SL material claims superior sidewall quality
A
DSM Somos product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Nov 14, 2006
DSM Somos has announced the commercialisation of NanoTool, the third generation of Somos ProtoComposite materials.
DSM Somos has announced the commercialisation of NanoTool, the third generation of Somos ProtoComposite materials.
Heavily filled with noncrystalline nanoparticles, NanoTool allows for faster processing and reduced finishing requirements that speed part production, as compared with current composite SL materials.
NanoTool has a flexural modulus of 10,500MPa, a heat deflection temperature of 260C (at 0.46MPa after thermal post-cure) and linear shrinkage of less than 0.001in.
NanoTool SL parts demonstrate the best sidewall quality of any composite SL material on the market today.
Better sidewall quality reduces the amount of finishing time required to sand layer lines, making NanoTool extremely attractive for applications that require highly finished parts - such as wind tunnel testing for Formula 1, rapid tooling for injection moulding, and metal plating for prototyping metal cast parts.
In addition to demonstrating better sidewall quality, NanoTool parts are easy to clean once built.
Unlike other composite resins that require more extensive time and care to remove residue, a simple water honing process removes any residue left on the surface of NanoTool parts.
"NanoTool delivers superior sidewall quality, excellent detail resolution and is very easy to finish".
"Overall handling is very similar to nonfilled resins", says Ralf Deuke, Director of German-based service bureau Alphaform.
NanoTool's smooth surface quality and high initial modulus make it an excellent resin for metal plating - a growing application which saves time and money as an alternative to fully metal prototypes.
"The issue of part cleanliness becomes extremely important when plating composite resins, because the RP parts will not metallise completely if residue is present", says Sean Wise, President of RePliForm.
DSM Somos, in conjunction with RePliForm, is currently studying the metal plated strength improvements achievable with NanoTool.
To date, flexural modulus values of greater then 55GPa have been reached based on a metal to resin volume ratio of 1:4.
The technology, coined MC2, promises to greatly enhance the effectiveness of prototyping metal parts.
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