Figures that Require Action – and Payment

They are figures that at least make you think. According to an OECD report published last year, the amount of plastic waste worldwide is set to almost triple within 40 years.

According to an OECD report, the amount of plastic waste worldwide is set to almost triple within 40 years. The consequence would be further severe increases in plastic pollution of the environment and water, and a devastating climate balance – unless far-reaching countermeasures are taken.

They are figures that at least make you think. According to an OECD report published last year, the amount of plastic waste worldwide is set to almost triple within 40 years. In “Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060,” extensive computer simulations project an increase in waste volumes from 353 million tons in 2019 to 1014 million tons in 2060. According to the models, 20 and 50 percent would be burned and landfilled, but only 17 percent recycled. In the same period, global plastics consumption will increase from 460 million tons to an almost unimaginable 1231 million tons. The consequence would be further severe increases in plastic pollution of the environment and water, and a devastating climate balance – unless far-reaching countermeasures are taken.

This scenario – the data pool with future growth spurts, particularly in the developing and emerging economies of Africa and Asia, should be taken seriously – let’s not beat about the bush: it is a threat. But it doesn’t have to come to that, since the OECD report outlines an international concerted action, flanked by regulatory and fiscal measures, to limit plastics consumption, push the global recycling rate to 60 percent and put an end to environmental littering. But it also imposes obligations on industry: if the plan is to succeed, it must consider a more qualitative growth focusing on long-life products that conserve resources. Products that are unavoidably ephemeral will require a functioning circular economy.

Implementing this ambitious package of measures should only impact global GDP (gross domestic product) by 0.8 percent compared to the baseline value. That sounds solvable. However, there is a catch: the bulk of the costs would have to be borne by the non-OECD countries, since it is first and foremost they who would have to make considerable investments in an efficient waste management system. So, in the service of the good cause, governments from OECD countries with a social conscience or other financial backers with a penchant for philanthropy should step up to the plate.

16:9

16:9(1)

Editorial - Doriat

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

“Mobile Injection Molding Needs Time to Mature”

What Anybrid envisions is using lightweight construction technologies to build injection molding technology compact and light enough to take off with the corresponding robotics or automation. The Dresden start-up knows how to convince: not only with words, but also with its grasp of technology.

Anybrid from Dresden makes light, mobile and flexible injection-molding machines. The start-up combines the disciplines of plastics technology and lightweight construction in a way it says has never been imagined before.

Michael Stegelmann is one of the managing directors at Anybrid: the Dresden start-up that makes light, mobile and flexible injection molding machines. Stegelmann and his three co-founders have broken new ground by combining the disciplines of plastics technology and lightweight construction in hitherto unforeseen ways. Stegelmann was the next guest in our ongoing New Plastic Heroes start-up series to talk about the company, its ups and downs and what the future of lightweight construction holds.

Michael Stegelmann: We have worked with the automotive industry to set up various processes in a number of publicly funded projects, which have seen us develop various structural components such as tailgates, seats or complete underbodies using thermoplastics, metals and/or composites. Many of these approaches involved us deploying injection molding alongside forming processes. The processes we refined to do so remain state-of-the-art and some have also made it to series production. However, if components are only to be functionalized locally with plastic, transferring existing solutions to sectors outside the automotive industry is not always easy.

Michael Stegelmann: Well among other factors, it‘s down to very high investments in plant and tool technology, the ROI of which only comes when you process in bulk. So we took this dilemma as the chance to develop an all-new approach. By doing so, we want to ensure the numerous advantages of injection molding technology can be leveraged to produce components via multi-material design, which other industries can also use. Scope to move an injection molding machine freely in space paves the way to implement flexible production and assembly lines.

Kunststoffe: At K 2022, you already showcased your second-generation mobile injection molding machines. What things have changed since your first trade show appearance in 2019?

Michael Stegelmann: Shortly after K 2019, we were awarded EXIST funding, which we used to extensively test our first pilot system and evaluate its usability in initial customer projects. What we also have to remember is that mobility exerts additional demands on mechanics, which are much simpler when classic injection molding machines are used. We were able to build on what we learned to improve the machine.

Michael Stegelmann: We made it an additional 10 % lighter. The position of the robot connection has also changed, which allowed us to optimize the system‘s center of gravity and extend its reach.

Kunststoffe: For which industries and components could the machine be useful?

