Essentium and LEHVOSS deliver engineering-grade materials for HSE 3D printing
3D printing company Essentium Inc. has announced a partnership with chemicals company LEHVOSS Group, through which it has developed high-performance materials for industrial-scale extrusion 3D printing processes. The materials are certified and meet the standards required for applications in the aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, biomedical and electronic manufacturing industries.
Through their two-year collaboration, Essentium and LEHVOSS Group have brought to market engineering-grade polymers, which leverage each of their areas of expertise—specifically, LEHVOSS’ experience with thermoplastic high-performance compounds and Essentium’s knowledge of polymer and composite chemistry.
The materials, based on LUVOCOM 3F compounds, include PEEK and High-Temperature Nylon (HTN) materials with easy printability and non-warping properties, as well as heat and chemical resistance and high mechanical strengths. The new materials are all certified for Essentium’s High Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D printing technology and can be used for a wide range of applications, such as producing high-stress parts in engines and drive trains or medical technology components.
“Partnering with Essentium is a win-win for our industrial customers,” said Thomas Collet, Director of 3D Printing Materials & Marketing at LEHVOSS Group. “Essentium is at the forefront of material science and together we will create a wider range of 3D printing materials certified to meet the performance standards they expect in their end-use parts. Not only will this speed time-to-market and lower the cost to produce the highest quality parts, it will also spur innovation for new additive manufacturing applications.”
Brandon Sweeney, Ph.D., Head of R&D for Materials and Co-founder of Essentium, added: “While there are many compounding companies that optimize materials for 3D printing, few can rival LEHVOSS’ manufacturing knowledge and their approach for designing compounds specifically for extrusion-based 3D printing processes.
“With LEHVOSS we have a true partner who shares our passion in applying material science innovation to accelerate industrial-scale additive manufacturing. We have already seen strong demand for our PEEK and HTN materials and look forward to developing new materials that give manufacturers the trust and confidence to shift from prototyping to full-scale production using 3D printing.”
Last November, Essentium expanded its range of 3D printing products significantly, releasing two new HSE 3D printer models as well as unveiling new high-temperature materials, including the ones developed in partnership with LEHVOSS.
