Arburg Plastic Freeforming is predestined for the additive manufacturing of medtech components. The associated Freeformer-type additive manufacturing systems process the same plastic pellets that are used in injection molding. That makes the open systems very economical to use.

In the AKF process, resorbable original materials such a plate-implants similar to bone, can be manufactured. They are gradually replaced by endogenous tissue

Medical Product Manufacturers Are Processing Original Materials Using the Freeformer

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, andere

Anlagen für die Additive Fertigung

Biokunststoffe

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Additive Fertigung

Medizintechnik

Medizinprodukte

Werkstoffe für additive Verfahren

Andere Werkstoffe

Arburg Kunststoff Freiformen

Verfahren für die additive Fertigung

Freiraumverfahren

New Possibilities for Use  in the Human Body

tesa develops e. g. adhesives for smartphone components and investigate the added value that additive manufacturing with plastics freeforming can bring.

“Printed” pressure-sensitive adhesives can be used, for example, to bond smartphone components together, without producing any waste

16:9

tesa Uses Freeformer for Novel Bonding Applications

Klebstoffe

Verbindungstechnik Verfahren

Chemisches Fügeverfahren

What Holds the World together

Additive manufacturing has the potential to manufacture tablets individualized for the particular patient, and thereby further digitalize the pharmaceutical industry. In medication development, the properties of a tablet, such as its shape, dosage or release of the active substance, can be individually tailored – by making just a few changes to the digital 3D print file. Merck scientists have used a Freeformer for their lab tests.

Merck researcher Dr. Thomas Kipping (right) and Nabil Lamrabet value the advantages that the Freeformer offers as an open system.

The Freeformer Allows a Tailor-Made Combination of Several Active Ingredients

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, Kunststoff

Patient-Specific Tablets

Arburg presents a total of four Allrounder exhibits and two Freeformers on show. All machines will be connected live to the Arburg host computer system ALS for demonstration purposes and to the arburgXworld customer portal, another focus of the trade fair display. Detailed information on the arburgGreenworld environmental and recycling program will round off Arburg‘s involvement in Chinaplas.

Arburg will be demonstrating the potential of freeformers for additive manufacturing on two exhibits at Chinaplas 2022.

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

High-End Wherever You Look

As part of a collaborative initiative, the Brightlands Chemelot Campus focuses on the development and implementation of advanced additive manufacturing technologies. Three current biomedical projects illustrate the multiple possibilities for start-up companies in this market. 

Medical Device Developments at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus 

Polyamide

Breeding Ground for Additive Manufacturing 

Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) is based on qualified original materials in the form of plastic granulates as used in injection molding. Current researches illuminate influences on the resulting part quality of this additive process. Because the open system permits adaptation of the parameters, the mechanical and geometric properties of the parts can be optimized in a targeted manner. In this way, tensile strengths and part densities comparable to those of injection molded parts can be achieved. 

Arburg Plastic Freeforming: Current Investigations on Part Optimization 

Rapid Manufacturing

Werkstoffprüfung, mechanisch

Droplets to the Beat of Milliseconds 

A new joint venture is getting a hybrid manufacturing cell ready for market. A screw-based plasticizing unit is mounted on a 6-axis robot. The novel processing approach facilitates additive manufacturing of structural parts from granular and fiber-reinforced standard compounds.   

High-Speed Additive Manufacturing of Fiber-Reinforced Structural Parts 

Compound

Kohlenstofffasern / -matten

Flexible Fertigungssysteme

Layer-by-Layer from Granulate to Part 

ElogioAM B.V., a newly formed Joint Venture between Swedish Perstorp AB and Dutch 3D4Makers B.V, introduces new filament solutions. Facilan HT is specifically designed for 3D printing. It is a safe copolyester with high temperature resistance with heat deflection temperature of 89°C. Its high stiffness enables design optimization for faster rigid part print jobs. 

Joint Venture Introduces New Filament Solutions 

Durable Parts with Facilan HT 

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  have shrunk 3D objects to nanoscale. The scientists' approach is based on a framework made of polyacrylate. It is a very absorbent material commonly found in diapers.   

System Produces 3-D Structures One Thousandth the Size of the Originals 

Technik Trend

kunststoffe-international.com

Shrink Objects to the Nanoscale 

The combination of luminous fibers with plastics or fiber reinforced-plastics will open up a future-oriented field for functionalizing lightweight materials. Designers will appreciate being able to create previously unperformable filigree contour lines and uniform lighting effects on components. 

Accessing New Fields of Application by Integrating Optical Fibers 

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Faserverarbeitung

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Hybridtechnik

Pultrusion

Gewebe, technisch

Luminous Fibers as Design Elements  in Plastics Parts 

Evonik has become the first company in the world to develop a polymer filament based on PEEK (polyether ether ketone) in implant-grade quality for use as a 3D printing material for implants. This high-performance material can be used in fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology and is expected to enable additive production of three-dimensional plastic parts for medical implants in the human body. 

