Dec 21, 2015 | By Alec

With the range of 3D printable materials steadily expanding, it’s clear that the hobbyist 3D printer isn’t limited to just the solid shapes of PLA or ABS. Why not 3D print things that are more flexible or mimic the characteristics of wood, for instance? But a new and even more fascinating material is on the horizon, as a crowdfunding campaign has just launched on Kickstarter for Essemplex: a 3D printable shape memory polymer filament, that can be easily manipulated after 3D printing as well. Perfect for those unique shapes that are almost impossible to get right on a 3D printer.

This filament has come out of the research departments of Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG), a company with more than 15 years’ worth of experience with shape memory polymers. “The majority of the work during the last decade has been with castable thermosetting resin. In 2008, CRG began working on a family of extrudable thermoplastic SMP resins called Essemplex. Since then, Essemplex has generated great interest for potential uses in biomedical applications due to its dynamic modulus response to temperature and its shape memory properties,” the company explains. So why now take it to Kickstarter? To, as they say, get this material into the hands of regular uses too, to be used for unique applications that use a variety of 3D printing parameters.

And unique is how CRG describes this 3D printer filament, as it features material properties unlike any other single material. “Essemplex is as processable as ABS, and as customizable as flexible materials, but it has the added benefit of being reshapable after processing,” they say. What’s more, it is also suitable for a very wide range of applications, as it functions as a solid, rigid material below its activation temperature. It is, thus 3D printed into rigid shapes like ABS, and only when heated slightly afterwards (using a hair dryer, for instance), does it take on the memory shaping properties.

It is thus convenient to use and, and can even be co-printed with that very popular ABS filament to broaden design options considerably. It doesn’t suffer from the same clogging problems caused by some flexible filaments, and can even be used for injection molding and thermofolding manufacturing techniques, if that’s your thing. “Once formed, the polymer exhibits shape memory properties; the fully processed SMP can be heated to a temperature less than the melting point and reshaped repeatedly without loss of the memory shape or degradation of the material”, they say.

Essemplex is thus a filament that opens up a wide range of 3D printing possibilities. Think about objects that need to be stretched, specifically form fitting, or even need to exceed a typical build volume. “Cell phone cases, headphone or ear-bud covers, hearing aids, custom can/bottle Koozies, custom sports grips (golf clubs, bats, ping-pong paddles, etc.), custom video game controller grips, custom orthopedic devices, sculpture,” are among the possibilities they list, and you can doubtlessly think of many more yourself.

In short, this seems like an excellent addition to any maker’s arsenal. The only caveat is that this material has been extensively tested on the MakerBot Replicator 2X, and not on any other machines. “Feedback from beta users will determine its compatibility with other 3D printers,” they say. What’s more, CRG is seeking to expand their 3D printing focus further through feedback from the 3D printing community, with more top quality materials on the way if this crowdfunding campaign is successful. While the original Essemplex is translucent, that too will change in the near future if the response is good enough. Convinced? Head over to their crowdfunding campaign here for more information on ordering and pledging.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Materials

 

 

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Jane wrote at 10/20/2016 11:38:48 PM:

Where can I retrieve a sample or order a sample?



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