Michael Stegelmann: In some projects, our plant technology will be used in the automotive industry. The key thing for us, though, is this: It is not the only use case. Inquiries have also come from construction and industrial sectors, the furniture industry or even the electronics industry, for a whole range of reasons. Companies from the classic profile extrusion sector are also included and very specific projects exist, setting out how our system is to be used in various scenarios.

Kunststoffe: What are the limits of your technology – for which applications is your technology not usable?

Michael Stegelmann: On the one hand, limits apply in terms of restrictions on shot volume and clamping force. On the other, our plant technology will not work if used in the same way as classic stationary injection molding plants. We see our system as an add-on module for other processes to locally overmold workpieces, profiles or components.

Kunststoffe: To date, what has been the greatest success for Anybrid?

Michael Stegelmann: As well as the various innovation awards that we have won over the past three years, our stand-out successes have been signing two cooperative agreements. The partners see how much potential our plant technology has and want to use it in various production scenarios. So on the one hand, we cooperate closely with Rehau Industries and on the other, with a South Korean electronics group.

Kunststoffe: Did you also experience setbacks?

Michael Stegelmann: Well, of course, we’ve also had setbacks. Under current circumstances, particularly, we soon see signs of interest, but the risk that taking further steps would entail is then avoided. This is often also due to the fact that a rethink is required in production, which involves effort from the outset and will only pay off later down the line. Fortunately, however, what we also now see is that many of those with whom we have spoken over the past three years are now approaching us with new and often very specific inquiries. And this underlines for us the fact that the idea of mobile injection molding just needs time to mature in what remains a rather conservative industry.

Kunststoffe: Which industries are spearheading present-day lightweight construction developments? Is it still aviation and carmaking?

Michael Stegelmann: It goes without saying that aviation and carmaking still underpin many classic lightweight construction topics today. However, applications in construction and industrial sectors are also growing strongly. Moreover, lightweight design has been present and applied in various plastics technology applications for many decades, without now necessarily being associated with lightweight design. As a general rule, foams offer the easiest and best solution: lightweight design by omission.

Kunststoffe: Where do you currently see the biggest challenges for lightweight construction?

Michael Stegelmann: As well as ensuring that lightweight technologies do not result in any additional costs, it is imperative to consider the required circularity of the components at an early stage during development. This is particularly applicable when several materials are combined. The already good separability of the materials must be further boosted significantly to allow efficient recycling.

Kunststoffe: In closing: Where do you see Anybrid or your technology in five years?

Michael Stegelmann: We firmly expect to have positioned our mobile injection molding technology in several series applications within the next five years. The goal for the next few years is also to boost awareness on the international market and win more customers there. We also hope to further refine the plant technology. We also see particularly great potential in coupling of several systems that are integrated in production processes in parallel.

Founders from left to right: Michael Stegelmann, Michael Krahl, Tony Weber and Jan Luft

A mobile injection molding system for start-ups: However, the young company not only sells plant technology, but also develops products and processes related to mobile injection molding technology together with customers.

Anybrid - Start-up des Monats

Start-up Puts Injection Molding Machines on a Diet

<ul><li>Name: Anybrid GmbH</li><li> Founded: 12/2020 in Dresden, Germany</li><li>Total customers: 15</li><li>Number of employees: 4</li><li>Homepage: <a href="https://anybrid.de/en/">anybrid.de/en</a></li></ul>

Read the German version of the article in our magazine Kunststoffe or at

<a href="https://www.kunststoffe.de/a/interview/das-mobile-spritzgiessen-braucht-zeit-zu-3279575" target="_blank">www.kunststoffe.de</a>

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Leichtbau

Start up

Wirtschaft

Unternehmen und Unternehmer

Ehrhardt, Melanie

Dr. Norbert Niessner has combined input from authors across industry to publish the book “Recycling of Plastics”. The resulting title offers an in-depth guide to the very latest global plastics recycling insights.

Dr. Norbert Niessner “Recycling of Plastics”: An in-depth guide to the very latest global plastics recycling insights.

We leverage the numerous advantages of plastics throughout society. They extend the life of food, make cars lighter and medical products cheaper. But even so, more and more people are keen to do without them. A decision which may pay off in private, even if only to reduce the personal waste footprint.

Viewed from a large, industrial scale, the concept may mean just the opposite. „Embarking on a strategy to replace or even abandon plastics would not only affect lifestyles, it would significantly boost emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide,“ writes Dr. Norbert Niessner in the foreword to his new book „Recycling of Plastics“.

