(Parsdorf, Germany, October 25, 2023) Nothing could be more exciting: industrial production standards paired with complete design freedom. formnext, being held in Frankfurt am Main from November 7-10, 2023, has come to the fore as the leading trade show for additive manufacturing. Here (Hall 11.1, Booth F21), KraussMaffei is presenting innovations such as its precisionPrint stereolithography printer and applications of the powerPrint large scale 3D printer. Presentations at the SKZ booth demonstrate which kinds of projects make full use of the strengths of 3D printing.  

Filigree structures with a perfect surface - in a very short time: precisionPrint combines stereolithography with industrial efficiency. For this purpose, KraussMaffei has deliberately incorporated customer experience into the further technical development of the printer in addition to its own many years of expertise and is now introducing this evolution at formnext. Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process that operates by focusing an UV laser beam on the surface of a vat filled with photopolymer resin. Following the reapplication of a new resin layer to the surface using a blade, the laser proceeds to cure the resin layer by layer, ultimately creating a 3D part. Components that, as is the case with the precisionPrint, have been produced with high resolution across the entire construction platform, feature a similar appearance and haptics to injection-molded articles. However they can be created with substantially less effort, even in large-scale production. The KraussMaffei printer is optimized for this and offers, in addition to a multilaser system, a replaceable resin vat to enable fast material changes. The build platform change can be automated by using a connected magazine system. This way, the next print job can start right away after one printing operation is complete. The industrial system architecture revolutionizes manufacturing processes and the end-to-end process can be scaled for cost-effective series production. The maximum build volume of the precisionPrint is around 250 x 250 x 400 millimeters. 

The powerPrint 3D printer can be used to implement projects that are much larger. A maximum of ten cubic meters of volume is possible, thus dimensions of 2 x 2.5 x 2 meters. Visitors who relax at a printed standing table at the KraussMaffei trade show booth will see what this means for themselves. In addition, those visiting the booth can have a look at a mold for manufacturing fiber-reinforced center beam for aircraft construction and see firsthand the industrial standard of the components. The wall panels have also been manufactured using this process—and at the SKZ booth (Hall 11.1, Booth E48), seat stools from the powerPrint invite guests to sit a while. The powerPrint processes thermoplastics granulate (including ABS, PA, PETG, PLA, ASA, TPU, PP) with the aid of an extruder-based printing build-up (nozzle range 2 to 20 mm) at temperatures of up to 350 °C. The output capacity is up to around 30 kg/h, which makes short throughput times possible. KraussMaffei is the only company in the plastics industry to manufacture machines for all processing methods—additive manufacturing, extrusion, reaction process machinery and injection molding—and can therefore combine its expertise for innovative processes. 

On the afternoon of November 8, 2023 and morning of November 9, 2023, the first and second day of the trade show, KraussMaffei is participating in an educational alliance presentation at the SKZ booth about the suitability of parts for additive manufacturing (part screening). Our partner EcoRub will also be available at the KraussMaffei booth to answer questions about sustainable materials.