Major Plastic Suppliers Diving Deeper into 3D Printing!

TAGS:  3D Printing    

It’s a definite measure of the growth and expansion of the 3D printing market when major plastic resin suppliers, used to selling large volumes in injection molding, start branching off and offering novel 3DP materials in the molding market space, which is the current situation!

For example, LyondellBasell recently commercialized its Beon3D™ PolyPropylene (PP) compounds focused on one step, extruded filament 3D printing in plastics end-use applications for automotive, building/construction, industrial, and consumer products.

Let’s take a quick look at five emerging material technologies targeted at improving the 3D printing of plastic resin systems.

Braskem's Polypropylene Powders for SLS 3D Printing

To start with, Braskem is also targeting PP, but from a powder technology basis for 3D printing in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). Laser-based thermal energy is used in the SLS process where it sinters PP powder in a layer-by-layer format, ultimately leading to a 3D printed object.

Braskem is working with Advanced Laser Materials, a market leader in 3D printing materials development. The joint development program between the two companies is in its third year and the plan is to further develop other Braskem polyolefin 3D printable materials.

The advantages of Braskem SLS PP are similar to standard PP molding grade. These advantages include lightweight, chemical resistance, moisture barrier, flexibility/high elongation, lubricity, recyclability, ease of processing, and living hinge design.


» Identify new opportunities with 3D materials & technologies to focus your R&D on the right projects

Henkel Used Carbon's DLS Process for High Clarity Parts

Next, specialty chemical maker Henkel is collaborating with 3D printing equipment supplier Carbon in successfully adapting the former’s LOCTITE® 3D IND405 Clear acrylic material in the latter’s Digital Light Synthesis (Carbon DLS) 3D printing process. The one-part liquid Loctite resin duplicates unfilled polypropylene mechanical property wise, is easy to 3D print, has high impact/high elongation capability, and has an excellent surface finish.

Its nominal frosted surface appearance with further post-processing oven thermal aging increases the clarity for use in clear applications like contoured bottles and containers not achievable by extrusion blow molding. Target applications currently include specialty bottles, light pipe prototypes, enclosures/housings, and mechanical jigs/fixtures. A current excellent application is specialty fluid ducts, requiring all the preceding Loctite plastic properties, where it is difficult to near impossible to injection mold them in accurately dimensioned, complex shapes.

Covestro's Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate for 3D Printed Chairs

Continuing, Covestro through its recent DSM plastics acquisition has commercialized Arnite® AM2001 GF (G) recycled PET, a 3D printing material for Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF) made of glass-reinforced (GF), post-consumer recycled (PCR) PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) targeted at large parts. With its engineering plastic-like mechanical toughness, it is well suited to structural part applications in:

• Pedestrian bridges
• Architectural tunnel wall tiles/cladding/wall partitions
• Packaging crates
• Small pleasure boat crossbeams, and
• Furniture

Recently, noted German industrial designer Michiel van der Kley created a 3D printed Arnite® AM2001 GF (G), ultra-modern, sleek chair for indoor or outdoor use that is two and a half times stronger and a half lighter due to a smaller wall cross-section than a structural foam injection molded equivalent part.

Dow's Liquid Silicone Rubber for 3D Printing Colored & Transparent Parts

Delving further, Dow Chemical has joined development forces with Austrian-based specialty elastomer molder Nexus Elastomer Systems, and German 3D printing equipment supplier RepRap (recently acquired by leading German injection molding equipment firm Arburg) to market introduces its SILASTIC™ 3D 3335 Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) in a Multicolorable 3D printing format. Users can go from transparent to a range of color packs provided by Mesgo Iride Colors.

Nexus has a new LSR color dosing system that is very compatible with RepRap’s liquid additive manufacturing (LAM) 3D printer technology. Applications range from mobility and lighting to wearables, consumer electronics, and footwear. Industrial designers globally now have the option of 3D printing-colored parts, as well as transparent parts, from Dow’s high-performance LSR.

Historically, Dow first got its start in 3D printing LSR custom midsoles for Danish shoe designer ECCO assisted by computer-aided design (CAD) leader Dassault Systèmes in the QUANT-U project. Here consumer customer biomechanical data was fed into CAD, then used to design and 3D print custom silicone midsoles.

Evonik's PEEK Compound Uses Extrusion-based 3D Printing Technologies

Finally, Evonik has commercialized a new competitive 3D printable PolyEtherEther Ketone (PEEK) filament compound grade, PEEK 9359 F. It is tailored to extrusion-based 3D printing technologies such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) or fused deposition modeling (FDM). There is no technology difference between FFF and FDM. The different names result not from different printing processes but trademarking. The term FDM is a trademark of the company Stratasys. FFF is un-trademarked.

Evonik’s FFF/FDM PEEK is inherently flame retardant, hydrolysis resistant, and mechanically tough, maintaining 25% or greater of its room temperature properties at 250°C. It is targeted at lightweight, high-performance parts in oil/gas, automotive, and aerospace. Compared to stainless steel, for example, Evonik’s INFINAM® PEEK 9359 F is on average 30% tougher, 80% lighter, has good wear resistance/low sliding friction, and continuous temperature resistance to 250℃/short-term temperature resistance to more than 300℃.

Check Out the Game Changing Innovations in 3D Printing

Dr. Donald Rosato will take you through the new opportunities with 3D materials & technologies to focus your R&D on the right projects. He will also lay focus on major innovations which include: amorphous PLA grade formulated for large-format 3DP applications, 50% bio-based TPU market and PAEK filaments tailored to 3DP mechanical part manufacturing.

Find Suitable 3D Printing Resins

View all the commercially available 3D printing resins, analyze technical data of each product, get technical assistance or request samples.