Award-winning AM solution now available in Asia

VISITORS flocked to the Arburg booth at Chinaplas 2015 as the company highlighted its Freeformer additive manufacturing (AM) technology, and demonstrated the potential of Arburg Plastic Freeforming for the industrial additive manufacturing of functional parts as one-off items or in multi-variant small-volume batches. The Asian sales launch of this innovative system for industrial additive manufacturing coincided with the start of the trade fair on May 20.

 

This pioneering system is not only suitable for the additive manufacturing of one-off parts and small batches. Mass-produced parts can also be customised in conjunction with injection moulding and Industry 4.0 technologies.

 

Arburg chose Chinaplas to mark the start of sales of the Freeformer in Asia owing to its influence in the regional plastics industry and the dynamic potential of the China market.

 

“The Freeformer is designed for industrial applications and can achieve far more than a simple 3D printer. This new system for additive manufacturing is already much anticipated. Furthermore, we will be demonstrating two complex applications in the injection moulding sector for the medical technology and packaging industry,” commented Zhao Tong, managing director of the Arburg Organisation in China.

 

Freeformer additively processes standard granulate using the Arburg Plastic Freeforming process based on 3D CAD data, without use of a mould. As with injection moulding, the granulate is first melted in a plasticising cylinder. The second discharge unit can be used for an additional component in order to produce, for example, a part in different colours, with special tactile qualities, or as a hard/soft combination. 

 

At Chinaplas, the two-component AM system combined  an elastic standard TPU material with a special supporting material – a first in additive manufacturing. Possible applications include e.g. bellows, hoses, sleeves, or flexible parts for robotic grippers. The supporting structures can subsequently be removed in a water bath. 

 

Last year, the Freeformer received the internationally renowned Red Dot Award for outstanding industrial design. It thereby takes pride of place next to products from top brands such as Apple, Audi and Adidas.