Sintratec has launched the Material Developer upgrade for Sintratec S2 system, a new software solution with over 100 configurable parameters.
The Swiss developer of industrial 3D printing systems said that the software upgrade was designed to address the lack of material options in SLS 3D printing.
In fact, Sintratec said, SLS 3D printing is dominated by a handful of common SLS powders, such as PA12 nylon or TPE elastomer, that have proven to be a good choice for most industrial uses but can be limiting when it comes to niche applications with special materials requirements.
With the launch of the Material Developer upgrade, Sintratec now offers a software feature that aims at opening up new possibilities for material research and development.
Users should be able to make configurations each step along the process, from digital part preparation to various steps during printing, and adjust over 100 parameters in total.
Sintratec said those parameters include slicing settings, layer application behaviour, laser power, and control of heating zones.
Users should also be able to completely customise the laser pathing strategy with scripts.
The Material Developer upgrade was developed to be flexible, fast, and fully integrated into the Sintratec Central printing software.
The new upgrade should provide users with the possibility to adapt existing powder materials or develop entirely new ones.
Thanks to the modularity of the Sintratec S2 system, simultaneous development of multiple materials should also be possible.
Since the laser sintering module is never in direct contact with the material-specific movable core unit, Sintratec claimed that no cross-contamination occurs, and this should allow for a much faster research speed and easy adoption of the material into production lines.
“As a professional material developer with over 5 years of experience, I finally have a tool that gives me complete freedom in testing new powder materials for additive manufacturing,” said Sintratec process developemnt engineer Michał Reszke.
“The Material Developer Upgrade by Sintratec allows me to use the Sintratec S2 to evaluate materials that have never been printed before.”
