Leading materials specialist亨克尔has revealed how it’s increasingly utilizing data to help its 3D printing customers overcome the variability of the resin 3D printing workflow.
亨克尔originally entered the 3D printing space in 2017 and has since built an impressive portfolio of photopolymer materials that many OEM partners have adopted. Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing continues to gain traction for end-use part production due to its unique ability to produce complex parts with smooth surface finishes and desired mechanical properties. However, Henkel acknowledges that end-users still experience a sufficient learning curve as this technology becomes more widely adopted. To support the technology’s adoption, Henkel is using data as a type of currency. To bring additional value, the company has begun testing its resins against established standards and invested in expediting its material qualification using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
数据作为3D打印中的“货币”
亨克尔considers data to be so vital that it actually sees it as a ‘currency’ in the 3D printing industry, which enables users to assess how a given part will perform before it ever leaves the build area. This is particularly important when it comes to creating end-use components that are likely to be exposed to elements capable of causing them to fail.
So, how does Henkel help 3D printing users ensure their parts perform as expected? The company has largely focused on bringing value to the industry by publishing more data around end-part performance.
在之前Formnext2022, for instance, Henkel added new pages to the technical data sheets behind many of its most popular 3D printing materials, includingLoctite 3D 3843. Having increased its lab testing capabilities, the company now subjects its polymers to expanded testing standards, including those around heat aging, accelerated weathering, chemical resistance, UV aging, and temperature variability.
汉克尔（Henkel）利用这些数据以技术数据表的形式公开，预计树脂3D打印采用者能够更好地评估使用其光聚合物材料打印是否会帮助他们解决所需的最终用途应用程序。
亨克尔’s workflow validation goals
亨克尔also sees each step in the resin 3D printing workflow as a potential disruptor to the process’ (what it?) repeatability and predictability. These steps could include anything from system settings to the introduction of cleaning fluids or post-curing, each of which can cause ambiguity. With this in mind, Henkel sees workflow validation as the best way of accounting for such variables.
In practice, the company conducts its own in-house workflow validations (covering more than 60 individual process parameters) in which materials are used to produce test specimens with certain machines, cleaning methods, and curing methods. The resulting data is then used to ensure that the polymer met a desired set of mechanical properties. With this method, the company says it aims to provide users with a ‘vote of confidence’ that resins will work as required.
Interestingly, while some other material players in the industry keep workflow validation testing data to themselves, Henkel makes its findings publicly available for all to see. In fact, the亨克尔Loctite Printer & Post Processing Settingspage allows users to select a machine from a list of OEMs, as well as a material, color, cleaning solution, and curing station, for a given build.
Leveraging this site functionality, Henkel users are effectively able to generate a ‘recipe’ for their 3D printing process, including parameters like layer height, length of washing time, and part flips during post-processing, which helps them through material qualification, a process that’s essential to manufacturing consistent quality parts at any sort of scale.
Those seeking further reassurance would be pleased to know that Henkel also works directly with 3D Printer OEMs developing 380-405 nanometer systems, to make sure its materials perform as expected. In a recent example of this, the company worked withPrusa在Prusa SL1S SPEED系统。协同工作,Prusa印刷various test specimens, which were then shipped to Loctite 3D Printing test center for validation of mechanical properties. With printing parameters clearly identified and mechanical properties verified, end-users can maximize their results with Loctite materials.
AI: the future of 3D printing validation?
In an effort to enhance its own material development workflow, Henkel has turned to advanced design tools such as ‘Albert从本质上讲，该公司的基于云的AI系统从世界各地的所有设施中收集并分享了数据点。使用此平台，汉克尔的研究工程师现在能够无缝共享发现，并远程利用同事来做出知情的研发判决。
使用此数据集，围绕亨克尔开发的每个样本和配方构建，Albert也可以加速新产品的发布。该系统通过协调材料的研究和实验加速度设计来做到这一点。它还可以为用户提供即时的成本估算，安全性评估以及成分可用性的更新。此外，该工具通常提供实时配方和测试建议，以确保高速开发和一致的结果。
迄今为止，阿尔伯特（Albert）在汉克尔（Henkel）进行了超过300万个数据集培训，其中900,000多个来自3D打印业务的数据点，该系统每天都在学习。该软件最高的应用程序之一是它与Stratasys-owned 3D printer manufacturer起源，在2020年初的19020年大流行期间。
作为该计划的一部分，阿尔伯特迅速通过16,000种不同的树脂配方筛选了3D打印鼻拭子的最佳筛子。在帮助原点找到“在干草堆中的针头”时，该软件加速了满足大量生产的Covid-19测试设备的需求，当时供应量很短。
通过以扩展的技术数据的形式向3D打印行业添加其他货币，跨越整个3D流程的清晰工作流程指导以及利用机器学习来支持新产品开发，Henkel的目标是继续支持添加剂制造行业。雷电竞充值DLP技术更广泛。
More information about the firm’s 3D printing offering and opportunities to collaborate on material development can be found via theLoctite 3D Printing website. Alternatively, interested parties cancontact Henkel here
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Featured image shows Loctite 3D printing resins. Photo via Henkel.
