FREEFORMER 3-D PRINTER Arburg GmbH & Co. KG's Freeformer marks the company's entry into equipment for additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing. The system can produce functional, one-off parts and small-volume batches of a wide variety of products without the need for a mold. After melting the resin in a plasticizing cylinder, a stationary discharge unit with a special nozzle applies the plastic droplets layer by layer onto the component carrier, which is precisely positioned so that each drop is deposited at a specific point.
WHAT'S NEW? Availability in the U.S. market.
BENEFITS No special material is required; inexpensive, conventional resins are the base material, unlike other 3-D printing processes. Freeformers equipped with a second discharge unit can be used to create parts with different colors, special tactile qualities or with hard/soft combinations. Two-component parts can also incorporate special supporting materials that are removed later in a water bath, further allowing for unusual or complex part geometries.
Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn., 860-667-6500, www.arburg.com