RAPID + TCT 2018: 3D Printing Materials News from Roboze and EnvisionTEC

Roboze One + 400

The RAPID + TCT event is getting started today in Fort Worth, Texas, and 3DPrint.com is continuing to bring you the latest news from the showroom floor. We’ve been sharing announcements with you left and right ahead of the show, and now we’re bringing you two more.

Global chemical company SABIC, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, introduced several new materials at formnext in November, including its LEXAN EXL AMHI240F polycarbonate copolymer filament for FFF 3D printing. Now, Italian 3D printing company Roboze has announced that it will be adding this unique filament to its offering, particularly for the industrial Roboze One + 400 3D printer.

Roboze, a leader in functional prototypes produced in industrial materials like PEEK, CarbonPA, and ULTEM AM9085F, manufactures 3D printers that can handle high-performance, high temperature polymers, like SABIC’s LEXAN EXL AMHI240F.

“We are pleased to have Roboze offer LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament on their printer platform,” said Keith Cox, Senior Business Leader, Additive Manufacturing, SABIC. “Our vision of helping the additive manufacturing industry to expand the use of engineering materials in end use applications aligns well with the capability of Roboze to deliver high quality printers for use in industrial environments.”

EXL filament ductility test

SABIC’s polycarbonate copolymer, available in black, was developed specifically for demanding applications in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and consumer, with characteristics like high impact resistance and ductility at extremely low temperatures.

The material has a heat deflection temperature of 140°C, which is higher than that of typical ABS filaments. It can deliver up to four times better notched Izod impact at room temperature than standard polycarbonates and, depending on print orientation, up to three times higher at -30°C.

LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament, which will be added to Roboze’s offering later this year, is perfect for applications that need better flame performance than standard polycarbonate materials can offer, thanks to its compliance with UL94 V-0 flammability standard at 3.0 mm in flat (XY) and on-edge (XZ) orientations.

“The new SABIC polycarbonate filament is extraordinary! The results of the first tests have given us enormous satisfaction, and will allow us to further expand the range of high performance materials of our machines,” said Alessio Lorusso, Founder and CEO of Roboze. “We are looking forward to working together with such an innovative company as SABIC. This relationship will not only inspire our technicians, but the entire Roboze organization as well. When experience and know-how come together everybody wins.”

By working with SABIC, Roboze is showing how committed it is to choosing the most advanced materials available in terms of chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties. LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament will increase, according to Roboze, “the versatility of its materials dedicated to metal replacement like PEEK and Carbon PEEK.”

If you’re at RAPID this week, stop by the Roboze booth #2539 to see excellent samples of finished parts that were 3D printed using the new LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament.

3D printer manufacturer EnvisionTEC, which is sponsoring the Medical Manufacturing Innovations conference at RAPID, is also introducing new materials this week, and will be showcasing its new medical-grade (MG) biomaterials, which can be used for applications in bone regeneration, biosensor housing, drug release, and wound repair.

The new liquid silicone rubber and biodegradable PCL polyester materials, now available for purchase, make 3D printed implants safe for human use, as they’ve been manufactured with the highest possible purity for use with the company’s 3D-Bioplotter models – the Starter, Developer, and Manufacturer.

EnvisionTEC CEO Al Siblani said, “These new materials show that EnvisionTEC continues to work closely with our customers and partners to develop materials that can be easily used on our highly accurate and reliable 3D-Bioplotter.”

The 3D-Bioplotter is EnvisionTEC’s only open-source materials 3D printer, which gives medical researchers and manufacturers the flexibility to develop their own materials for research or specific patients.

Users have been 3D printing materials like hydrogels, silicones, and thermoplastics on the 3D-Bioplotter for over 15 years to advance research, but the demand for standard 3D printing materials to use with the popular bioprinter has been increasing. With the addition of MG materials to its existing portfolio of Technical Grade (TG) and Research Grade (RG), EnvisionTEC now offers three grades of materials with different levels of cost and purity.

Upon request, FDF Master Files are available for the company’s two new in-vivo MG materials: UV Silicone 60A MG and HT PCL MG.

The biocompatible liquid silicone rubber material is bio-inert, transparent, and non-biodegradable, cured with a UV light for a Shore A hardness of 60. It’s sold by the kilogram, and has been approved for short-term use in the body – 29 days or less only. UV Silicone 60A MG can also be mixed with pigments, and applications for the material include biosensor housings, microfluidics, prototyping, and wound dressing.

Biodegradable thermoplastic polyester HT PCL MG is processed at high temperatures, and is suitable for both short- and long-term use in the body. The material, available in both 1 kg and 100 g packages, will be offered in two molecular weights – 80 kDa and 120 kDa – that affect degradation time, flexibility, and stiffness. Applications for this material include hybrid scaffolds, drug release, and cartilage and bone regeneration. Customers can also quickly and easily switch between 365 nm and 405 nm light sources when using these materials.

EnvisionTEC’s new UV Silicone 60A MG, shown here, is a ready-to-print liquid silicone appropriate for microfluidics, wound dressings and more. The company also launched a biodegradable PCL polyester for use with its 3D-Bioplotter printers.

EnvisionTEC will be displaying demonstration parts that were 3D printed with its two new MG materials at booth #1304 this week. Additionally, the 3D-Bioplotter also has a new feature option, and offers its photo curing head with another wavelength.

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