The 3D printing business is as numerous a discipline as any on the market. Whereas the market was confined to a handful of main firms in choose components of the world, right now’s business consists of 1000’s of various corporations scattered throughout the globe, every with its personal distinctive expertise and method to additive manufacturing (AM).
Pollen AM’s Didier Fonta (left) with 3DPrint.com contributor Jake Hertz (proper).
A lesser-known participant available in the market is Pollen Additive Manufacturing (Pollen AM), a French firm that has a surprisingly lengthy historical past in a considerably area of interest nook of the market: pellet additive manufacturing (PAM). I had the prospect to go to Pollen AM headquarters in Paris, France to speak with the group and study in regards to the firm and PAM expertise firsthand.
Pollen AM: An Trade Veteran
When assembly with Pollen, one thing that instantly struck me was the age of the corporate. Pollen began informally as an thought in 2011, a time when 3D printing was nonetheless simply an enigmatic expertise consisting of solely a handful of firms. Contemplating that well-established names like Raise3D solely got here into existence in 2015, Pollen AM’s tenure makes it a real veteran of the business.
A Pollen AM PAM printer.
What makes Pollen much more distinctive, nevertheless, is the truth that they’ve been completely pursuing PAM the complete time. Even in right now’s extra mature market, pellet printing is taken into account a distinct segment expertise. To have pursued this discipline in 2011 was nothing wanting a big gamble With such a protracted historical past in such an obscure nook of the market, it’s clear that Pollen has been doing one thing proper to have survived this lengthy. So, what’s it about Pollen? And what’s a pellet printer anyway?
How Does a Pellet Printer Work?
On the highest stage, PAM works in the very same trend as a typical FDM machine: materials is melted down, extruded, and cooled by means of a toolhead in a layer-by-layer trend. The place pellet methods differ, nevertheless, is within the authentic type of the fabric feed. In contrast to standard FDM printers, that are fed a specifically fabricated spool of filament, pellet printers are fed materials pellets.
The anatomy of a pellet printer. Picture used courtesy of Pollen AM.
From the highest down, the system begins with a cloth cartridge, which is basically a storage container that holds the pellets. These pellets, which vary from 2mm to 4mm in measurement, are then fed into an auger screw which guides the fabric by means of the extruder. The extruder itself has thermally managed areas that selectively soften and funky the fabric on its method by means of the toolhead.
A sampling of the engineering materials pellets utilized by Pollen AM machines.
That is the place the variations between FDM cease. As Pollen’s Normal Supervisor, Didier Fonta, places it, “After the extrusion course of, we’re equal to FDM.”
Cool, however Why Pellets?
In line with Fonta, the numerous benefit of pellet printing has to do with materials choice. In conventional manufacturing strategies like injection molding, the method begins with pelletized supplies that are melted, injected, and cooled. In FDM, then again, we add a layer of abstraction to the method by taking the pelletized supplies and forming them into filament spools.
Pellet printing brings the experience of the injection molding business to additive manufacturing. Picture used courtesy of Pollen AM.
One unfavourable consequence of this additional step is that it considerably drives up the price of supplies. Moreover, the filament fabrication course of can degrade the fabric’s properties to the purpose that some supplies can not turn into usable filament in any respect. All issues thought-about, turning pellets into filament limits the standard, selection, and affordability of supplies for 3D printing.
PAM solves these issues by going straight to the supply and printing immediately from the pellets. By doing this, printers are ready to make use of the very same supplies which might be utilized in injection molding—no modifications wanted. On this method, PAM harnesses the lengthy historical past, intensive R&D, and economies of scale that exist on the earth of injection molding.
Pollen’s printers can print high-concentration metallic composites.
The end result? Supplies for pellet printers are considerably extra reasonably priced and numerous than conventional FDM supplies. As Fonta says, “10 years in the past, many industrial-level filaments might price as much as 300 Euros/kg. With pellets, the identical materials was between 1 and 5 Euros/kg.”
PAM additionally shines with respect to the fabric high quality it allows. In purposes like aerospace, high-quality licensed engineering-grade supplies are a necessity. Whereas these supplies exist abundantly for standard manufacturing strategies like injection molding, they’re much less accessible within the type of filament spools. By immediately utilizing pellets, PAM machines can print from these top-grade supplies with no additional steps required. This in the end opens up new potentialities for the kinds of end-use components which might be attainable by means of 3D printing.
Pollen’s title is immediately impressed by these benefits. As Fonta explains “Pollen is the smallest constituent from which nature exists. You begin with pollen, you find yourself with a tree. That’s how we see PAM.”
Pollen’s Distinctive Choices
Pollen AM itself gives quite a lot of completely different printer choices to its prospects, every of which may be ordered in quite a lot of configurations based mostly on their wants.
The anatomy of a Pollen AM printer. Picture used courtesy of Pollen AM.
Every printer shares quite a lot of frequent options, together with:
- As much as 4 extruders that may print concurrently (most 450C)
- A heated construct plate (most 250C)
- A heated and enclosed printing chamber (most 80C)
Whereas the heated chamber can attain a most of 80C, the printers additionally come outfitted with a heated disc that lives proper by the extruder nozzles which may uniformly warmth the highest layer as much as 350C.
Pollen AM printers within the meeting part.
With most print volumes of Ø 300 x H 300 mm and nozzle sizes starting from 0.25 mm to 1.20 mm, Pollen’s printers can deal with any vary of supplies from commonplace thermoplastics to metals, ceramics, and every part in between. Whereas Pollen advertises itself as “open to any materials”, the corporate actively validates and provides extra supplies to its “accepted” listing day by day.
Whereas different pellet printers exist in the marketplace, Fonta tells us that what makes Pollen stand out from the competitors is the decision. He states, “We’re distinctive as a result of we’re able to printing at actually fantastic resolutions. We’re possibly one of the superior of the printing options within the house, largely as a result of we’re additionally one of many oldest.”
To Fonta’s level, their printers are able to resolutions of 40µm within the Z axis, 5µm within the X and Y, and dimensional accuracies of ± 0.2 mm. This compares to the decision for an Ender 3, which is round 100um within the Z.
Pollen AM’s Future
As a testomony to the expertise, the market is lastly seeing the emergence of different PAM gamers. Fonta notes “Extra gamers are reaching the market and that is good as a result of it’s proof for us that we weren’t too mistaken to wager on PAM.”
In the meantime, Pollen has their eyes set firmly on the longer term. Their near-term targets are in materials growth, together with plans to open a subsidiary in Belgium devoted to supplies analysis in ceramics.
Lastly, remarking on their longevity and expertise, Fonta proclaims, “We’ve been available in the market for over a decade. We’ve confirmed our expertise works, and it really works effectively. It’s time extra individuals knew about Pollen.”
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