Arburg Freeformer 300-3X 3D Printer Expands Build Chamber

Arburg premieres its Freeformer 300-3X at Formnext 2018. This new, large machine uses the Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) process to enable the industrial additive manufacturing of complex, functional parts in resilient, hard/soft combinations with support structures.

"For many years, users have appreciated the benefits of our Freeformer 200-3X and the possibilities that the system and Arburg Plastic Freeforming have to offer," says Lukas Pawelczyk, who has been responsible for Freeformer sales worldwide since July 2018. "As a revolutionary next step, we're celebrating the world premiere of the Freeformer 300-3X at the Formnext 2018, which will expand the Arburg product range and open up new fields of application."

The machine’s 300 designation indicates the area of the part carrier surface in square centimeters, nearly 50 percent larger than the Freeformer 200-3X model. The build chamber enables small-volume batches and wider parts with dimensions ranging to 234 × 134 × 200 mm. The part carrier offers three axes of movement, in the X, Y and Z directions.

The Freeformer 300-3X features a two-part build chamber door, enabling the feed hoppers to be refilled during operation by opening the top half of the door. The heated build chamber only needs to be opened for inserting the part and removing the finished parts. Automatic door opening and closing as well as optional interfaces enable automation of the additive manufacturing process and integration of the 3D printer in complete production lines, the company says.

The 3D printer is compatible with user materials and enables the optimziation of droplet size as well as process control. The Arburg material database documents qualified standard granulates such as ABS, PA10, PC, TPE-U and PP. Special plastics for specific applications can also be used, such as PLLS for medical and PC for aerospace.