Massivit has been working on large-scale additive manufacturing over the last few years. The company's 3D printers can create large-scale items to be used for entertainment or marketing. However, the company technology can be used for much more.
Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) comprise the base of plastic and reinforcing fibers, such as carbon and glass fibers. The amount of additives is adjustable by the fibers' length and arrangement. This improves the properties of the backing, increasing its strength, durability, and stability. FRP composites are light and have inexpensive raw material costs that, in many cases, can make them more attractive than metals.
Because of these advantages, fiber-reinforced plastics have gained the great interest for a wide range of applications, including the railroad, automotive power, marine, and building industries. Despite these benefits, however, the development of FRP composites has been challenging largely because of the expense and the complexity of mold making. The traditional tools are extremely labor-intensive and lengthy, requiring several steps before a mold is created, resulting in higher costs.
Massivit 10000 was created to solve the bottleneck in tooling through digitization of the process, according to the company. It uses thermosetting polymer casting material that provides high HDT (Heat Deformation Temperature) and a low CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion). Its Massivit 10000 large scale printer leverages the company's new technology, called Cast-In-Motion (CIM), which is a combination of ultra-fast additive manufacturing and direct casting of industrial-grade, thermoset polymer materials.
Massivit 3D's Cast In-Motion technology allows directly casting the mold ("direct female"), which eliminates the need to make the master (or plug). This streamlines the existing workflow from 19 steps to four steps. Furthermore, to this, Cast-In-Motion technology provides geometry freedom for intricate designs.
Expanding its presence in industries, Massivit claims the Massivit 10000 printer eliminates the bottlenecks identified with the composites tooling. Particularly, Massivit says its new machine will not create the initial plug or master by combining 19-step molding processes into four-step workflows. Utilizing Massivit's new Cast-In-Motion (CIM) technique, The Massivit 10000 can also be believed to have 'exceptional geometry freedom.'
Massivit 10000 uses thermoset polymer casting materials with an extremely high deflection temperature and a low percentage of thermal expansion. These materials can create parts within a build size of as high as 1.2 15x 1.65 meters. When it comes to mold components made of the Massivit 10000 utilizes a sacrificial UV-curable gel to outline the tool using the company's trademarked Gel Dispensing Printing Technology and then creates the desired tool by using one of the thermosets with dual components that meet the mechanical and thermal demands. The sacrificial pattern is broken when the tool has been submerged in water and leaves the mold that is ready to use. Massivit's machine focuses on applications that are in the automotive, marine railway, consumer goods, sports goods, aerospace, and industries.
With dimensions of up to 1.2x1.5x1.65 meters, The Massivit 10000 is suitable for many different applications, like creating large molds for racing vehicle seats and catamaran wings underwater, smaller molds for shielded antenna housings, and more. Massivit 10000 Massivit 10000 reduces tooling costs by 50% by drastically enhancing the process of manufacturing.
In addition to time and cost savings, the Massivit 3D Cast-InMotion process is greener than traditional tooling manufacturing using composite partly because it reduces the amount of waste generated in several steps. On a fundamental level, mixing 3D manufacturing and casting removes the requirement for skilled employees directly print molds, which dramatically reduces the use of materials.
FRP composites are used extensively in all industries because they offer the beneficial characteristics of metal without the weight or additional expense of raw materials. For instance, in the automobile industry, FRP composites are widely utilized due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Nowadays, they are utilized to produce car body parts and siding and seats and pedals, in addition to other components. In this industry, one of the major benefits of FRP composites is that they can help increase fuel efficiency by reducing vehicle weight.
These composites are appealing within the aviation industry due to their strength and endurance in harsh environments. When it comes to construction, FRP composites are used to maintain infrastructure to improve the bearing capacity and strength of existing structures and construct prefabricated roads, structures for houses, pipeline fittings, pipelines, and more. Composites made of FRP are used in the marine sector and can withstand harsh environmental conditions because of their excellent corrosion resistance.
If you're enthusiastic about the potential of 3D printing, we're excited as well. The terrain is littered with baubles, doodads, and decorations, making it difficult to enjoy the scenery. 3D printed products that no one wants or needs are threatening to overwhelm us.
Even though 3D printing has been around for over 40 years, technology has only just begun to influence productivity significantly. Using 3D printing equipment for prototype, design testing, and short runs became economically viable in the sector about 2005. Since then, the industry has witnessed significant developments in the uses of this technology.