At the same time, however, he acknowledges: We cannot keep going as we are. And while much of the world still recovers precious metals, including from landfill sites, end-of-life plastic products are still considered waste rather than a valuable resource. According to Niessner: „The problem isn‘t plastics, but collection systems and recycling initiatives that are not fit for purpose.“

Recycling plastics is not only a crucial must for politics and society, but also for the entire plastics processing industry, including the next generation. This is why Niessner explicitly addresses his book to engineers, researchers, students, product designers, plastics and product manufacturers, recyclers, sorters and decision-makers in industry and government. But also to „anyone after a comprehensive overview of plastics recycling and how it relates to sustainability.“

That is also what convinced close to 50 international industry leaders and renowned researchers to pool their expertise and help shed light on all aspects of plastics recycling – from mechanical and chemical approaches to new concepts such as „design for recycling.“ And even at 869 pages, the result is a compact go-to reference guide.

Dr. Norbert Niessner: .“The problem isn‘t plastics, but collection systems and recycling initiatives that are not fit for purpose.“

“Recycling of Plastics”: an in-depth guide to the very latest global plastics recycling insights.

Buchtipp - KU 2023-01

Plastic Recycling: All Your Questions Answered

Dr. Norbert Niessner is Global Head of Research and Development at Ineos Styrolution.  Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann heads the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Skilled Crafts at RWTH Aachen. Dr. Carolin Beyer is a research engineer at BAS.

Get your copy of the book (in print and eBook versions) at

<a href="https://www.hanserpublications.com/Products/634-recycling-of-plastics.aspx" target="_blank">www.hanserpublications.com</a>

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Recyclable Materials Management Is the Way to the Goal

The film manufacturer Südpack sees it as its responsibility to contribute towards the circular economy. The family-owned business is going one step further in its efforts here and aims to develop into a zero-waste company in the medium term. How can this be achieved?

Südpack sees it as its responsibility to contribute towards the circular economy and aims to develop into a zero-waste company.

The circular economy is a fundamental goal for the packaging industry. The demands of legislators and stakeholders and ultimately also the sustainability goals of the companies themselves are increasingly requiring it. The motto is: less plastic, closed cycles. Südpack is aware of this. However, the film manufacturer is also aware that a large part of its products become waste after a single use.

In order to produce reusable raw materials from this waste, mechanical recycling plays a key role at the company. The challenge: for a variety of reasons, mechanical recycling alone cannot be used to recirculate plastics; further approaches are needed. A successful circular economy for production-related as well as post-industrial and post-consumer plastics waste is based on a heterogeneous mix of different recycling technologies. They are all united by the goal of sensibly processing existing plastics on the market at the end of life and so keeping them in circulation. In other words, chemical and mechanical recycling not only complement each other but in combination also deliver the greatest CO2 savings. Through a system change, the quantity of virgin materials produced and fossil raw materials consumed can in turn be lessened and waste reduced.

In addition to the development of structures that are as material-efficient as possible, the main prerequisites necessary are massive expansion of existing recycling capacities, further development of existing recycling processes and, last but not least, development of new technologies. But the commitment of each individual company and each individual consumer is also required.

When it comes to the circular economy, Südpack focuses on four key approaches:

<ul><li> recovery of recyclable materials through chemical and mechanical recycling,</li><li>compounding for recyclable materials processing (upcycling),</li><li>coextrusion for the production of mechanically recyclable products, and</li><li>use of recyclates.</li></ul>

An important element here is the ISCC Plus certification (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), which the company was one of the first film manufacturers to successfully complete for all German sites at the end of 2021. Südpack employs the certification, among other things, to prove the use of recycled material – and so has created an important basis for continuing development of processes and products that will further drive the transformation from a linear to a circular economy.

Specifically, the ISCC Plus certification confirms the traceability of the products with regard to their use and the proportion of chemically or mechanically recycled raw materials. This proportion may be shown separately. This is necessary to ensure the traceability of sustainable input materials throughout the supply chain.

Chemical Recycling as a Complementary Technology

Südpack has implemented various material recycling processes at the German production sites for the waste of varying quality that is generated in the production processes. The aim is for the fraction of materials recycled to gradually increase in relation to the quantities of waste.

This is achieved through the continuous optimization of processes and recycling technologies – and the gradual expansion of capacities: Südpack now operates its own competence center for compounding and pelletization in Schwendi, Germany. Here, all production scrap such as edge strips and start-up material generated at the German sites in Erlenmoos, Ochsenhausen, and Erolzheim is systematically collected in a separate area, sorted by polymer, and processed into pellets on state-of-the-art facilities. These are then available again for the manufacture of new products. Other material fractions are in turn processed into high-quality compounds that are suitable, for example, for injection molding applications.

