05-Apr-17 French technology services company SRC Rescoll has partnered with Italian industrial 3D printer manufacturer SME 3NTR to develop an affordable industrial 3D printer that can use high-performance plastics, such as PEEK and ULTEM, as reported by 3ders.org. The project, named SPECTRAL (which stands for low cost principle of high-performance thermoplastic for structural applications), is a part of the European Commission-funded CleanSky program. The idea for the project, which will be ongoing for the next two years, came from the reality that many affordable 3D printers on the market are geared towards photo-polymerized or sintered materials, which rule out certain high-performance polymers like PEEK and ULTEM (Polyetherimide).
The SPECTRAL project will oversee the development, testing, and implementation of an FDM 3D printer dedicated to high-performance materials. As part of the CleanSky initiative, the 3D printer will be developed according to specifications put out by European aerospace company Airbus, which will also set the standards for parts produced on the 3D printer. Italian company 3NTR is in charge of developing the 3D printer’s hardware, while French company Rescoll is coordinating the project and is responsible for developing and manufacturing the 3D printable high-performance thermoplastic filaments for the printer. Rescoll is reportedly also developing a database that will enable the automatic recording and tracking of 3D prints. "We have extensive experience in the formulation and characterization of high temperature thermoplastic materials and in the transformation of these mixtures into 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm diameter filaments for 3D printing,” commented Jordan Bouvier. “Thanks to our machinery, including a 3NTR printer, we will be able to test, optimize, and validate the printing of the filaments, as well as to characterize the mechanical properties of the printed materials.”
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