Arburg exhibiting at Rapid + TCT 2021
From 13-15 September 2021, Arburg will be exhibiting at Rapid + TCT in Chicago, US. In the Lakeside Centre, Level 2, Stand E7619, two freeformers and a large number of sample parts will demonstrate the capabilities of Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF).
The freeformers will be producing customised grippers for robotic systems live, as well as a functional part made of soft original TPU for the automotive industry.
Lukas Pawelczyk, Head of Freeformer Sales at Arburg, said: “Our freeformers can additively manufacture positive material bonds in hard/soft combinations and also convert very soft original materials into fully functional parts. This makes them particularly interesting for medical technology and for well-known OEMs and automotive suppliers.”
When developing new products, well-known OEMs and automotive suppliers use the APF process to produce items such as elastic hoses, axle boots and housing seals from original soft materials. As an example of a typical automotive part in the engine compartment, a Freeformer 200-3X will be producing a hose from TPU Texin 770A (hardness 70 Shore A) and water-soluble support material for connection to an HVAC unit (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) at Rapid + TCT 2021.
The dense and flexible TPU connector in a black design is resistant to chemicals, cold and abrasion. This means it can be used to its full extent for prototype vehicle function tests – significantly accelerating time to market as a result.
The Freeformer also caters to broader issues of the future such as sustainability and the conservation of resources. In the APF process, almost every standard bioplastic can be processed in the form of standard granulates. As no special filaments are required, there is no need for the energy-intensive extrusion stage. The droplet-based discharge method and the design of the support structures make it possible to create hollow bodies, complex lightweight structures and component walls that are just a few layers thick. The support material is then simply dissolved in the water bath – there is no need to remove it separately.