At the same time, the company is investing in chemical recycling (more precisely, in Carboliq’s technology for the liquefaction of used plastics) and, together with partners, is accelerating the establishment of this process as an additional and complementary technology for materials that cannot be mechanically recycled due to their structure or degree of contamination. Around half of all polymer waste is still incinerated. The aim is to create a closed and efficient system in line with industry standards and so also to keep these waste materials in circulation.

Specifically, the process enables the regeneration of a high-quality liquid resource that can be used for the production of new polymers. In this way, chemically recycled plastics waste can also be recycled indefinitely without any loss of quality. In addition to handling a wide range of input materials, this process offers competitive advantages in terms of energy efficiency and low emission loads. The liquid resource obtained is available in virgin quality and, like fossil raw materials, can be used to produce a wide variety of plastic pellets. These, in turn, can be processed into high-performance films for demanding packaging applications, such as are required especially in the food industry.

Closed cycles already exist. The plastics waste from film production, for example, is collected, sorted and processed in modern plants into high-quality compounds that can be individually tailored and used for the manufacture of new products.

Thanks, in particular, to their reduced CO2 footprint, these compounds are increasingly becoming indispensable for the production of injection-molded parts, such as for technical products or consumer goods. Specific examples are household appliances and components for the automotive industry. The reduced CO2 footprint is shown separately and helps customers optimize their life cycle assessment.

The production of process packaging for the cheese industry generates recyclable materials which, depending on their composition and degree of contamination, can be processed either by mechanical or chemical recycling and so kept in circulation. The pellets can then be used again in the production of films for a wide variety of applications.

With these efforts, Südpack demonstrates its “zero waste” claim. However, this is only one aspect of the sustainability roadmap. The central goal is: net zero. By 2025, the globally active group aims to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions and those caused through energy needs by 95 % and indirect greenhouse gas emissions along the value chain by 15 %.

Further measures to improve the CO2 balance include the increased use of renewable energy and additional investments in photovoltaic systems.

In order to ensure that all climate protection efforts are actually in line with the ambition level of the Paris Climate Agreement, the film manufacturer has also joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi helps companies to align their climate-change-mitigation activities with the 1.5 °C target. It does this by evaluating the companies’ own targets. Südpack is simultaneously undertaking to comply with its greenhouse gas accounting standards.

Sustainability can have many faces: mechanical and chemical recycling, design for recycling, reduction of the CO2 footprint, etc.

Competence center for compounding: in Schwendi, the packaging specialist manufactures plastic pellets itself and continually enhances their properties. 

Südpack - Zero Waste - KUint 2023-01

On the Way to Zero Waste?

Verpackungsmittel aus Kunststoffen

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Verpackungstechnik

Logistik

Efficient Use of Materials through Recyclable Powder Mixtures

Laser sintering has established itself in the industrial environment as one of the main additive manufacturing processes for functional prototypes and end-use parts made of plastic. However, there is still plenty of untapped potential for making more efficient use of cost-intensive starting material.

Greater sustainability in laser sintering: how recyclable powder mixtures make more efficient material use.

Many laser sintering (LS) users are failing to optimize the sustainable use of resources and avoid waste completely in this process. This failure results in squandered cost savings opportunities and the implementation of a closed-loop economy. The primary reason is that equipment and material manufacturers suggest that laser sintering needs an abundance of virgin material to yield replicable results. The unusable waste powder material that remains is all too frequently overlooked, but it can amount to two tons per LS machine per year.

There is a better option: GS-Pro GmbH processes waste material and returns it to the LS process in a closed material loop. The outcome is more efficient material use, waste minimization, and cost savings that combine similar levels of aesthetic and mechanical properties of the additively manufactured parts for improved overall quality.

Laser sintering keeps opening up new fields of application to a wide variety of industries. Aside from the creation of prototypes, which was the original application area for which volume demand is mostly low now, laser sintering is being increasingly called on to additively produce small series. In this connection, industries such as mechanical engineering and medical technology are becoming more and more prominent. These sectors are increasingly on the lookout for customizable, more-versatile production methods, and are mainly finding these in laser sintering.

The growing demand for standard parts and wider areas of application combined with greater production numbers and batch sizes means that the machine-utilization rate and the number of systems in use are increasing. However, a consequence of this trend is a sharp increase in additional consumption of starting materials.

