Vincent COLIN/ Arkema
Arkema Mont facility
French 3D printing specialist Erpro 3D Factory has announced the addition of Arkema’s bio-based elastomers to its selective laser sintering service.
The service provider, which Arkema first partnered with in 2018 and later acquired a 10% stake in 2021, has described the news as ‘a significant milestone’ in developing an ‘integrated supply chain’ for custom parts made from Arkema’s Pebax Rnew powders.
Cyrille Vue, CEO of the Erpro group, said: "By partnering with Arkema, we are introducing a ground-breaking improvement over TPU materials. Pebax elastomers take our offer up to a whole new level – both in terms of performance, and use of renewable resources.”
Arkema’s Pebax Rnew elastomers are produced partially from renewable castor beans. The specialty materials manufacturer says Pebax Rnew parts are typically specified for their combination of lightweight and energy return. The materials have already been adopted by users in consumer, sportswear and healthcare industries for demanding applications such as high-performance sports shoes, electronics, and medical devices. Customers in Europe will soon be able to receive quotes and place orders for parts using the materials via Erpro 3D’s EASY3D platform.
“We are delighted to announce this exciting new launch which further strengthens our unique range of advanced bio-based 3D printing solutions,” said Adrien Lapeyre, Arkema 3D Printing Program Director. “By working hand in hand with Erpro 3D Factory, we were able to develop this innovative elastomeric powder optimised for advanced laser sintering and we look forward to work with our customers to soon bring exciting new applications to the market enabled by 3D printing.”
Since its launch in 2017, Erpro 3D Factory says it has produced more than 21 million parts, most of which have been made with 100% bio-based Polyamide 11 powder. Perhaps one of its most famous part examples is the Le Volume Révolution de Chanel mascara brush, which was created in-house from bio-sourced polyamide using laser sintering technology. The company says 10 million of these brushes were manufactured between 2018 and 2019.
