Solvay and Swiss 3D printing specialist OEM 9T Labs AG have partnered to find ways to mass produce additively manufactured (AM) carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts.
Plans are for Solvay to focus on the development of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) bio-based high performance polyamides and carbon fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composite material for 9T Labs’s range of 3D printers, which currently produce parts for the aerospace, medical, luxury/leisure, automation, and oil and gas industries in production volumes ranging from 100 to 10,000 parts/year.
‘We are well positioned to address problems that have long plagued manufacturers in many industries trying to use advanced composites – namely high incremental costs, high scrap, and problems achieving repeatability and traceability at high volumes,’ said Marco Apostolo, director of technology at Solvay. ‘We believe this collaboration will help solve many challenges and will open entirely new markets and mass production applications to CFRP materials.’
‘For the fabrication of structural parts metals still prevail because the manufacturing of structural CFRP parts has not been cost-competitive,’ said Giovanni Cavolina, 9T Labs’ co-founder and chief commercial officer. ‘The Red Series platform in combination with Solvay’s high-performance and recyclable materials will change this and make CFRP parts more sustainable, accessible and cost-competitive, especially at higher volumes.’
This story uses material from Solvay, with editorial changes made by Materials Today.
