Developing a new additive manufacturing head for large plastic parts

The Tekniker technology centre, a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), has filed an application for a patent covering a new additive manufacturing head to produce large parts and can improve said parts by means of the continuous thread or filament technique. The patent applies to all those sectors that require large plastic parts such as, among others, the automotive and aeronautical business, railways, etc.

In this regard, and in order to produce large and/or complex geometry parts, the project is using a relatively novel technology in the field of additive manufacturing known as PFDM (Pellet Fused Deposition Modelling).

On the one hand, this process features a multi-head equipped with an extruder into which pellets are fed (i.e., small portions of agglomerate or compressed materials) and, on the other, a supplementary head that provides continuous fibres at the end of the extrusion process.

Compared to the more conventional FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technique, differences can be found in the shape of the raw materials used, as pellets and not filaments are employed to reduce manufacturing costs. Continuous fibre, moreover, is incorporated to the thread to be printed in order to enhance mechanical properties in all end parts.

As regards this project, Tekniker, an organisation that specialises in additive manufacturing dealing with large parts, has specifically focused on producing this particular type of head for typologies applicable to plastic parts. The ultimate goal is to produce a functional head that is able to manufacture large carbon fibre-reinforced components. In fact, this head will be installed on a robotic arm to be converted into a 3D printer.

In the future, as explained by Iñigo Arizaga, a researcher at the Design, Manufacturing & Assembly unit of the technology centre, this new head “will allow companies to produce very large models in plastic with good properties relatively quickly”.