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Customised production of TPU parts by selective laser sintering

von Dr. Marcus Rechberger

Additive preparation processes impress lay people just as much as the professionals. In contrast to processes which remove materials, such as drilling, cutting and grinding, through additive fabrication, parts come in to being layer by layer. It is perhaps this phenomenon, which reminds us of natural growth, which gives such an engaging character to processes like 3D printing, stereolithography and Fused Deposition Modelling. At the same time, those technologies appear trend-setting; the idea of watching complex components appear overnight out of a CAD drawing on a relatively simple machine, using only just as much raw material as the part needs to occupy its own volume, from a material- and energy-efficiency point of view, shows the way.

As soon as manufacturers realise that additive preparation dispenses with the need for moulds and tooling and offers virtually limitless design freedom, the revolution in plastics processing may no longer be hindered. Economic cycles will become more regional, decisions about siting of raw-material production units will have to be taken differently, and the development of the production of goods will be democratised [1].