for FFF and powder bed fusion AM, and can meet the demanding requirements of automotive applications. "Automotive original equipment manufacturers and suppliers want to accelerate product development through the production of prototypes with additive manufacturing (AM) functional structures. 3F Printing provides a relatively fast and cost-effective way to produce functionality that meets functional requirements. Structural prototype parts." said Martin Popella, sales and business development manager at Lehvoss. "However, the correct materials and process parameters must be selected to deliver high-quality parts that meet the target requirements (including quality, consistency and repeatability)."
It is reported that Forward Engineering has developed the 3F Twin Process to guide OEMs and tier suppliers to convert their product requirements into functional 3F printed parts and simulate the performance of their injection molded parts. Lehvoss said that in this way, concepts can be quickly developed, verified, and transformed into injection molded products. For many years, the Forward Engineering team has been supporting North American customers and working with regional technology partners to accelerate the adoption of composite-intensive hybrid material solutions. Electrification, automation, and demand for cost-effective innovation have driven the growing demand for FENA's unique production-based design and engineering services in the North American market.
Popella emphasized a key goal of this collaboration: "The combination of local support and 3D printing technology will create a hub for the 3DP value chain, which will further strengthen the region and accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing components by automotive OEMs and tier suppliers. Deployment."