German RepRap to Present Series-ready Liquid Additive Manufacturing System at Formnext 2018

German RepRap is to present a series-ready Liquid Additive Manufacturing (LAM) system at Formnext for the first time.

The company has been working on the development of LAM for several years, and showcased prototype machines at the Frankfurt event last year, but in the L280 has a platform ready for industrial-use.

LAM prints materials in liquid form that is vulcanised under heat exposure to its final form. Individual layers bond together and objects printed objects are said to have similar properties to injection moulded components, meaning insights garnered from a prototype model can be directly transferred to the injection moulded end parts. Strength, however, is said to be even better than injection moulded parts, because of LAM’s ability to vulcanise materials at the macro molecular level. These materials can be high viscosity products like Dow’s Liquid Silicone Rubber, a popular material through many industries for many products.

The L280 boasts a build volume of 280 x 280 x 200 mm, and prints in layer thicknesses between 0.22 and 0.9 mm. There are three interchangeable nozzles: 0.23, 0.4 and 0.8 mm, and a heated print bed increased the adhesion of printed parts and ensures optimal cross-linking, which can also be accelerated thanks to a high-temperature halogen lamp. The L280 also monitors the curing process and should there be any irregularities in the build, the machine will immediately stop.

German RepRap will showcase the L280 system beside other platforms in its 3D printing hardware portfolio at Formnext in Hall 3.1, Booth D40.

Source:TCT Magazine