专为增材制造而设计的高级PAEK产品
PEEK聚合物先驱Victrex正在准备新开发的增材制造材料（AM）。其中种是用于激光烧结（LS）的高强度材料，其获得较低的刷新率，从而改善未烧结粉末的再循环。第二种是具有比现有聚丙烯醚酮（PAEK）材料更好的Z强度的长丝，以及用于长丝熔合（FF）的更好的可印刷性。详细的技术成果预计将于2018年9月在埃克塞特大学添加剂层制造中心（CALM）的双年度增材制造会议上公布。
Victrex席执行官Jakob Sigurdsson评论道：
“这些用于增材制造的下一代Victrex PAEK材料标志着向前迈出了决定性的一步，有可能改变多种应用，包括航空航天和医疗。令人兴奋的进展是基于Victrex的持续激烈研发以及Victrex领导的追求增材制造创新的公司和机构的卓越合作。通过这个联盟，我们已经看到了演示器部件，它们展示了AM工艺如何与高性能材料相结合，转变思维，根据增加的设计可能性创造真正的创新部件。“
可以部署增材制造的优点以降低成本，缩短上市时间，并且使得能够使用传统方法制造太复杂的部件。市场上的PAEK现有材料虽然用于某些AM应用，但是是为传统的制造方法设计的，例如机加工和注塑成型。因此，它们具有一些对于增材制造工艺不是佳的特征。用于激光烧结的代PAEK材料只能以非常低的程度再循环，并且需要用新粉末几乎完全刷新印刷床，并且可用于FF的PEEK长丝具有差的层间粘合，导致Z强度的损失。
由Victrex开发的新型聚合物等级在LS中具有类似的机械性能，并且在FF良好的机械性能和可印刷性方面显示出令人鼓舞的低刷新率（改善未烧结粉末的再循环）。
Victrex席科学家John Grasmeder解释说：
“突破性技术为增材制造PAEK的激动人心的未来铺平了道路。使用新的Victrex开发聚合物牌号进行激光烧结的粉末回收工作非常顺利，当测试组件由部分回收的粉末制成时，没有可测量的性能损失。我们相信可以重复使用在构建运行后回收的所有非烧结粉末。与现有的PolyArylEtherKetone材料相比，这将大大降低材料成本，其中高达40％的聚合物被浪费并且无法回收利用。“
合作推动AM
Victrex是一个由公司和机构组成的联盟，并于2016年获得英国创新机构Innovate UK的资助，以进行密集的开拓性研究和开发，以推进AM技术，特别是高温，价格合理的聚合物用于AM航空航天应用的复合材料。该联盟的其他成员包括空中客车集团创新，EOS，埃克塞特大学添加剂层制造中心（CALM），E3D-Online，HiETA Technologies，South West metal Finishing和3T-RPD。
新的Victrex PAEK长丝和粉末与英国Innovate项目的其他成员开发的技术相结合。EOS近发布了一种新的自动化制造平台，用于工业规模的塑料部件激光烧结（EOS P 500），能够在高温下印刷高性能聚合物。在EOS研发设施中评估该联盟的选定材料，以确定当前EOS系统的可加工性以及与EOS P 500平台一起使用。Victrex计划与财团合作伙伴E3D一起继续对新PAEK长丝产品进行预商业化测试，该公司近商业发布了一种新型水冷长丝挤出机头，专门针对这种新型PAEK长丝进行了优化。
原文如下：
Major improvements demonstrated for filament fusion (FF) and laser sintering (LS), with Victrex PAEK polymer solutions supplied as filaments and fine powder respectively.
PEEK polymer pioneer Victrex is preparing newly developed materials for additive manufacturing (AM). The first of these is a high strength material for laser sintering (LS) which attains lower refresh rates, resulting in improved recycling for unsintered powder. The second is a filament with better Z-strength than existing PolyArylEtherKetone (PAEK) materials and better printability for filament fusion (FF). The detailed technical results are expected to be presented at the bi-annual additive manufacturing conference of the University of Exeter Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM) , in September 2018.
Jakob Sigurdsson, Victrex CEO, commented:
“These next-generation Victrex PAEK materials for Additive Manufacturing mark a decisive step forward, having potential to transform multiple applications, including Aerospace and Medical. The exciting progress is based on continued intense R&D at Victrex and excellent collaboration within the Victrex led consortium of companies and institutions pursuing innovation in Additive Manufacturing. Through this consortium we’re already seeing demonstrator parts that show how AM processes, coupled with high-performance materials, transform thinking to create truly innovative parts based on increased design possibilities.”
Advantages of additive manufacturing can be deployed to reduce costs, shorten time to market, and enable the production of parts too complex to be manufactured using traditional methods. The PAEK incumbent materials on the market, although used in some AM applications, were designed for conventional manufacturing methods, such as machining and injection molding. Because of this, they have some features that aren’t optimal for additive manufacturing processes. A first generation of PAEK material for laser sintering can only be recycled in a very low extent and required nearly full refresh of the printing bed with new powder, and PEEK filaments available for FF have poor interlayer bonding, leading to a loss in Z-strength.
The new polymer grades developed by Victrex have shown encouragingly low refresh rates (improves recycle for unsintered powder) with similar mechanical properties in LS, and in FF good mechanical properties and printability.
John Grasmeder, Chief Scientist at Victrex explains:
“Breakthrough technology is paving the way for an exciting future for Additive Manufacturing PAEK. The powder recycle work for Laser Sintering, using the new Victrex development polymer grades has gone very well, with no measurable loss of properties when test components were made from partially recycled powder. We believe it will be possible to re-use all of the non-sintered powder that is recovered after a build run. This will result in a significant reduction in material costs compared to current PolyArylEtherKetone materials wher up to 40% of the polymer is wasted and cannot be recycled.”
Partnering for progress in AM
Victrex is a consortium of companies and institutions and was awarded funding from the UK's agency for innovation, Innovate UK, in 2016 to carry out intensive pioneering research and development to advance AM technologies, in particular high-temperature, affordable polymer composites for AM aerospace applications. The other members of the consortium are Airbus Group Innovations, EOS, University of Exeter Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM), E3D-Online, HiETA Technologies, South West metal Finishing, and 3T-RPD.
The new Victrex PAEK filament and powder tie in with technologies developed by other members of this Innovate UK project. EOS has recently released a new automation-ready manufacturing platform for laser sintering of plastic parts on an industrial scale (EOS P 500) with the capability to print high-performance polymers at high temperatures. Selected materials of the consortium are evaluated at EOS R&D facilities for processability on current EOS systems as well as for use with the EOS P 500 platforms. Victrex is planning to continue pre-commercial testing of a new PAEK filament product in conjunction with consortium partner E3D, who has recently commercially released a new water-cooled filament extruder head especially optimized for this new PAEK filament.
