This week from 19th to the 22nd November 2019, the 3D printing industry will congregate at the annual Formnext exhibition. Formnext 2019 will welcome over 850 exhibitors sprawling across two, two story halls in Messe Frankfurt. Over all four days of the event, halls 11 and 12 of Messe Frankfurt are expected to welcome more than 26,900 visitors (the total attendees in 2018).
Reporting live from the event, 3D Printing Industry will be providing readers with news and announcements as they happen. So far, we have Q&As from Exponential Technologies Ltd., Glassomer, AdditiveLab and Spectroplast – winners of the Formnext 2019 startup challenge. We have also been staying abreast of releases made ahead of the event.
Continuing our preview of Formnext 2019, in this article we collect some of the latest news from the largest 3D printing exhibition in Europe. This includes new materials, machines and partnerships in polymer and metal additive manufacturing.
Finding the right material for 3D printing
Materials development is a key drive in the industrialization of additive manufacturing. To meet the requirements of end-use applications, leading chemicals developers are continually launching new formulations into the market.
German specialty chemicals company Evonik, which recently closed one of its plants to focus more on demand for PA12 powder, is one of several leading materials producers to be exhibiting its portfolio at the event. Some new additions to the Evonik range include an “innovative copolyester,” which is highly elastic and tough; Polyamide 613 powder for high temperature applications; a medical implant-quality VESTAKEEP i4 G PEEK filament; and high impact strength Hot Lithography materials for Cubicure. Ahead of the show, Evonik has also announced a deepening of its collaboration with NXT Factory (Part of the XponentialWorks exhibit at 11.0-B21.) Find Evonik in hall 12.1 at stand C71.
Cubicure is also exhibiting at Formnext 2019 and will be using the show as a launchpad for a new flame-retardant SLA material. Find Cubicure in hall 11.1 at D48.
After re-entering the 3D printing materials market in July this year, Global chemical manufacturer Huntsman will be debuting two new IROPRINT materials at its stand in hall 11.1, at F20. These two materials will be IROPRINT F 80112, a shore A78 TPU filament, the softest and most flexible in the range, and IROPRINT R 1801 resin, based on PU.
Continuing to forge out the METHOD’s position in between industrial and desktop 3D printers, MakerBot is launching a MakerBot Nylon for application in functional prototypes and end-use parts. Samples of the material, which exhibits 66 MPa Tensile Strength, can be found at the MakerBot booth in hall 12.1, stand F99.
Emery Oleochemicals, a Malaysian company specializing in the production of chemicals derived from natural sources, has developed a new binder system designed to make filaments from metal and ceramic powders. The development will be presented by the German Green Polymer Additives of Emery in Frankfurt at stand G04 in hall 12.1.
In hall 12.1 at stand F41, Polish FFF material producer Spectrum Filaments and German high tech ceramic enterprise SiCeram are co-presenting a series of ceramic filaments. Made for desktop 3D printers, the range exists of fours different materials, from high strength corrosion resistant Silicon Carbide (SSiC), to heat conductive and electrical insulating Aluminum Oxide.
And finally, hailing from Dallas, Texas, Adaptive3D has a new high tear-strength, rubber-like DLP elastomer on display for Formnext visitors. Samples of Elastic ToughRubber™ 90 (ETR) can be found at the company’s booth in hall 12.1 G01.
The latest in metal additive manufacturing
Metal additive manufacturing is growing in readiness for full production scale application and will feature heavily throughout Formnext.
One of the companies showing its capabilities will be British engineering firm Renishaw. The company’s exhibit at 11.0, D15 will include components made for Atherton Bikes, a Betatype designed luxury watch strap, and a manifold for Brunel University’s Formula Student racing team.
Another company in metal, this time with a new 3D printer, is Israel headquartered Tritone Technologies. Still a startup company, Tritone will be exhibiting the Tritone DOMINANT machine, which can also print in ceramic, in hall 12.0, booth B72.
Exhibiting at hall 11.0 stand C28 Prima Additive, the metal 3D printing division of Italian laser machining specialist Prima Industrie, will be showing two new machines. The Print Genius 250 is a dual 500W single-mode laser system made to build medium-sized components. The Laserdyne 430, on the other hand, is a multi-purpose DED machine capable of build rate of up to 40-50 cm3 per hour.
Travelling from Melbourne, Australia, SPEE3D is bringing a live demonstration of its metal 3D printing production cell SPEE3Dcell to hall 12.0 booth E02.
At IMTS 2018 Dr. Masahiko Mori, President of leading machine tool manufacturer DMG Mori, stated his belief that the 2020s will be the decade of additive manufacturing. Supporting this view with its exhibition in Frankfurt, DMG Mori’s Formnext showcase will mark the world premier of its 3D hybrid LASERTEC 125 laser deposition welding system. Visitors can find this machine and more at DMG Mori in hall 12.0 stand E121.
New 3D printers
And of course, Europe’s largest 3D printing exhibition would be incomplete without new machine launches. New systems to look out for at the show include:
– The PEEK-pellet 3D printing Delta WASP Tech line from Italian large-scale 3D printing provider WASP, hall 11.0-B79.
– The dpPolar and ALTANA AMpolar® i2 employing a patented High Speed Rotative (HSR) additive manufacturing process. booth F71, hall 12.1.
– Presented by the development agency of lightweight engineering network Leichtbau BW, the ThingKing variable nozzle 3D printer from Q.big 3D GmbH.
– The 3DGence INDUSTRY F420, hall 12.0, stand D95
– The large scale Modix MAMA, Modix hall 12.1, stand G121
– Admatec‘s Admaflex 300 DLP 3D printer for ceramics, hall 11.0, booth A29
– German RepRap‘s high temperature x500pro 3D printer, hall 11.1, stand E71
– And the EP-M250 Pro from Shining 3D, hall 11.0, booth C49
3D software developments
In software, 3D printing service provider Trinckle is enabling J. Schmalz GmbH, the market leader in vacuum gripping technology, to individually configure end effectors/grippers for robotic arms. A demonstration of Trinckle Paramate software, and other applications it has enabled, will be shown by the company in hall 11.1, stand C59.
New releases from technical service corporation TÜV SÜD at stand E60 in hall 11.1, include the DIN SPEC 17071 specification, made to assist manufacturers in establishing quality assurance for aerospace and medical. The company will also be sharing information about its collaboration with the Aachen Centre for Additive Manufacturing (ACAM).
DigiFabster, hall 12.0, booth E101D, has extended its part SaaS quoting and ordering engine to include support for extending its platform to support CNC lathe/turning along with previously supported CNC milling service.
Formnext 2019 will be held in Frankfurt from the 19th through the 22nd November.
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Featured image shows the Formnext 2018 opening night reception supported by 3D Printing Industry.