Unfilled polyamide 12 (PA12) is the material most frequently employed for laser sintering because of its great ease of processing. Due to the nature of the LS process, only 5 to 15 % of the powder material used in a run can be converted into parts in an industrial production environment. The non-sintered waste powder will have been thermally stressed and is therefore of limited suitability for further use in downstream build jobs. For this reason, up to 45 % of the waste powder generated in conventional laser sintering applications usually winds up being either disposed of or routed to lower-value processes.

Given the high prices for PA12 virgin powder ranging from 45 to 100 EUR/kg, not only is the economic potential being poorly exploited by the absence of a material reprocessing system; but important resources are also being used inefficiently. To reduce the environmental impact and keep waste volumes down while exploiting existing cost-saving potential, the growing market for additive manufacturing must make efficient use of resources [1].

 Circular Economy through  Powder Reprocessing

Figure 1 shows an example of the powder loop for processing unfilled PA12 on EOS GmbH equipment. In conventional laser sintering, after a build process has been completed, large quantities of polymer powder are disposed of. With sustainability and the economics of industrial processes in mind, the goal of laser sintering should be operating a cyclical, completely closed material loop. GS-Pro’s reprocessing technology for used waste powder fully closes this material loop and diminishes the levels of powder scrap.

Technology users should aim for closed material cycles that reduce waste to an absolute minimum and result in material cost savings. This can be achieved by reprocessing and reusing the excess and thermally stressed waste material from the LS process, instead of sending it for disposal or repurposing to uneconomical industrial processes, as was previously the case. Simply stated, only that amount of virgin material is used for one LS build cycle, which on average is removed from the process in the form of a part over the many production cycles.

In the course of the research project, it was asked: why has it not proved possible to completely reuse the powder material in a closed-loop process, so far? And why do typical surface defects occur when the content of waste material is too high? To clarify this issue, studies aimed at characterizing the powder material were carried out in conjunction with processing trials on different types of equipment.

The results of the thermo-analytical studies allow the conclusion that the PA12 powder employed is not demonstrably damaged during laser sintering. However, the rheological measurements observed have an increase in the melt viscosity for the old material compared to the new material. Scientifically, the increase in viscosity of the polymer melt induced by laser sintering is explained by a lengthening of the polymer chains in response to the long thermal stress on the powder material that is needed by the process. Thus the readings obtained provide information about the processing and service properties of the polymer powder samples that were investigated.

The changes which have occurred in the waste powder allow for surface defects in the powder mixture when excessive amounts of waste powder are used, as is the case in conventional laser sintering. These defects are known as orange peel.

 Reducing Material Costs and Energy Consumption

Process implementation and processing of the GS-Pro reprocessed powder were carried out at Oerlikon AM Europe GmbH. It is proven that the powder reprocessing method employed and the adjustments made to the process parameters enable parts to be repeatedly manufactured with good quality and without surface defects. Moreover, the mechanical properties of manufactured parts possess improved elongation at break and impact strength, especially in the build direction. The results are shown in Table 1.

A cost calculation shows that approximately 30 % of the material costs arising from laser sintering can be recuperated by reusing the powder in a closed loop. Furthermore, energy consumption falls by nearly 45 % along the entire laser-sintering value chain because the materials are used more efficiently.

Based on the knowledge gained from the joint project, Oerlikon AM has decided to combine material processing with a closed-loop process to be able to offer its customers more efficiently produced and enhanced part properties with the same level of aesthetic part quality.

For years, powder reprocessing by GS-Pro has been an industrially applicable and proven development in laser sintering. The reprocessed PA12 material can already be used in all kinds of industrial production systems. Aside from PA12, reprocessing has been implemented for PA11 and PA12–12, thus avoiding powder waste for these polymers as well.

Powder reprocessing also makes for a more efficient use of resources. In some cases, it yields parts with improved mechanical properties, cost savings in production, and more stable laser sintering processes by lowering batch variations influence from virgin powder production.

Thus, greater production and cost efficiency while maintaining the same quality standards with greater sustainability is achieved.

[1] Wohlers Associates: New Wohlers Report 2021 Finds 7.5% Growth in Additive (2021). URL: <a href="https://wohlersassociates.com/press-releases/new-wohlers-report-2021-finds-7–5-growth-in-additive/" target="_blank">https://wohlersassociates.com/press-releases/new-wohlers-report-2021-finds-7–5-growth-in-additive/</a> (status: 2022–12–14)

Improved mechanical properties of PA12 parts as a result of closing the laser-sintering material loop.

