There are good reasons why customers from demanding industries, such as aerospace, automotive, pump industry and artists, prefer PMMA 3D printed investment casting patterns at an early stage. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is an acrylic plastic with excellent burnout behavior. It therefore enables the highest level of accuracy even for filigree details, has no limits in geometric complexity and has a resolution that conventional tooling methods cannot achieve in an economically justifiable way.
Plus, this can be achieved without inconvenient support structures and time-consuming post-processing of parts and patterns. With PMMA 3D printing for investment casting patterns, prototypes and small and medium series production processes can be realized in the shortest possible time and at a significantly lower cost than with conventional tooling methods. The use of large-format 3D printing systems opens up completely new application areas for many industries. For example, the layer-based production process has already become firmly established in all areas of automobile production due to its printing speed and design advantages.
Benefits of 3D printing PMMA
Optimize costs
Complex geometries and increasingly varied and smaller batch sizes. Wherever conventional processes reach their economic limits due to cost-intensive mold making or changeover times, 3D printing PMMA offers essential economic advantages. Complementary to existing production lines or as the backbone of a new agile production that can react flexibly and without additional costs to rapidly changing production requirements. Produced completely digitally and without tools, complex geometries, undercuts or draft angles lose their importance in the calculation and can be produced almost cost-neutrally.
Make the impossible possible
voxeljet has a highly specialized PMMA 3D printer for binder jetting. The highest printing resolution and speed combined with a new scope of design freedom are the focus of our technology. This means that even very thin-walled patterns and CAD-optimized systems can be printed in one single work step. And no matter how complex the part, the PMMA material characteristics reduce the risk of shell breakage. With 3D printing wax for investment casting, the enormous time and cost expenditure of conventional, tool-dependent pattern making for complex geometries is completely eliminated and enables investment casting foundries to economically supply market segments, such as spare parts, prototype construction and bionic lightweight parts.
Accelerate Time to Market
By eliminating the need for tool and mold making, additive production processes shorten manufacturing times of components by up to 75%. No matter whether it’s product development, model and prototype design or small and medium-sized series with a high diversity of variants. In addition, time-consuming assembly steps for complex geometries can be eliminated by part consolidation. The 3D printing PMMA process, enables these to be manufactured in a single, compact production step. Just as with 3D printing for lost wax casting, production is possible in just a few days. Compared to conventional manufacturing processes, this means a time saving of several weeks.
Today, 3D printing offers art an entirely new way to shape the world. One that clearly pushes the boundaries of what is possible and imposes almost no limits on ideas.
Peter-Simon Mühlhäuser,Head of sales, Marketing and InnovationErnst Strassacker GmbH & Co. KG
voxeljet modernizesart casting
voxeljet’s investment casting additive manufacturing experts are at your side
From the consulting and planning of your hybrid production processes to new applications for your components. With over 20 years of experience in 3D printing, our experts support you along the process chain of investment casting, from consulting for optimized CAD Design to post-processing and treatment of printed parts.
Systems for investment casting and 3D printing
Our portfolio of 3D printers for investment casting range from the compact entry into 3D printing to large format 3D printers for small and medium series production. You can also acquire investment casting models through one of our global 3D service centers to test our processes without having to invest in a PMMA 3D printer yourself, as well as to optimize products or accelerate their development.
VX200
The most compact 3D printer in the voxeljet series offers the highest level of efficiency and flexibility for material development and prototype construction. The multifunctional VX200 machine is able to process plastics, sands and ceramics, depending on customers’ needs.
VX1000
The VX1000 is the all-rounder for additive manufacturing. With its construction volume of 1000 x 600 x 500mm it can process PMMA, sand and ceramics depending on the customer's need. From medium-sized molds and cores for metal sand casting, to investment casting PMMA patterns.
