- By pushing the edges of what is possible, they continue to expand the material library for additive manufacturing, providing ways for customers to unlock new markets and applications.
According to the company’s website press release on March 20, 2023, world’s leading specialty chemical company Evonik and industrial 3D Printer manufacturer Farsoon are collaborating once again to bring INFINAM® TPC (thermoplastic copolyester) to market—a new ready-to-use elastomer powder material. By pushing the edges of what is possible, they continue to expand the material library for the additive manufacturing industry, providing ways for customers to unlock new markets and applications.
Process testing of the new INFINAM® TPC material was conducted at the Farsoon Americas Demo Center located in Austin Texas. Committed to an open systems philosophy that customers have the freedom to choose materials for their 3D printing applications, the two companies each contributed their expertise to ensure the new material is thoroughly tested and tuned to produce repeatable benchmark parts with optimal mechanical properties.
The teams supported each other on numerous test builds in x, y, and z orientations at varying material refresh rates to successfully hone in machine parameters to produce accurate material properties reflected on Evonik’s material data sheets. “We see both strength and flexibility in this new TPC material,” says Ray Jones, Applications and Technical Pre-sale of Farsoon Americas. “It is of excellent elasticity and is easy to process with Farsoon’s powderbed fusion technology. Post-processing is efficient as well, from breakout and media blasting to sieving.”
INFINAM TPC is the first high-performance flexible thermoplastic co-polyester powder on the market. Parts printed with TPC have incredible Tear Strength, outstanding Elongation at Break, superior Impact Resistance, and excellent Rebound! TPC prints consistently and reliably, offers easy post-processing and brings great material properties for a wide variety of applications in markets including Automotive, Sporting Goods, and Medical.
“We are very happy to work with the material experts at Evonik on their new TPC material. With Farsoon’s open systems, we along with Evonik are able to produce parts with excellent elastic properties, enabling us to provide our customers with an even greater choice when it comes to material selection.” Says Don Xu, Managing Director of Farsoon America.
“We believe in open source platforms as a market growth booster to unbound 3D printing at scale. Furthermore, an open technology approach also meets our material development focus on ready-to-use high-performance materials for main 3D printing technologies”, says Dr. Arnim Kraatz, Director of Powder Bed Fusion at Evonik. “Having successfully qualified our PA613 powders on Farsoon’s machines two years ago, we are now jointly entering the market for elastomer-based 3D applications. This will open up new opportunities for users to push boundaries of 3D printing by being able to manufacture tough parts with reliable and easy processing.”
With this announcement, Evonik and Farsoon are sending INFINAM® TPC sample prints to existing customers and a free 20kg testing kit for any customers interested in testing them. One month after the initial launch, this offer will be open to the public, sign up here if you are interested in trying the material.
In 2021, Farsoon and Evonik announced for the first time to collaborate on new 3D printing materials with higher temperature resistance. As a part of this, the specialty chemicals company has already successfully tested the ready-to-use polymer powder INFINAM® PA 6005 P (polyamide 613) with higher temperature resistance on Farsoon’s ST252P and HT403P series machines.
ABOUT FARSOON
OPEN FOR INDUSTRY – Farsoon Technologies, founded in 2009, is a global manufacturer and supplier of industrial-level polymer and metal laser sintering systems. Farsoon is the leading supplier of industrial AM technology in China with increasing growth in the international market. In 2017, Farsoon released the first of a new series of machines under the revolutionary Continuous Additive Manufacturing Solution (CAMS) and established Farsoon Technologies-Americas in Austin, Texas, USA. In 2018, Farsoon Europe GmbH was established in Stuttgart, Germany to expand direct operations to Europe. Farsoon is committed to developing AM toward its true manufacturing potential and providing customers with best-in-class systems, materials, software, application, and services.
ABOUT EVONIK
Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of €18.5 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.49 billion in 2022. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable, and sustainable solutions for customers. About 34,000 employees work together for a common purpose: We want to improve life today and tomorrow.
ABOUT SMART MATERIALS
The Smart Materials division includes businesses with innovative materials that enable resource-saving solutions and replace conventional materials. They are the smart answer to the major challenges of our time: environment, energy efficiency, urbanization, mobility and health. The Smart Materials division generated sales of €4.83 billion in 2022 with about 7,900 employees.
DISCLAIMER
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.
