Cryogenic processing described at TCT 2002

A TCT Conference and Exhibition product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 12, 2002

One of the primary goals of the annual TCT conference and exhibition is to keep the manufacturing industry as up-to-date as possible with recent advances in time-compression technologies.

One of the primary goals of the annual TCT conference and exhibition is to keep the manufacturing industry as up-to-date as possible with all of the most recent advances in research and new applications of time-compression technologies as well as the latest developments in terms of products and services available.

Boris Fritz of Northrop Grumman Corporation (Integrated Systems and Aerostructures, Air Combat Systems) will present a paper at TCT 2002.

The title of the paper is "The effect of cryogenic processing on rapid prototyping materials".

Much research is being done to increase the mechanical properties of rapid prototyping (RP) materials, driven by the demand for increased yield strength, thermal stability, stress relief and improved wear or abrasive resistance.

All these characteristics describe the effect of cryogenic processing on materials, however, almost all of the research carried out in this area to date has been done on metals.

The little research that has been done in the plastics industry indicates that cryogenic processing can be effective and should be investigated further for RP materials.

The goal of the research at Northrop Grumman, in collaboration with Loyola Marymount University, is to apply cryogenic processing to Ciba SL5220 and DSM Somos8110 photopolymer epoxy resins as well as to Stratasys ABS thermoplastic material and to DTM's Duraform and RapidSteel materials to see how they benefit from the process.

Electron microscope pictures comparing the grain structure of both the processed and unprocessed materials have been completed and the results will be presented at TCT 2002 in full.

The conference will take place over two days, 16th and 17th October 2002 at the Manchester International Conference Centre, UK and will provide all delegates with the most comprehensive and up-to-date briefing on what is happening in the field of time-compression technologies and rapid product development and will keep them at the forefront of what is happening in the industry, which can then be taken away and applied to their particular niche.

Northrop Grumman is just one of an impressive array of leading-edge companies from a variety of disciplines that will share their own experiences of the technologies, research carried out and the multifarious applications for which TCTs can be successfully used.

Other companies that will be making presentations include Jaguar Racing, Rolls Royce, Land Rover, Nokia Mobile Phones and Dyson.

Running in parallel with the conference over the two days will be a comprehensive exhibition offering all attendees the opportunity to network with like-minded people, without being put under the pressure of a hard sell.

The exhibition will also profile a wide range of solutions for TCT software (3D CAD/CAM/CAE); reverse engineering; desktop verification/analysis; rapid prototyping/casting; rapid tooling; and materials.