ARBURG’s Successful Showcase at Formnext 2023
At Formnext 2023, ARBURGadditive demonstrated its competence in additive manufacturing with six machine exhibits, extensive consultations, digital products and solutions, and numerous component samples. One major highlight being the new high-temperature freeform 750-3X by ARBURGadditive, which was producing air distributors from genuine Ultem granulate.
Soft TPE hearts with a sponge structure are a unique product that can only be manufactured via additive manufacturing in Arburg plastic free-forming (APF), which turned out to be a popular giveaway. APF parts made from PA with 25 percent glass fibres were also on show for the first time and were also met with huge responses from the trade fair visitors.
Dr Victor Roman, Managing Director at ARBURGadditive, when asked about their tradeshow success, had this to say:
“At the leading global trade fair Formnext 2023, we presented ourselves as a globally active solution provider whose open systems provide the perfect answer for the widest range of requirements in additive manufacturing,”
He added:
“Our freeformers and 3D printers process a wide range of plastic granules, filaments and liquid silicones into functioning and high-quality components using reliable processes such as in medicine technology or aerospace. In addition, we offer digital products and services such as the arburgXworld customer portal, the ProcessLog app for process documentation and smart software solutions. I have no doubt that, with our technologies and know-how, we will exploit this huge potential. The outlook from our perspective is outstanding.“
Machine Manufacturer With a 100-Year Success Story
“Few other companies in the AM world can look back on a 100-year history of success and have acquired as much experience in machine construction and software development for plastics processing during this time as Arburg has.”
Dr Christoph Schumacher, Director of Global Marketing at the Arburg parent company.
“At the trade fair booth, it was quite literally easy to grasp how great the advantages are of being able to offer, with the free formers and 3D printers of the TiQ and LiQ series, a suitable solution for virtually every challenge – whether this be soft and cuddly or hard as nails, and at the same time being able to rely on enormous know-how and a global infrastructure.” Dr Schumacher added.
Congratulations on “100 years of the Hehl family company“ on behalf of Messe Frankfurt and the Formnext event organiser Mesago (from right): Christoph Stücker, Deputy Vice President Formnext, Martin Roschkowski, Managing Director Mesago, Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President Formnext, Petra Haarburger, Managing Director Mesago, Juliane Hehl, Arburg Managing Partner, Uwe Behm, Managing Director Messe Frankfurt, Dr Christoph Schumacher, Arburg Vice President Global Marketing and Ina Kumm, Sales Manager Mesago.
Numerous Innovations and Further Developments
Since autumn 2023, a freeform 750-3X has been available in a high-temperature version, the build chamber of which can be tempered to 200 degrees Celsius, with plastification of the plastic granules at up to 450 degrees Celsius. The demonstration featured the production of complex aerospace ventilation ducts crafted from the original Ultem 9085, showcasing a typical application of their manufacturing process.
Another new development that the ARBURG Plastic Freeforming team is working hard on is processing fibre-glass reinforced thermoplastics; the first results were introduced using technical parts made from PA with 25 percent fibre-glass.
Personalised multi-material shoe insoles made from flexible TPE and a complex area made from PP, on a standard freeform 750-3X, were of equal interest to the trade show visitors.
This extra soft ARBURG Plastic Freeforming product was manufactured by a freeform 200-3X from TPE with a sponge structure. At Formnext, 15 small and highly popular hearts, were manufactured in around 90 minutes of build time. This material is used for personalised breast prostheses in specific customer application.
3D printers from innovatiQ round off an extensive range
Another attention grabber was an application made from liquid silicone: A 3D printer LiQ 5 processed the certified standard-LSR KEG-2003H-50A/B by Shin-Etsu for the first time, which, for instance, can be used to manufacture individual orthopaedic accessories or products for the food and drinks industry. InnovatiQ has also developed a new slicer software, LAM technology (Liquid Additive Manufacturing), especially for this.
The filament printer TiQ 5 Pro offers new features such as an integrated material dryer, active build chamber tempering and software-optimised material discharge, meaning that polycarbonate can now be processed reliably and reproducibly.
A great example of a part was a high-speed water scooter board made of individual carbon-fibre reinforced elements that had been laminated and combined to create a finished board, proving a natural attraction. By contrast, there was also the filament printer TiQ 2, which enables economical entry into additive manufacturing, for instance, for manufacturing robot grippers and operating resources.
Contact ARBURG to learn how you can make the most of their machinery here.
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