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Eberhard Lutz, new Freeformer sales director at Arburg, opened the Freeformer User Day 2016. Some forty attendees shared their expertise in a positive environment. |
The team of ARBURG Plastic Freeforming (APF) gathered on November 29, 2016, about forty of the company’s partners for the 3rd traditional User Day. The primary aim of the meeting was expertise sharing in the field of additive manufacturing. An important specific topic of this issue was material qualification. Best practices and useful theoretical contributions were applauded by all the attendees.
The meeting opened by the new Freeformer sales director at Arburg, Eberhard Lutz, giving a motivating speech. “There is clearly a great deal of mutual interest in the further development of the Freeformer and ARBURG Plastic Freeforming. Let us achieve new advances from all the experience gathered,” said Lutz. He also stressed that together with the Additive Manufacturing department, global marketing will be strengthened further in 2017.
Expert presentations on ARBURG Plastic Freeforming
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At the Freeformer User Day 2016, Didier von Zeppelin (in the middle), Additive Manufacturing manager, presented the latest APF developments. The core topic was the theory and practice of material qualification. |
Martin Neff, a technology advisor for Plastic Freeforming, started the meeting with an overview of latest enhancements to standard machines. Among others, these include build chamber with homogeneous temperature control, discharge heads boasting a longer service life, and optimized material feed. Numerous other measures further increase the process stability.
Mr. Neff’s colleague, Christoph Linek from the Technology Development team, spoke about the theoretic principles of data processing. He were more specific on tasks such as mathematical calculation of a desired change in fill density and layer thickness.
One more expert presentation, “Nine Steps for Material Qualification” by Dr. Michael Salinas, another Plastic Freeforming consultant, covered the subject at every process step, from material preparation to part production.
From theory to practice
During the following afternoon, the attendees got many opportunities to test in practice what they had just learned, using three Freeformers, and to further discuss the questions that arose with the experts.
All the participants have considered the material qualification topic and the combined theory/practice approach very positive. The successful User Day was wrapped up by Dr. Eberhard Duffner, Development and Plastic Freeforming director, who gave an outlook on the advances that his R&D team was currently dwelling on as for materials and the Freeformer technology. Some of the new developments are expected to be on display at the Arburg Technology Days in next March already.
