Product category:
Fast prototyping equipment, pattern-making and services
News Release from: EOS Electro Optical Systems | Subject: Laser sintering and e-manufacturing
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 January 2004
E-manufacturing opens up new
laser-sintering uses
Last year's EuroMold highlighted e-manufacturing; the cost-effective production of high-quality products directly from electronic data, for which laser-sintering offers much potential.
For EOS, the world-leader in laser-sintering, last year's EuroMold revolved around the subject of e-manufacturing; the fast, flexible and cost-effective production of high-quality products directly from electronic data The company, based in Krailling near Munich, thus points the way to the future and offers solutions for every phase of the product life cycle - from product development to production and even further to spare parts delivery
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 12 Oct 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Laser-sintering saves time and money for prototyping during product development, but can now also be used in production too. EOS will show how at the K 2001 show in Duesseldorf, Germany.
Laser sinter systems meet Formula One pressures
Two laser sintering systems - including a double-laser one - manufacture hour by hour racing car components directly from thermoplastic powders on the basis of three-dimensional CAD data.
EOS reacts to current market requirements like mass customization, niche markets/trend products, fluctuations in demand as well as "spare parts on demand" with new materials, further increased productivity, automation and process integration.
At last December's EuroMold exhibition in Munich, Germany, EOS' solutions for e-manufacturing included, for example, the plastic laser-sintering system Eosint P 700 with Integrated Process Chain Management (IPCM) as well as a variety of application examples for the use of e-manufacturing in different industries, such as the trend sports industry.
Eosint P 700 with IPCM and Eospace - the EOS system solution for e-manufacturing - for the highly productive system Eosint P 700, EOS presents Integrated Process Chain Management (IPCM), offering a high level of automation and easy handling.
Further reading
Laser sintering expertise brought to the UK
German rapid prototyping systems maker is bringing a wealth of rapid manufacturing technology and experience based on laser-sintering machines and metals, plastics and sands powders.
Laser very fine grain metal powders to make moulds
TransCAT took only 16h using very fine-grained metal powders in a laser-sintering system to build the core and cavity of a plastics injection mould for producing thin-walled fan wheels.
Laser sintering offers flexible plastics parts
Recent developments in laser sintering of plastics and metallic parts include flexible, thin-wall plastics products and a plastics injection mould made from layers of 20 micron steel powder.
This concept includes and combines an automatic powder feeding system, an unpacking station with exchangeable frame docking system as well as an integrated powder recycling.
For data preparation EOS offers Eospace.
With this software, parts are automatically placed in a surface-oriented way so that an optimum utilization of the build envelope is guaranteed and/or that the required building height is minimized.
At the same time the software ensures that parts do not intersect.
The Eosint P 700 now delivers further improved surface quality of the laser-sintered parts thanks to an optimized temperature management.
This improved surface quality also considerably expands the application possibilities of Eosint P systems in rapid manufacturing.
At this years' International User Meeting (IUM) in Rottach-Egern at the Bavarian lake Tegernsee, a participant from the Rapid Prototyping Department of DaimlerChrysler described: "The double laser laser-sintering system Eosint P 700 together with the new material PrimeCast 100 is the most productive machine in the world of rapid prototyping." DaimlerChrysler was one of the first companies which decided for a P 700 already before the system was officially launched onto the market.
Not only in Europe, but also in Asia and the USA there is a great interest for the Eosint P 700.
At the beginning of next year, a machine of this type will leave the EOS production and be shipped to the USA.
PrimeCast 100 for vacuum casting with laser-sintered patterns - with PrimeCast 100 - the new material based on polystyrene for use on Eosint P plastic laser-sintering systems - vacuum casting patterns can be produced within a very short time directly and economically.
This material therefore offers a new, very promising application area for laser-sintering.
Patterns built with PrimeCast 100 excel by their excellent dimensional accuracy and strength and are easy to handle.
Loose material can simply be blasted away.
The sintered patterns offer exceptional surfaces and finishing properties.
After infiltration with resin, they can be finished until a mirror surface is reached.
Of course this polystyrene material is also ideally suited for investment casting.
For all applications, one thing is sure: Thanks to the 100% re-usability of the material, the excellent properties can be obtained at extremely low costs.
Tests by experienced users from the service sector as well as from industry like 3T RPD, Alphaform, DaimlerChrysler, FIT and Grunewald, confirm the characteristics of this new material.
PrimeCast 100 on Test - longstanding EOS customer FIT Fruth Innovative Technologien in Parsberg near Nuremberg, Germany, owner of four Eosint systems including an Eosint M 250 Xtended and an Eosint P 700 laser-sintering system, used the new PrimeCast 100 material to produce patterns for a table grill directly via laser-sintering.
The grill plate was then manufactured by investment casting.
The plastic housing of the table grill was manufactured via vacuum casting.
By using PrimeCast 100 patterns manufactured directly on an Eosint P laser-sintering system, FIT was able to reduce costs by 29 percent.
R and D with a focus on e-manufacturing - new material - EOS has consistently focussed its development efforts on the requirements of manufacturing.
Materials play an important role in this field.
This year, EOS shows for the first time parts in Alumide, the result of the latest material development.
Alumide is an aluminium-filled polyamide material, which distinguishes itself especially by good finishing properties, high strength and high heat capacity.
Therefore, new application areas emerge in the field of wind tunnel tests, tooling and for the direct manufacture of end products.
This material is a further example for the EOS strategy to push forward development projects in close collaboration with development partners in order to meet the market requirements to the best extent.
Series production with DirectTool - thanks to the new bronze- and steel-based 20 micron materials DirectMetal 20 and DirectSteel 20, tools laser-sintered on Eosint M are suitable for series production.
In industries such as the trend sports business for example, small series are frequently needed.
Considering the high initial investment for the production of the tool, the advantage of a rapidly and cost-effectively produced laser-sintered tool becomes clearly visible.
Furthermore, a layer-manufacturing method such as laser-sintering offers new freedom in the design of the tool, for example the integration of conformal cooling channels, which finally lead to product improvement.
In a joint project of the Italian company EsTec together with Democenter in Modena, a series of 20 million golf balls were produced with laser-sintered tooling.
The parts were produced by a special method: blow moulding of extruded polypropylene, followed by elastomer injection.
The high number of golf balls may sound astonishing.
But what was so unusual about this project was something different: Through the integration of conformal cooling channels and special vents in the mould inserts - for a layer-manufacturing method like laser-sintering no problem, but for conventional techniques unthinkable - the tools for the required production process showed much better properties than conventional tools.
This led to higher production rates and ensured the sphericity of the golf balls.
Another example from the trend products branch is a key holder for a scooter, produced as a small series of several thousand parts in a special two-colour design by two-component injection moulding.
The tooling was produced in DirectMetal 20 on an Eosint M 250 Xtended machine and the quality was so high that no post-machining was needed and the core surfaces did not even need any polishing.
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