Formlabs has launched a second technology curing system and Robust 1500 Resin geared toward levelling up 3D printing with injection moulding.
The 3D printing firm says its up to date Type Remedy is ready to post-cure elements printed from basic goal resins in 60 seconds – or below quarter-hour for engineering-grade resins – making it as much as eight occasions sooner than the primary technology Type Remedy when utilized in tandem with its newest Type 4 Collection desktop stereolithography techniques. It might probably additionally warmth to 60°C in simply 60 seconds. In keeping with early person suggestions, the velocity of the brand new curing system is permitting customers working in excessive print volumes to course of extra elements utilizing fewer curing stations.
Robust 1500 Resin, launched alongside, is a practical resin stated to rival the mechanical properties of injection moulded plastics like polypropylene for purposes like rugged enclosures with practical components like self-tapping screw bosses and snap matches, and influence resistant jigs and fixtures. In a press launch, Formlabs stated this model 2 Robust 1500 Resin gives 10x greater fracture toughness, 3x greater Gardner influence power in comparison with model 1, and an elongation at break of over 150%, leading to excessive resistance to fractures, impacts, and shattering.
“For 3D printing to compete with injection moulding it must take a large step when it comes to materials properties,” stated Formlabs CEO and co-founder Max Lobovsky. “With our new Robust 1500 Resin, we now have made a large step change that brings us considerably nearer to having 3D printed elements compete with injection moulded elements when it comes to toughness and longevity, however with way more design freedom and manufacturing flexibility.”
Formlabs has additionally launched a few new options to its on-line print administration platform Dashboard, together with a new ‘Group Queues’ characteristic for automated print task, and ‘Cloud Slicing’ for sooner processing. The corporate has additionally introduced a number of updates to its PreForm software program together with an ‘Add to a Working Job’ operate for its selective laser sintering know-how, which permits elements to be added to an in-progress print job; a mannequin grouping choice to simplify the administration of a number of elements; ‘Bulk Mannequin Import’ to enhance organisation and effectivity in excessive quantity amenities equivalent to dental labs and repair bureaus; and 7 language choices in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese language.
These newest updates are stated to all be geared in direction of Formlabs’ – and the broader polymer 3D printing business’s – ambitions for 3D printing to compete with the holy grail of injection moulding. The launch of its Type 4 and bigger Type 4L printers final yr have been described by TCT Corridor of Famer Lobovsky as a “big leap not just for Formlabs … but additionally for the whole 3D printing world” on account of velocity and price per half enhancements, boosted by a new proprietary Low Drive Show (LFD) print engine. These {hardware} and supplies additions are thought to make SLA 3D printing a extra aggressive possibility for end-use manufacturing purposes, the place injection moulding has lengthy been the go-to manufacturing course of, however enhanced by 3D printing’s distinctive benefits equivalent to flexibility of design and mass customisation, tool-less manufacturing and time compression.
In a keynote presentation unveiling Type Remedy and Robust 1500 Resin, Lobovsky suggests robust inflexible plastics are one of many largest areas the place 3D printing wants to enhance to be able to totally compete with injection moulding. As you’ll be able to see within the video beneath, which places Robust 1500 Resin V2 via its paces in a collection of checks, even when blasted via a blender, elements printed in Robust 1500 Resin V2 stay largely in tact in comparison with model 1 and PLA.
