Sika
It’s always inspiring to see technology leaders partner up to drive new innovations. In the lead up to this year’s Formnext event, TCT sat down with Massivit’s Avi Cohen, VP Sales and Marketing and a well-recognized 3D printing enthusiast – for an exclusive interview to understand the implications of the company’s recent strategic partnership with leading materials manufacturer, Sika Deutschland GmbH.
Q: Avi, the additive community is well versed with Massivit’s giant 3D printers. We’d love to hear your insights into what drove Massivit’s decision to partner with materials giant, Sika. And in particular, where is the synergy between traditional casting materials and large-scale additive technologies?
A: Great question! Until recently, Massivit has developed its own printing and casting materials provided for use with the company’s large-scale 3D printers. This includes gel-based acrylics for our Gel Dispensing Printing portfolio as well as Epoxy-based casting material that enables production of isotropic molds on our Cast In Motion series.
Massivit
SikaBiresin® CIM 80 | Cost-effective polyurethane for room temperature tooling.
With the surge in interest for automated tooling solutions, it became clear there was a real need for casting materials suited to a variety of specific applications – meaning anything from room-temperature molding to extremely high temperatures, for industries including aerospace. Sika’s materials are obviously widely used as a trusted brand, but predominantly for conventional tooling methods like CNC machining. They were looking for new opportunities to expand their customer base by offering cutting-edge automation. Our partnership opens new horizons for high-performance automation. Manufacturers have been hungry for this type of solution that combines the industry-trusted materials they’re acquainted with high-speed automation, and design freedom.
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SikaBiresin® CIM 120 | Aluminum-filled epoxy tooling material for elevated temperatures.
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SikaBiresin® CIM 220 | Aluminum-filled epoxy tooling material for extremely high temperatures up to 220°C / 428°F.
Q: That’s exciting. So, when you say automation, what types of applications or sectors are we referring to?
Massivit
Thermoforming Mold.
A: Massivit’s Cast In Motion technology was designed to overcome recognized tooling bottlenecks that impact composite materials manufacturing. We’re literally talking about an eighty percent time saving for mold production when compared to traditional tooling methods. Aside from automating mold production for composite layup and lamination, we found that this same technology perfectly serves other broadly used tooling applications for industries like automotive, marine, aerospace, consumer products, and sporting goods. I’m referring to Reaction Injection Molding or RIM compression molds, Thermoforming molds, and polyurethane molds, but we’re actually discovering new relevant applications all the time, partly thanks to our customers. For instance, our customer Novation Tech, a European manufacturer of composite parts for leading automotive luxury brands, uses the 10000-G to print their molds, master tools, and jigs much faster. Their CEO Luca Businaro refers to this technology as “5 years ahead of other technologies on the market."
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Massivit
RIM Compression molds.
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Massivit
Foam Cushions for Automotive and Marine Seating.
As you know, the manufacturing and tooling industry has been somewhat stagnated when it comes to innovation, so it’s thrilling for us to provide significantly faster lead times for production of large, custom parts. Not to mention an answer to the bugbear of material waste generated by traditional tooling.
Q: But there are some other automated tooling solutions that have emerged in the market over the past decade. So, what is the main differentiator when it comes to the Massivit 10000 additive manufacturing system?
A: Absolutely. Aside from the phenomenal speed that our Cast In Motion technology affords, one huge advantage is that it separates the additive process from the material being used. Meaning, because we’re printing the initial sacrificial “shell” separately from the mold that is cast inside that shell, your final mold is firstly fully isotropic – allowing for even expansion on all axes – and also, the final mold doesn’t suffer from the old-age problem of distinct layers, because it’s cast from a uniform epoxy or polyurethane casting material, such as our new Sika-based materials.
Q: Wow- that sounds like a game changer for tooling. But Massivit printers don’t just serve tooling needs, correct? You have customers creating production parts as well?
A: Yes, of course. The company was founded with a vision to transform large-part manufacturing, from traditional processes to digital fabrication at high speed. So, our first-generation GDP printers are used by customers across 40 countries to produce full-scale, custom end parts and prototypes. We’re talking boatbuilders, tram manufacturers, automotive OEMs, and entertainment fabricators. The Massivit 10000 was originally designed to speed up tooling, however the most recent system, the Massivit 10000-G basically combines both our technologies into one monster of a machine- that prints large production parts as well as high-performance molds and prototypes. The newly released casting materials have been co-developed with Sika for this industrial printer.
Massivit
Q: So, when you say industrial or large-scale, what sort of build volume are we talking about?
A: The build volume of our printers ranges from 2.5 to 3 cubic meters.
Q: That certainly is big. And is that then the ultimate size limit for components, or can you bond those parts together?
A: Yep, you can bond parts together to reach any required size, using the same materials used to print the parts.
Q: So at Formnext this month, what will you be sharing with visitors?
Massivit
A: This year, we’ll be meeting Formnext visitors with our partner Sika at Booth B71, Hall 12.1. Earlier this year, we launched the Massivit 3000 large-format 3D printer at a couple of European events including TCT 3Sixty, offering a more affordable LSAM system for forward thinking businesses. So we’re thrilled to expose Formnext attendees to our full portfolio of 3D printers, ranging from the single-print head 3000 printer up to our top-of-line Massivit 10000-G that offers the full gamut of tooling, production, and prototyping.
Q: Thanks so much for sharing your latest innovation and updates with us Avi, and we’re excited to catch up with you at Formnext!
A: Absolutely! We can’t wait to be there.
Massivit
Avi Cohen explaining Cast In Motion technology.
Formnext enthusiasts who are curious to learn more about Massivit’s industrial 3D printers can book a meeting with the Massivit team here.
