Trumpf's updated Tops software enables its industrial 3D printers to reduce the supports formerly needed for producing components and parts
Photo Trumpf
Trumpf, which makes a range of industrial 3D printers, has upgraded its TruTops Print software to reduce the use of supporting structures in order to shorten the printing times and cut out the cost of these supports.
Many – but not all – 3D printing processes rely on building supporting structures alongside objects to hold overhanging elements in place whilst they’re being produced. These structures also serve to dissipate heat from the printed part and prevent internal tensions and deformations during printing. However, it means that the printer has to be able to print the extra support material, and afterwards this support has to be removed – typically by dissolving it in water – which involves an extra process.
Timo Degen, product manager for additive manufacturing at Trumpf, explained, “When we 3D print a part, we want as much control as possible over when and where the material melts and re-solidifies. The skill lies in choosing the right exposure strategies to prevent internal tensions and overheating in the overhang region.”
He added, “Users from any industry can benefit from the ability to 3D print parts without supports. The advantages of support-free printing are particularly appealing for parts that feature large cavities or challenging overhangs.”
For the latest upgrade, TruTops Print sets the 3D printer up to use the optimum printing strategy for each different area of the part, which significantly reduces the need for support structures. At the same time, Trumpf claims that the improved gas flow of its new 3D printers allows for uniform processing conditions and support-free printing.
The new technology also opens up new applications that couldn’t be properly exploited when support structures were still necessary, including areas such as additively manufactured radial compressors and shrouded impellers. Previously, manufacturers were unable to print support-free impellers due to their overhang angles.
Degen concluded, “The need for supports meant that 3D printing wasn’t an economically viable alternative to conventional manufacturing. But now things are different.”
This article was first posted on www.nessancleary.co.uk on 10 September 2023. Used with permission.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