Process & materials for 3D printed investment casting patterns
voxeljet is one of the pioneers when it comes to establishing 3D print casting production processes in a professional or industrial environment. voxeljet 3D printing systems are equipped with state-of-the-art technology for 24/7 operation. Our Universal Binder Jetting PMMA 3D printers, specially developed for industrial application, are among the best the market has to offer worldwide for the production of high-resolution investment casting patterns for lost wax casting processes. Especially when volume, efficiency and speed in production are important. Find out more about the selection of materials already certified for 3D printing lost wax casting processes and investment casting.
Processes
Our PolyPor B or PolyPor C processes are optimal for the production of complex and filigree investment casting cores and molds.
Materials
With our plastics processes, polymethylmethacryate can be printed as standard.
Post-processing
The finishing is done by cold or hot wax infiltration.
Alloys
With maximum metallurgical and casting know-how. In well-established processes, voxeljet realises projects quickly, economically and in accordance with German quality standards with experienced network partners from the foundry industry. In aluminium, magnesium, steel, titanium and bronze.
Processes
Our ceramic processes are phenolic resin based processes (PDB) and water based (CDB) are ideally suited for the manufacture of complex and delicate cores or molds.
Materials
With our ceramic processes, silicate (SiC) and oxide (AIO2, TiO2, ZrO2) based ceramics can be printed.
Workshop: PMMA printing
In this webinar you will learn all about our PMMA material set and the benefits of 3D printed PMMA patterns for investment casting applications.
Application for 3D printing in investment casting
Complex geometries and very thin-walled structures can be produced with 3D printing and investment casting without the need for tools in one single production step. Without support structures and including gating systems optimized for the investment casting process, additive manufacturing not only streamlines lost wax casting with 3D printing in terms of flexibility and cost-effectiveness, but also reduces the reject rate in the long term.
3D printed investment casting core for an exhaust manifold.
3D printed plastic investment casting core for an impeller.
3D printed investment casting core of a plastic impeller.
voxeljet highlights from investment casting
Weight reduction through 3D printing: lightweight seats for the aircraft industry
Lightweight seats produced using 3D printing can reduce costs and emissions in the aircraft industry.
3D printing patterns for large-scale sculpting
The Embrace is a public artwork in Boston to honor and remember the life of Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta Scott King. The sculpture was created with 3D PMMA printing and investment casting
58 sculptures cast in bronze visualize the Way of the Cross of Jesus in Nebraska, USA. The unique works of art were created by famous artists using a combination of 3D printing, investment casting and bronze casting.
PMMA 3D printing conquers North America
Express Prototyping belongs to the leading experts for 3D printing investement casting patterns in North America. Learn from the CEO Thomas Müller how he established the business and how he sees the future.
3D printing for structural elements in architecture
For the unique facade of the Galleria Gwanggyo in South Korea, 3D printing and investment casting was employed to create hundreds of individual joint knots for the glass walk.
Modern structural optimization combined with 3D printing and the investment casting of titanium. These pedal cranks show what is possible when existing design limits are removed.
3D printed patterns for TITAL, an aluminum and titanium investment casting specialist
Aerospace supplies expert TITAL relies on PMMA 3D printing for investement casting patterns for titanium and aluminium, learn why.
Support &Services
Do you have specific questions about the innovative uses of 3D printing in your production? Do you want to maintain machines autonomously or qualify new materials? Your questions on how to optimize production with additive manufacturing technologies are top of the list for voxeljet. Contact us today to find out more.
Additive Production Backup
As a security pack for smooth production, voxeljet offers our production centers as backup capacity at special conditions for commissioning, unplanned downtimes and peak loads.
Distribution worldwide
voxeljet is at your side with sales and services worldwide. We are present with our partners in 26 countries in America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. We also have production centers on three continents.
Casting manufacturing 4.0
Complete castings in aluminum, iron, magnesium, steel, titanium, and bronze directly from the CAD data set with complex undercuts, realized in 3D printing without tools. Quickly and economically realized according to the high German norms and standards.
Industrial 3D Printing Systems
voxeljet’s portfolio of industrial 3D printers ranges from compact systems for research to additive mass production.
