TAGS: 3D Printing Thermoplastic Composites Cost Efficiency
DuPont launches new additions to the company’s portfolio of 3D printing materials, including six new Zytel® polyamide and Hytrel® thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPC-ET) pellets and two new Hytrel® filaments.
DuPont’s New Pelletized Materials
DuPont’s new pelletized materials for pellet extrusion modeling were developed to help increase 3D manufacturing agility and cost-effectiveness by allowing customers to switch seamlessly from prototyping to small-series, pre-series and mass production—while maintaining similar polymer properties. The new pellets and filaments offer a range of hardnesses, fiber reinforcement options and colors.
The company’s R&D programs manager, Jennifer L. Thompson, Ph.D., gave a technical presentation on these new materials, titled “High Performance Materials for 3D Printing” at recently held RAPID + TCT. Thompson highlighted new engineering materials for industrial use, describe alternative 3D printing methods such as pellet extrusion modeling and discuss tailored testing programs for printing materials.
Supporting the Trend Toward Mass Customization using 3D Printing
“As 3D printing capabilities advance beyond traditional prototyping and small-volume production, the industry is looking to scale up and accelerate production while driving down costs,” said Christophe Paulo, strategic marketer, EMEA, DuPont. “By delivering our products as pellets as well as filaments, DuPont gives customers the flexibility to use the same material across different processes. For instance, they can create prototypes with fused layer modeling and final parts with pellet extrusion modeling – or even injection molding for very high volumes – while maintaining consistent properties. The addition of pelletized materials to our offering supports the trend toward mass customization using 3D printing.”
Zytel® Polyamide for Strong, Rigid Parts
The benefits of
Zytel® specialty resins have been demonstrated in thousands of applications for more than 70 years. In 3D printing applications, Zytel pellets and filaments build on the material’s capabilities to deliver a balance of strength and stiffness as well as ultra-low shrinkage and warpage for strong, rigid, functional parts. They also provide outstanding heat and chemical resistance and lower moisture absorption than PA6 copolyamide, resulting in less variability during printing operations and better retention of properties. The properties of these Zytel pellets and filaments are similar to those of Zytel materials used in injection molding.
Glass Fiber-reinforced Grades
DuPont’s glass fiber-reinforced grades feature a heat deflection temperature (HDT) greater than 150°C, good surface finish and resistance to common solvents and chemicals. The new additions to DuPont’s portfolio are:
Carbon Fiber-reinforced Grades
DuPont’s carbon fiber-reinforced grades are lighter and stronger, making them suitable for highly demanding structural applications in aerospace and automotive. Zytel® carbon fiber-reinforced materials offer an outstanding surface finish, an HDT greater than 150°C and excellent chemical resistance. DuPont now offers:
Unreinforced Grades
DuPont’s unreinforced Zytel® polyamide grades are suitable for functional 3D printed parts that require good aesthetics and elongation combined with low friction properties. These materials deliver strength and stiffness, good thermal properties (an HDT greater than 100°C) and the signature low shrinkage of all Zytel® 3D printing grades for easy printing. DuPont’s new portfolio addition is:
Hytrel® TPC-ET for Flexible, Functional Parts
Hytrel TPC-ET is a versatile copolyester available in multiple hardnesses to meet different application requirements. This semi-crystalline material combines the flexibility of rubber with the strength and processability of thermoplastics. Its key properties are heat and chemical resistance, strength, resilience and durability. The extremely low
shrinkage of these specialty Hytrel TPC-ET grades makes them suitable for flexible parts.
These pellets and filaments deliver excellent 3D printing performance, including consistent mechanical properties in the X, Y and Z printing directions, low moisture sensitivity during printing, and retention of
flexibility in the finished part. As with Zytel pellets and filaments, Hytrel TPC-ET properties are translatable to injection molding.
60 Shore D grades
40 Shore D grades
These new pellet and filament technologies significantly enhance the DuPont portfolio of semi-crystalline materials for extrusion-based additive manufacturing.
Source: DuPont