Global chemical company Huntsman has unveiled a new line of materials designed for additive manufacturing. Launched on IROPRINT® , the company’s additive manufacturing platform, the new line comprises 3 kinds of urethane-based materials (resins, powders and filaments). All materials can be processed on various 3D printing technologies including stereolithography (SLA), high speed sintering (HSS) and fused filament fabrication (FFF).
The concept starts in the footwear and sports industry
The new range of Huntsman’s materials was first used in the footwear and sports industries, two industries that increasingly take advantage of additive manufacturing in their production processes. However, in the long run, we can expect Huntsman to make its IROPRINT® additive manufacturing platform available to a much wider range of applications and industries.
The current platform already includes 3 product lines that are designed to enable any footwear producer to achieve its manufacturing requirements.
A few specifications of Huntsman IROPRINT® line
Technically speaking, IROPRINT® R resins are soft, durable, and can be exploited on SLA, digital light processing (DLP) and other radiation-curing methods.
Ideal for HSS forms of printing, IROPRINT® P powders are mainly high-performance thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU).
As for IROPRINT® F filaments, they are mainly a range of high performance TPU materials, which have a consistent diameter, and are designed for use with fused filament fabrication (FFF) and other extrusion-based printing techniques.
When asked what he thinks of this launch, Stephane Peysson, Global Business Development Manager at Huntsman Polyurethanes, said: “Our innovation incubation team worked in close cooperation with end-users and industry leaders to develop our IROPRINT® additive manufacturing product portfolio. Together, we looked closely at what makes a good 3D printing material, and what’s been missing from the market to date. We believe the launch of our IROPRINT® additive manufacturing portfolio fills a gap that exists for a range of functional, durable, yet softer 3D printing materials, which are technology agnostic, and both economical and easy to print – whatever your preferred production technique.”
“Ahead of the launch of the range, we’ve been building relationships with key technology partners, which in turn work with some of the biggest footwear brands in the world. Further down the line we see huge opportunities for our IROPRINT®additive manufacturing materials in other sectors of the 3D printing market, from components for the automotive industry to objects for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It is an incredibly exciting time to be in the additive manufacturing market, with estimates suggesting the sector is set to grow by more than 20% by 2024. We look forward to discussing the launch of our IROPRINT® additive manufacturing platform with anyone actively involved in 3D printing at the main K show in October.”
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