Fig. 1. Powder loop for PA12: without processing, almost 10 kg of potential material is lost per build job.

Table 1. Results of the mechanical tests of the manufactured test specimens.

Hauptartikel GS-Pro

Dr.-Ing. Sören Griessbach is Managing Director of GS-Pro GmbH in Chemnitz, Germany; <a href="mailto:info@gspro-gmbh.com">info@gspro-gmbh.com</a>

Philipp Beck is PowdeR²eSint Project Manager at GS-Pro GmbH in Chemnitz; <a href="mailto:info@gspro-gmbh.com">info@gspro-gmbh.com</a>

Florian Kunze is a process engineer at Oerlikon AM Europe GmbH in Barleben, Germany; <a href="mailto:florian.kunze@oerlikon.com">florian.kunze@oerlikon.com</a>

Nadine Buschner is a scientific associate conducting research in the field of polymer and surface chemistry at the Institute for Structural Lightweight Engineering at the Technical University of Chemnitz; <a href="mailto:nadine.buschner@mb.tu-chemnitz.de">nadine.buschner@mb.tu-chemnitz.de</a>

Dr.-Ing. Martin Kausch is Head of the Department for Systems and Technologies for Textile Structures at the Fraunhofer IWU; <a href="mailto:martin.kausch@iwu.fraunhofer.de">martin.kausch@iwu.fraunhofer.de</a>

The authors would like to thank the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding the “PowdeR²eSint” research project (FKZ 033R221) as part of the r+Impuls funding program.

Read the German version of the article in our magazine Kunststoffe or at <a href="https://www.kunststoffe.de/a/fachartikel/auf-dem-weg-zur-kreislaufwirtschaft-3361178" target="_blank">www.kunststoffe.de</a>

Verfahren für die additive Fertigung

Selektives Lasersintern von Kunststoff, Metall, Keramik

Pulverbettverfahren

Additive Fertigung

Werkstoffe für additive Verfahren

Andere Werkstoffe

To an increasing extent, additive manufacturing is finding its way into series production. Particularly so, if the application benefits from the special strengths of additive manufacturing. This was clearly shown at last year’s Formnext. Also various developments in the materials sector show that the processes are suitable for mass production.

To an increasing extent, additive manufacturing is finding its way into series production. This was clearly shown at last year’s Formnext.

3D printing has come of age. This was impressively demonstrated last year at the Formnext in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. More than 800 exhibitors showed what additive manufacturing is capable of. Correctly applied, it can contribute towards the decentralization of processes and production, make supply chains more resilient, and promote resource-conserving production. And something else became clear: it is no longer limited to prototyping. Meanwhile, industry is busily working on the transition to mass production.

Some 30,000 exhibition visitors were able to see this at the Formlabs booth. Based on various customer applications, the company – whose portfolio includes materials as well as 3D printers – demonstrated what is possible by means of additive production methods, and also in what quantities. Since its founding in 2011, the company’s 3D printers have produced more than 100 million parts. The case studies ranged from Vital Auto’s vehicle components up to high-performance prototypes for sporting goods from Black Diamond Equipment. Also present at the booth: the developers of XSpecter’s camera accessories, who use Formlabs’ SLA and SLS technology for the production of their end-user components (Title figure).

Also the Deutsche Bahn relies on the competence of the Berlin-based company Formlabs. Already in 2015, the railway corporation had used 3D printing for the first time to manufacture spare parts for its trains. Up to the end of 2017, about 2000 spare parts were produced in this way. It all started with a simple 3D-printed coat hook. But from this very straightforward spare part, things developed towards more complex items. Meanwhile, and in addition to the coat hook, the range of 3D-printed parts includes ventilation grids, headrests, junction boxes, transverse damper brackets, and many others.

Also Wibu-Systems succeeded with such a major coup. For a long time, the company has belonged to the pioneers of the Industry 4.0 vision, and has refined its CodeMeter protection and licensing technology into a business enabler with intelligent licensing models. For example, it enables pay-per-use or subscriber licenses to be visualized (Fig. 1). At the Formnext, Wibu presented two success stories, in which CodeMeter contributed in the establishment of new business models in the field of additive manufacturing.

