Additive manufacturing company Impossible Objects has formed a partnership with BASF to widen the range of applications for its composite based additive manufacturing process (CBAM).
The company has developed a new 3D printing machine, called the CBAM-2, which it says can deliver more complex parts on an industrial scale, speeding up the additive manufacturing process as much as 10 times combining polymers with long fiber carbon and glass fiber sheets.
According to Impossible Objects, the system can print 3D parts from composites that are not available through other 3D printing methods. Printed sheets can now reach up to 12 inches x 12 inches in size and the CBAM-2 features three added cameras, helping improve quality control.
The printers can now use BASF’s Ultrasint polyamide 6 (PA6) powder, allowing customers to 3D print carbon fiber reinforced PA6 composite parts for the first time. According to the company, carbon fiber/PA6 composites offer better strength and temperature performance at a lower cost than PA12, and are up to four times stronger than conventional fused deposition modeling (FDM) parts and twice as strong as multi jet fusion (MJF) parts made with PA12.
This story uses material from Impossible Objects, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
