Fabber Materials with More Variety
As the digital manufacturing technology and industry get mature, more development emphases shift from the development of the technology itself to the development of the materials used in the digital manufacturing processes, which means more and more new fabber materials are developed. Therefore, we can certainly expect an increase in the variety of fabber materials especially materials for field-specific applications due to the efforts that Digital Manufacturing Industry is making to respond the increased demands in various applications.
Simple Composite Fabber Materials
In order to obtain materials with higher performance and more varieties of desired properties, a general approach of the digital manufacturing industry takes is to form composite material. The main idea of the composite material is to combine different materials to obtain new materials with higher performance and more desired properties.
One Example of the Composite Materials is the DSM Somos® ProtoComposites™, developed under “a significant research and development program investigating the potential for ACT-SL™ (Advanced Composite Technology for StereoLithography)”. According to DSM Somos, the DSM Somos® ProtoComposites™ “are resins reinforced with various materials, such as ceramics and glasses, to produce functional properties not possible using individual components.”
To learn more about the DSM Somos® ProtoComposites™and ACT-SL™ (Advanced Composite Technology for StereoLithography), please visit DSM.
Fabber Materials with Higher Performance
The Digital Manufacturing technology has developed from the stage of only capable of making fragile products to today’s ability of making functional parts. However, the efforts of improving performances of the digital manufacturing products have never stopped. Thus, developing fabber materials with higher performances is another trend of future fabber materials.
One example of the fabber materials with high performances is the High Performance Composite Materials developed by Z-Corporation. According to Z-Corporation's material descriptions in their website, such materials “can be used to make strong, high-definition parts and is the material of choice for printing color parts. It consists of a heavily engineered plaster material with numerous additives that maximize surface finish, feature resolution, and part strength.”
Fabber Materials with Special Properties
Due to the increasing demands of digital manufacturing products in various applications, fabber materials are intentionally developed to have the desired properties to fit into specific applications. As a result, fabber material with special properties is also one of the emphasis of future fabber materials development. One example is the development of the fabber materials with optical clarity such as DSM Somos® WaterClear™ Series, driven by the consistent market demand “as engineers attempt to understand fluid flow behavior during design and testing of new components” in the complex transparent internal structures (extracted from Manufacturing Talk).
1. Elastomeric Materials by Z-Corp.
According to the description of the Z Corporation website, their Elastomeric Materials are consisted of “a mix of cellulose, specialty fibers and other additives that combine to provide an accurate part capable of absorbing the elastomer, which gives the parts their rubber-like properties” and can “create parts with rubber-like properties."
2. High-Temperature Materials (PPSF/Polyphenylsulfone plastic) by Stratasys®
Developed by Stratasys, this newly developed material (PPSF) has “a glass-transition temperature of 450o F” and “the highest operating temperature and toughness of any rapid prototyping material except metals” (qtd. in “New High-Temperature Rapid Prototyping Plastic”). When “exposed to temperatures from 14o to 392o F”, the PPSF-made parts “still maintained integrity” (extracted from About).
3. Fire Retardant Materials (Somos® FR 16120) developed by DSM®
Introduced by DSM Somos in 2005, this material is the “first fire-retardant SL material for use in general purpose applications” in the digital manufacturing industry. Developed to use in the “prototyping and rapid manufacturing”, the material has the properties “are similar to 94 V-0 rated polyurethane structural foam systems currently used for production parts in business and medical equipment housings, lawn and garden, transportation and electrical housings” (extracted from DSM Somos).
Nano Fabber Materials
In addition, researching and developing nano materials for Digital Manufacturing is also a trend in future fabber materials, due to the efforts to develop materials with superior properties and a tendency of combining Nanotechnology and Digital Manufacturing technology to develop Nano Digital Fabrictaion as the technologies evolve. One recent development in nano fabber materials made by DSM is the announcement of the full commercialization of its Somos® NanoForm™ 15120 material. This composite material “incorporates non-crystalline nano-particle technology for enhanced performance properties, including exceptionally high stiffness and heat resistance” and “exceptional dimensional stability, low shrink, and low coefficient of thermal linear expansion” (extracted from DSM Somos).
Section I: Introduction
Section II: Present
Section III: Future (YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN THIS SECTION)
Complete Table of Contents
Reference