FRANKFURT, Germany—Arburg GmbH + Co. K.G. rolled out its Freeformer 300-3X at Formnext 2018 in Frankfurt. The machine does additive manufacturing of three-component parts in hard/soft combinations.
Formnext, a major trade fair for additive manufacturing, was held Nov. 24-27.
Arburg said it is the first time that additive manufacturing can make complex, functional hard/soft parts using support structures. The Lossburg, Germany-based company also rolled out a new rental model at Formnext.
"The response has been excellent," said Juliana Hehl, Arburg's managing partner. "Our trade fair stand equipped with mobile lighting elements and a rotating platform has shown that a lot is happening at Arburg."
Equipped with three discharge units, the open system can produce complex and resilient functional parts in hard/soft combinations from two standard plastics and a support material. The available surface area of the platform is almost 50 percent larger than for the Freeformer 200-3X, so the build chamber has room for larger parts measuring up to 9.2 inches by 5.2 inches by 9 inches.
By opening the upper half of the two-part build-chamber door, it is possible to refill the material containers while the machine is in operation, Arburg said. The build chamber them only needs to be opened to insert the part platform and remove the finished parts.
Automatic opening and closing of the build-chamber door makes it possible to automate additive manufacturing, and integrate the Freeformer into complete production times, according to the company.
Now you can rent a Freeformer 200-3X for 12 months. The offer includes training courses at Arburg, and individual in-house training at the customer's plant. After the year ends, if the customer decides to buy the Freeformer, Arburg will take the rental fee into account in the purchase price.