Thermoplastics are materials that become pliable when heated to a specific temperature and solidify upon cooling. Learn about their molecular structure, amorphous and semi-crystalline thermoplastics and more!
Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing has matured over the last decades and has become a constant in our product design and development cycles and is debuting in more and more new products. At NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing, we see more and more customers in the field of Additive Manufacturing using our equipment to select materials and optimize their processes. Learn more about Additive Manufacturing in our articles and videos!
In 2020, we started our “Material Science in Additive Manufacturing” video series as we faced an increasing interest from the industry to perfect their 3D printing processes and outcomes. First, we focused on understanding the 7 different Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. In the advanced section, we will dive deeper and look at the underlying material science as well as the methods suitable to analyze the materials and to optimize processes
Significant efforts have been made to model and simulate the Selective Laser Sintering process as information about the temperature field in lower layers is difficult to measure. Learn how specific heat capacity can help!
The Identify software is one of a kind in the field of Thermal Analysis. Via database comparisons, it only takes a second for Identify to identify and classify your samples. We have added Additive Manufacturing materials to our database! Read more in the article!
Photopolymers have gained increased importance in many industries. Digital Light Synthesis (DLS), an Additive Manufacturing Technology, is a prime example for the usage of photopolymers. Learn why the NETZSCH Photo-DSC is a proven method to optimize the Additive Manufacturing process.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is one of the most used Additive Manufacturing technologies to produce structural plastic parts. When operated at elevated temperature, any residual stresses could be detrimental for the part performance. In order to better understand residual stresses, knowledge of a material’s modulus is needed. Learn more about residual stress and how to measure the material property using a thermal analysis method.
Today, we answer the question if ABS filament absorbs water from the humidity in the air. Dr. Natalie Ruldolph explains why different plastics react differently to humidity in the environment and gives advice on what home users can do about it.
The plastics used in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) have a higher thermal expansion when compared with other materials. Therefore, it is important to know how the dimensions of an SLS part change at different temperatures during the build and during use. The higher the thermal expansion coefficient, the more prone are the parts to warpage or curling and the build-up of residual stresses. Learn more!
While Powder Bed Fusion and Binder Jetting evolved to also using metals, Directed Energy Deposition was specifically developed for this class of materials. We introduce the process principle and variations, benefits and applications of the Additive Manufacturing technology.