ARBURG presents updates to Freeformer 3D printing platform

'We discovered we were not good enough. We had to get better.'

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Originating as far back as the 18th century, the theory of the falling tree is a hypothetical concept that splits opinion even to this day. Which side of the argument you fall is dependent on whether you perceive sound to be a natural sensation, or one experienced purely by living beings. Yet, if you humour the notion that the falling tree does make a sound, with or without someone or something to hear it, we can surely all agree that it is a single, emphatic, and relatively abrupt one.

The theory was alluded to by Didier von Zeppelin, a Manager of Additive Manufacturing for machine manufacturer, ARBURG, as the company held a special event to present a series of updates to its solitary 3D printing platform, the Freeformer. Presumably, the link between the Freeformer and the falling tree theory is that without human presence, or an end user, the noise, or the product, cannot be experienced. The Freeformer dropped at the KShow in 2013, and such was the nature of its launch, it certainly made a noise. But perhaps a single, emphatic, relatively abrupt one.

ARBURG’s first steps into the additive manufacturing world showed much promise, but failed to live up to the hype thrust upon it. The company has over 65 years’ experience in injection moulding, and a healthy repute to boot. Yet, both the knowledge and the status took years of endeavour. To have expected ARBURG to carry that over to a new industry and hit the ground running with its first 3D printing platform was maybe unrealistic. After all, the industry often recognises the trial and error nature of the technology it surrounds. And that’s what the Freeformer has been to ARGURB – trial and error.

Four years after the initial launch, ARBURG is back making noises, and this time with a more confident voice: “We discovered we were not good enough. We had to get better,” says von Zeppelin, who joined the company two and a half years ago. The company began by recruiting a host of additive manufacturing specialists. ARBURG now has six ‘MAMs’ – Managers of Additive Manufacturing – across Europe and North America. Colin Tirel, ARBURG Managing Director, says the ARBURG’s additive manufacturing efforts have clearly benefitted.

“It was obviously a new technology for us – 65 years of history here,” Tirel tells TCT as he shifts his eyes across to the company’s Allrounder injection moulding machines that hum in the background, before glancing back to the Freeformer. “Only four years [in 3D printing]. You have to understand that we’ve had to, as a team – one subsidiary – adapt. In 2013, it was very new to us, and now we feel more comfortable.”

In the interim, between their respective arrivals and the Freeformer update event, which took place on June 7th 2017 at the company’s Warwickshire base, the MAMs got to work on enhancing the Freeformer. The ARBURG Plastic Freeforming (APF) approach sees plastic granulates melted, in a process similar to injection moulding, with the assistance of a special screw. This screw, driven by Piezo technology, allows the nozzle to open and close in rapid time, depositing up to 200 plastic droplets per second with a diameter of 0.2 and 0.4mm, depending on the nozzle size. Bonding together as they cool, the droplets conspire to build parts layer by layer, with the object being moved along the X and Y axes as it is produced, rather than the print head being mobile, like in conventional 3D printing machines. Supported by MiniMagics, a more stripped-back version of Materialise's Magics software, the user is greeted with a straightforward interface which ARBURG is sure will enable greater freedom to create. 

And then, come the updates.

Von Zeppelin and his colleagues noticed on the original Freeformer the potential for leakage due to the imperfect alignment of cylinders inside the build chamber. ARBURG has included a ring which not only seals the non-return valve, but also measures the amount of material deposited in each drop.

The build chamber can now operate at temperatures of up to 120 degrees Celsius, an increase on the original 100 degrees, but the company is aiming to reach 200 degrees C. Work on this is still to be done. Thus far, ARBURG has managed to divert hot air directly to the point where the user is printing and, can measure the temperature exactly at the height of the layer. Meanwhile, the Freeformer’s closed loop system enables air to be sucked from the bottom of the machine to achieve a lamented air flow inside the build chamber, and thus a constant temperature. 

ARBURG has also focused on material maintenance during the update development phase. Von Zeppelin explains that in injection moulding, when the user changes the batch, they also have to make alterations to the settings. But ARBURG wants to rid its customers of the trouble, and ensure the batch is always pure. With the new passive and active drying systems, ARBURG does just that. With the use of silica gel, moisture is absorbed and the granulates are preserved.  

In addition, ARBURG has committed to an open source system, wanting to maximise potential innovation by supporting a plethora of materials. During one of three presentations, von Zeppelin suggested ABS as the go-to material for prototyping applications; resorbable PLLA for medical implants; PMMA, TPU, PLA, and other bio materials for soft tissue applications; and ABS with TPU support for multi-component parts. The Freeformer is also compatible with thermoplastic elastomers.

The updated platform was delivered to existing customers free of charge on January 1st, 2017. It is also readily available for new clients, one of whom was present at the event. Dr Peter Boyd, from Queen’s University’s School of Pharmacy in Belfast, was first introduced to the Freeformer during an ARBURG technology open day. Since 2014, Dr Boyd has been using Fused Deposition Modelling platforms to produce drug delivery applications and control release devices, which give a sustained amount of drug deposition for a certain period of time, be it days or weeks.

Since seeing the Freeformer, one of Dr Boyd’s PhD students has decided to focus on the ARBURG machine for the second half of their thesis. That played some part in encouraging the university to sanction the purchase of the machine, but as Dr Boyd explains, there’s other motives too.

“When we initially enquired, [the Freeformer] wasn’t at the stage where Arburg were confident with the quality of the outputs,” Dr Boyd told TCT. “We had a couple of trials when we were over here in Warwick and they were very successful with the materials that we work with. On the back of that we went ahead and purchased one.

“It’s designed to be used for research purposes, and as we get a greater understanding of the machine, we will hopefully increase the scope and use the printer in the School of Pharmacy but also across the whole university. We have a number of collaborations with the School of Engineering, that’s also where we’d like to use the printer.”

Engineering schools have made up the bulk of ARBURG’s additive manufacturing custom. One in particular, Mines Douai, located in the city of Douai near Lille, France, has been using the printer for its materials development focus.

And while ARBURG is happy to continue serving these educational institutes, giving engineering and pharmacy students access to 3D printing technology, it is hoping for a progression into the medical sector proper moving forward. But more than that, and much simpler than that, ARBURG just wants to make every customer happy.

“That’s the goal of the machine,” von Zeppelin concludes. “We are here to solve the things our customers want to solve and that nobody else is solving.”

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