Royal DSM introduces new carbon fiber reinforced filament for industrial 3D printing

Royal DSM, a Dutch multinational specializing in health, nutrition and materials, has launched its newest industrial 3D printing filament: Novamid ID1030 CF10. The new material, a carbon fiber reinforced PA6/66 filament, was developed for applications in the automotive, sports equipment, medical and manufacturing industries.

What sets Royal DSM’s newest material apart from other carbon fiber reinforced filaments on the market is that its carbon fiber content is actually quite low, making it easier to process on desktop 3D printers. Despite only having a carbon fiber loading of about 10%, Novamid ID1030 CF10 can also reportedly produce industrial parts or functional prototypes with properties nearing those of injection molded parts.

“FFF technology is growing rapidly, for use in both prototyping and industrial applications,” commented Hugo da Silva, Vice president of Additive Manufacturing at Royal DSM. “With high-performance materials like our new carbon fiber filament, manufacturers can take it into many more applications like functional prototyping as well as durable and structural industrial parts for harsh environments.”

Royal DSM adds that it has extensively tested the new filament on a range of open FFF 3D printing systems, including GermanRepRap and the Ultimaker S5, and assures that the filament can easily be printed on desktop FFF machines if they are equipped with a hardened nozzle. The testing also suggested that users could print the carbon fiber filament at the same speeds as unreinforced materials, while benefitting from higher part strength and durability.

In terms of applications, Novamid ID1030 CF10 was developed for printing parts with high strength, toughness, tensile strength and dimensional stability. The material has also demonstrated good warpage resistance. All these properties make it suitable for producing parts for the automotive sector (especially under-the-hood components), for protective sports equipment, for manufacturing jigs and fixtures and for medical prosthetics and braces. The filament also exploits one of the most sought after benefits of carbon fiber: its light weight.

Royal DSM, which has been developing stereolithography materials for over two decades and which now offers a growing range of FFF filaments, will be selling the new Novamid ID1030 CF10 material in both 1.75 and 2.85 mm diameter formats. The filament will be distributed via its partners MCPP, Nexeo3DSolutions and, its most recent distribution partner, FormFutura.