Omniplus is a service provided by Daimler Buses for commercial bus operators, and is also service partner for the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands. In order to offer spare parts to customers quickly and flexibly, Daimler Buses has opted for digitalization, and offers an increasing number of spare parts and components in the form of 3D-printable files in its new print shop.

Daimler Buses, Farsoon Technologies, and Wibu Systems worked jointly on the online shop, in which the offered objects are encrypted via CodeMeter. During purchase, two licenses are created: customers receive a preparatory license to prepare printing, and a printing license for the number of objects to be printed. CodeMeter was integrated directly into Omniplus, where it will ensure fast and reliable order handling, delivery, and invoicing.

“The spare parts are immediately available worldwide, and cost-intensive stockpiling is superfluous, thereby ensuring faster parts availability, the elimination of complex supply chains, plus cost savings”, are advantages explained by Stefan Bamberg, Senior Key Account & Partner Manager at Wibu. This is not only of interest for bus operators. “Our business model can be implemented for any other industrial sector – not only for spare parts”, says Bamberg. Rapidly increasing digitalization causes increasing amounts of know-how to be transported in the form of data. “This data must be protected, and the possibility of monetizing the data utilized”, he adds.

“As the leading international event, the Formnext is definitely one of the most important trade fairs for us and our markets”, explains Dr. Victor Roman, company manager of Arburgadditive. Particular focus was placed on the new Freeformer 750–3X, whose large build chamber is ideally suited for fast series production of large components or several items per build job (Fig. 2).

Among the numerous technical novelties compared with the predecessor version is a new plasticizing unit: now, more compact and slimmer melt pressure generators for dosing and injecting are used, fitted with servomotors from AMKmotion, a company of the Arburg family. The entire system, i.e. material preparation and discharge units, was pressure-optimized and matched to the AKF additive manufacturing process. Hereby, focus is on precision and repeatability of the melt output, which in turn serves to ensure the creation of uniform, constant drops. Moreover, the three discharge units are positioned more closely to each other and in a more compact way. Compared with the Freeformer 300–3X, their design is 100 mm “slimmer”.

The trend in industrial additive manufacturing is clearly moving towards high efficiency in daily production, both in the manufacture of larger single components as well as the manufacture of several articles in clearly moving in the direction of high cost-effectiveness in day-to-day production, both in the manufacture of larger individual parts in a single work cycle. And precisely these demands are met by the Freeformer 750–3X. The system also closes the gap between pure prototyping and the production of functional small series. Because not only has the part size grown, but also the building speed. The granulate hopper volumes were doubled, and accessibility in the area of the maintenance flap was improved. All this provides even more individuality, functionality, improved user-friendliness, lower costs, and freedom in part design, as well as effective acceleration of output.

The increased use of additive manufacturing for series components also has an effect on the materials used – for example, the demands on their mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and long-term behavior are increasing. After all, the components are no longer scrapped after a few tests, but must remain in service for longer periods.

Apart from higher demands, certifications are required in many areas. Moreover, component designers and processors need reliable data about important characteristics. Therefore, during the past years, material producers have had their 3D printing materials certified to an increasing extent for different industries e.g. in the automotive and railway sectors. Meanwhile, the companies also provide data sheets with material properties.

For example, Henkel offers photopolymers that are certified for railway applications or medical technology (Fig. 3). According to the company, comprehensive material tests have also been conducted during the past years, in order to provide customers with the requested material data. Similarly, analyses of the long-term behavior of the polymers were carried out. With photopolymers for instance, statements about light stability are very important. Also traceability is an increasingly important topic. Essentium for example not only ensures traceability for its printers and materials, but recently also for its filament spools (Fig. 4).

Interesting advances were also shown with printing materials in the polyetheretherketone (PEEK) range. This high-performance thermoplastic is extremely popular for applications in fields such as aerospace and medical technology, with very high demands on the material. However, 3D printing with PEEK represents a large challenge for processors. Because the polymer has a very high melt temperature – usually above 340 °C – a correspondingly high printing temperature is required.

PAEK: Lower Melt Temperature and Slower Crystallization

Improvements in this respect are promised by a polyaryletherketone (PAEK) introduced at the Formnext by Solvay. According to the company, its melt temperature is considerably lower than for PEEK. Consequently, it can be processed more easily and at lower temperatures. At present, the material is still in development (Fig. 5). It is to be introduced to the market in the course of the year, and will serve in the performance range between PA12 and PEEK.

