API Institute developed successfully an Arnitel Eco monofilament for 3D printing systems of Almteq.API Institute has developed successfully a monofilament of Arnitel® Eco from DSM for Almteq’s Inspire 3-D printing systems. Almteq aims to use only bio-based materials for its printers and was looking for a flexible material to add to its portfolio. Arnitel Eco fit the need for a flexible or elastic bio-based material able to offer the right technical performance. API Institute develops and produces bio-based monofilament solutions for 3D printing in new innovative materials.
In 2010, DSM launched Arnitel Eco at the K-fair in Düsseldorf. Arnitel Eco is a high performance thermoplastic co-polyester (TPC) with a 20%-50% content derived from renewable resources. Arnitel Eco is available in a hardness range from 40-70 Shore D. The material offers an up to 50% lower carbon footprint than classic co-polyester products.
Francis Aussems, Project Manager Bio-Polyesters for DSM, says: “It is great to see that, in addition to its environmental benefits, the performance of our Arnitel Eco is really differentiating. The excellent heat and melt stability ensures that high quality products can be produced with the Inspire technology”.
Applied Polymer Innovations Emmen (API Institute) has developed the thermoplastic monofilament materials based on Arnitel Eco for 3D-printing applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a new additive manufacturing technology commonly used for modeling, rapid prototyping, and production applications. The Arnitel Eco monofilament is melted and deposited by an extrusion head of the 3D-printer, which follows a tool-path defined by the CAD file. The materials are deposited in layers as fine as 0.15 mm, and the part is built from the bottom up – one layer at a time. Jan Jager, Director R&D at API Institute says: “Using Arnitel Eco now gives us the opportunity to develop flexible parts using the 3D-printing technique”.