Evonik Develops PEEK Filament for Medical Use 

Kunststoffhandel

3D Printing Filament in Implant-Grade Quality  

The development of additive manufacturing processes, such as selective laser melting (SLM), has significantly extended the options for manufacturing extrusion heads. Extrusion head designs can now be realized with very slender geometries, which not only have integrated mixer functions, thereby improving the melt homogeneity, but can also be used to attach the mandrel to the head. This allows compact heads to be manufactured with a very high potential for saving operating costs. 

Improved Extrusion Head Designs thanks to Additive Manufacturing 

Extrusionswerkzeuge

Blasformwerkzeuge

Blasformen

3D-Printed Minimalists 

Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, Essen, Germany, has developed a polymer powder for applications in higher temperature range as part of its polyamide 6 series. 

Temperature-Resistant PA Powder for 3D Printing 

Selektives Lasersintern von Kunststoff, Metall, Keramik

Thermal Properties Modified 

Additive manufacturing processes provide a very high degree of design freedom and short development times. However, the nature of the process and the limited size of build chambers restrict the size of such components. Adhesive bonding enables additively manufactured components to be joined together to form large parts. 

Increase of the Adhesive Strength by Modification of the Surfaces 

Advancing into New Dimensions 

A gap exists between growth in equipment sales and numbers of manufactured parts. Most likely, a lot of experimentation is still going on. A symposium provided insights into projects, problems and prospects for additive manufacturing. 

Additive Manufacturing ¿ Between Growth Euphoria and a Sense of Reality 

Fluorkunststoffe

Putting 3D Printing to the Test 

Function Integration in Additive Manufacturing

Up to now, the integration of electronic components and consequently, the production of customized 3D-printed sensors has presented a challenge. Now, together with the companies Arburg and Balluff, Fraunhofer IPA has achieved a breakthrough.

3D-printing is becoming increasingly important in industrial manufacturing. It not only makes it possible to produce very complex shapes that would otherwise be virtually impossible to generate using conventional processes, but also enables small batch numbers to be produced on a cost-effective basis. However, up to now, the integration of electronic components and consequently, the production of customized sensors has presented a challenge. Now, together with the Baden- Württemberg-based companies Arburg and Balluff, Fraunhofer IPA has achieved a breakthrough.

Sensors in individualized form are interesting for tasks in automation technology, as they can be used flexibly for a variety of applications. Inductive proximity sensors are available in cylindrical metal casings in which a coil, a circuit board and a plug are installed in a fixed configuration – a standard component with a fixed geometry.

In automation technology, inductive proximity sensors are used in great numbers for non-contact detection of metal objects. In industrial applications they can not only register the proximity of a component, but also at what distance it is located. However, due to the shape of the casings, inductive proximity sensors for integration in specific environments – robotic arm gripper fingers, for example – had not yet been developed until now.

Why not print the sensor casing in plastic so that it can be manufactured in any shape? This is exactly what a research team from the Centre for Additive Production at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA has now achieved. The team was supported by colleagues from the plastics processing machine manufacturer Arburg GmbH & Co. KG and the sensor and automation specialist Balluff GmbH.

A plastic with high dielectric strength and flame-retardant properties was required for the sensor casing. The experts opted for semi-crystalline plastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), which is used as standard injection molding material for the production of electronic casings. However, this type of material had not yet been used for 3D printing, necessitating work of a pioneering nature.

The plastic was fed in granulate form into a “freeformer”, Arburg’s industrial additive manufacturing system, which uses a material preparation unit with a special plasticizing screw. After melting the standard granulate, the freeforming process, which uses no molds, followed: A high frequency nozzle closure discharged tiny plastic droplets, which could be precisely positioned with the aid of a movable part carrier.

In this way, the freeformer created three-dimensional components with cavities layer by layer, into which components could be inserted during the printing process. To make this possible, the freeformer automatically interrupted the process at each respective layer, so that the coil, circuit board and plug could be integrated very precisely. In a separate process, a dispenser was then used to produce the silver conductor tracks inside the casing. To complete the process, all that was needed was to overprint the cavities and then pot them in polyurethane.

The team produced more than 30 demonstration models of customized sensors in this way and then put them through their paces: the components had to be able to withstand temperature changes and vibrations, they had to be waterproof and pass an electrical insulation test. By optimizing the design and manufacturing process, the tests were ultimately completed successfully.

The “Electronic Function Integration in Additively Manufactured Components” research project ran for eighteen months. Stefan Pfeffer, who led the project at Fraunhofer IPA, is currently working with Arburg on research into how conductive plastics can also be used in the future to tap into additional application areas.

Balluff GmbH  

https://www.balluff.de

Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung (IPA) 

https://www.ipa.fhg.de

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG  

https://www.arburg.com

Demonstration model of customized sensor at different production stages: CAD concept (top left), after integrationof the electronic components (top right) and as a finished demonstration model (bottom)

2021-11-09 TN Fraunhofer IPA Arburg

Sensoren

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