Also plastics producer Victrex showcased a PAEK with lower melt temperature (Fig. 6). It lies at 305 °C instead of 343 °C, as is the case for the company’s standard PEEK for 3D printing. Furthermore, the material is claimed to address a processing problem of PEEK: excessively fast crystallization.

This represents a problem for the layer build-up normally used by most additive processes. The reason is that the printed layer has crystallized before the next layer is printed. This leads to a weaker bond between layers, with an increased risk of delamination. Therefore, 3D-printed PEEK achieves a considerably lower tensile strength along the z-axis than is usually the case with the polymer. Named Victrex AM 200, the new PAEK crystallizes slower than conventional PEEK. Consequently, the bond between the printed layers is improved and therefore also tensile strength along the z-axis. This is claimed to result in values around 70 MPa for the material.

Fig. 5. In future, the PAEK introduced by Solvay is said to permit components made of the high-performance thermoplastic to be printed at lower temperatures.

Fig. 6. The material presented by Victrex solves a 3D printing problem with PEEK: low tensile strength along the z-axis. This is enabled by the material’s lower crystallization speed.

T-Crow night vision camera: except for the electronic components, the entire stand is produced additively. 

Fig. 1. Without in-betweens: by means of 3D printing, customers can produce licensed spare parts themselves.

Fig. 2. The three discharge units of the Freeformer 750–3X have a more compact design than the 300–3X version, and can therefore be arranged more closely together.

Fig. 3. Henkel has developed special 3D-printable acrylic resins for medical technology applications. They are certified as bio-compatible.

Fig. 4. This large ventilation duct was printed for the US Air Force using materials from Essentium. The duct is the replacement for a metal component.

KUint1-23_Addi_Formnext - Hauptartikel

Review of Formnext 2022

Read the German version of the article in our magazine Kunststoffe or at <a href="https://www.kunststoffe.de/a/fachartikel/druckreif-fuer-die-serienfertigung-3282430" target="_blank">www.kunststoffe.de</a>

Polyetherketon

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Anlagen für die Additive Fertigung

Streifinger, Florian

3D-Druck-Anlage, pulverbettbasiert, Metall

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, Metall

3D-Drucker (für FDM, FFF, etc.)

Hochleistungskunststoffe

“Everything Is Aimed at  Series Production”

Interview with Michael Helneder from KraussMaffei

3D printing is becoming established in an increasing number of fields. Not only has the interest of start-ups been raised, but also of established companies. Now, KraussMaffei is the second injection molding manufacturer to enter the field of additive manufacturing. Will that work out?

KraussMaffei is the second injection molder manufacturer to enter the field of additive manufacturing. Will that work out?

Premiere nervousness in Düsseldorf, Germany! So far, so good, so stereotyped. Of course, the K is the place to go with novelties and innovations. Therefore, to attract a large number of visitors to an exhibition booth at 16:40 hours on the first day, a company must come up with something special. KraussMaffei did precisely that: They used the exhibition to announce their official entry into additive manufacturing, and presented two 3D printers at one go – the „powerPrint“ FGM system and the „precisionPrint“ SL system. Shortly after the presentation, Kunststoffe met Michael Helneder, Head of Customer Success Additive Manufacturing at KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, for an interview.

Kunststoffe: Mr. Helneder, Arburg presented their Freeformer nine years ago. Why did KraussMaffei take so long?

 Michael Helneder: I wouldn‘t say that we took a long time, considering that we have used a different approach. For example, our precisionPrint is not a 3D printer for prototyping.

Helneder: We have designed the system so that it is possible to automatically produce several empty build plates as well as a fully printed plate. For one thing, this means that we ensure continuous operation. But not only that – from technology to materials, and up to the software, everything is aimed at series production.

Kunststoffe: Why didn‘t you present the two systems at the Formnext, the major trade fair for additive manufacturing, but already three weeks earlier, at the K? Was that the right decision?

Helneder: Definitely, in our view. Primarily, we wanted to show that we are a one-stop solutions provider for plastics processing. Something that can only be demonstrated in the intended manner here in Düsseldorf. We don‘t simply want to address companies who are already using additive processes, but all plastics processing companies for which it could be worthwhile to get started with 3D printing.

Kunststoffe: Let‘s start with the precisionPrint: You say that you have launched a high-performance SL system. What distinguishes it from those of other suppliers?

Helneder: Firstly, there is our dual-tank system. We separate building process and building space from handling and component removal. That enables us to speed up the overall process. Secondly, there is the automation system for series production. And finally, the core element: The laser technology we use is extremely fast, precise, and long-lasting.