3D printing service provider Sculpteo and the parent company BASF announced a new product of high-performance materials for automotive customers.
New products include polyamide 6 (PA6), polypropylene and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials, which were developed at BASF R&D facilities in Germany and France. They are already available through the Sculpteo and Forward AM brands.
Each material series has been launched to help facilitate mass production of vehicle 3D printed parts. In the PA 6 series, users can use their rigidity, high temperature and flame retardant properties to additively manufacture parts under the hood, ventilation grilles, headlight housings and brackets, while using strong and flexible TPU materials to manufacture intake pipes , Dashboard elements and custom cockpit components. Polypropylene material is a lower cost option that can be used to connect parts. Sculpteo is also using BASF's Ultrafuse 316L metal filaments on BigRep machines.
In the cooperation between Sculpteo and Forward AM, Sculpteo is responsible for communicating with the market, while Forward AM is responsible for "achieving the goal of large-scale industrial commercialization of potential demand products." Through 3D printing services, Sculpteo can enter a series of industries, where new 3D printing materials will be tested on the market, and then BASF can use its own additive manufacturing equipment to provide materials to industrial enterprises and mass production.
"By partnering with Sculpteo, Forward AM has an agile, market-oriented partner, which allows the company to quickly validate materials and quickly deploy them to industrial customers who integrate 3D printing," Dietmar Bender, Managing Director of Forward AM The doctor commented.
Clément Moreau, CEO of Sculpteo, added: "We are pleased to provide our customers with more materials. These technical materials allow the industry to freely conceive and develop equipment, which will revolutionize mobility at a higher speed."
In addition to introducing new materials, Sculpteo is also expanding the footprint and machine capacity of its factory in France. The company's construction area has doubled to 1,600 square meters, and it is installing 2 million euros of 3D printing equipment from the United States, Germany, France and China. Sculpteo was acquired by BASF in November last year.