JUNE - 2022AEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM9Greater production volumes will, more than anything else, require additive manufacturing to become faster. We work with many different companies and our Application Technology Center offers a showcase for the international 3D printer scene. In addition to machines from HP and 3D Systems, it features machines from the German market leaders EOS and Voxeljet, the Swiss company Sintratec, and the Chinese manufacturer TPM. INFINAM® - Materials for infinite 3D applicationsThis deep understanding helps in the development of new materials for the various printing processes. Polyamide 12 (PA12), used in countless applications, is often the basis for this. We can either work on the base polymer or with additives like flame retardants or glass particles, for example.Completely new materials are also being created. Last year, Evonik introduced a new INFINAM® PA powder based on PA613, combining the advantages of long- and short-chain polyamides: it is particularly temperature-stable, strong yet flexible-and absorbs little water. In 2018, based on a product introduced in the 1980s, the new INFINAM® TPA elastomer (thermoplastic amide) was developed to allow for print objects of rubber-like consistency.And many more things are now possible with a new production technology that the company acquired in 2019: the U.S. start-up Structured Polymers process can powderize many more materials than Evonik was able to do before, like the new copolyester powder INFINAM® TPC, the first material developed with this innovative technology. No other company in the world can rely on as many different polymer powder production methods as Evonik.Roughly two years ago the company opened a new research hub in Singapore to develop the next-generation photopolymers for vat polymerization. The first two photopolymers for industrial 3D printing applications were recently introduced under the brand names INFINAM® TI 3100 L and INFINAM® ST 6100 L and mark the start of a new product line suitable for use in common VAT polymerization technologies such as SLA or DLP.Regardless of how quickly additive production will gain an industrial foothold, Evonik is determined to consistently conquer every new application. That means observing the dynamics of the market, driving innovation, and contributing our own expertise in a targeted manner and at an early stage. Above all, Evonik sees cooperation along the value chain as a door-opener to one of the most exciting future markets for engineering plastics and high-performance polymers. This is where Infinity meets reality. WITH A VARIETY OF INNOVATIVE HIGH-PERFORMANCE MATERIALS RANGING FROM REINFORCED TO FLAME-RETARDANT AND ELASTIC MATERIALS, WE ARE BRINGING THE 3D PRINTING INDUSTRY A DECISIVE STEP CLOSER TO SERIES PRODUCTION
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