News

Oct 29, 2023

That's Impossible!

On September 26, 1984, film distribution consultant Ben Camack correctly

On September 26, 1984, film distribution consultant Ben Camack correctly responded to this $1,000 Jeopardy clue: "Printing press inventor associated with the world's most valuable book." Sadly, he blew it at the end after failing to identify the only planet not named for a Greek or Roman mythological figure (Earth), although he did go home with some shiny new luggage, a washer/dryer set, and a few thousand bucks of taxable prize money.

The answer (or question—remember, it's "Jeopardy!"), of course, is Johannes Gutenberg, who developed a mass-production process for a movable-type press in the mid-1400s that culminated with the printing of about 180 copies of the 42-line Holy Scripture, aka the "Gutenberg Bible." And while countless others would contribute to his work over the following centuries, the world would be a far different place today had the German craftsman not kicked off what is now known as the Printing Revolution, a development that led to the Renaissance, global mass communications, and, ultimately, 3D printing.

Thanks to Jeff DeGrange and his colleagues at Chicago-based Impossible Objects Inc., Gutenberg's brainchild is currently enjoying another renaissance of sorts. The chief commercial officer explained that the company's composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM) works in a manner eerily similar to that of a modern printing press. "It's high-speed, like you’d see in newspaper production, but uses carbon-fiber and fiberglass materials rather than paper," he noted.

As with a 2D printer, the process begins by selectively applying ink to a substrate. With CBAM, the former is a "thermal inkjet aqueous fluid" that acts as an adhesive during the next step, which is to flood the surface with a Nylon 12 or PEEK (polyether-ether ketone) powder of similar morphology as that used in selective-laser sintering (SLS), thus impregnating the fabric. A vacuum system then removes any excess powder and the sheet moves to an automated stacking station, not unlike preparing a book for publication.

The similarities end there, however. Once each slice of the 3D image has been printed, the stack is heated to the polymer's melting point and compressed, fusing the layers and tightly bonding it to the fabric substrate. The final step is to place the consolidated block of material into a blasting cabinet filled with soft abrasive beads. These strike the workpiece, breaking away the unfused fibers until the finished part (or parts, in most cases) emerge smooth and ready for business.

The process just described is CBAM-2, which Impossible Objects characterizes as a low-volume system. The next iteration, CBAM-HS, further builds on the printing-press concept by replacing the individual sheets of long-fiber fabric with rolls of material. This gives users greater flexibility in part size and scalability, and, because the printer is continuously fed, is significantly faster than competing technologies. Impossible Objects is also working on additional material combinations such as glass or carbon-fiber sheet fused with elastomers and thermoset materials.

This last material combination will help cement the company's standing in the electronics industry, where it supplies 3D-printed "low-cost, wave-solder pallets" and other tooling used to manufacture printed circuit boards (PCBs).

"Anything that holds a PCB is a key focus area for us," DeGrange said. "Just think about all the electronics in our lives. Pretty much all of them require a fixture or tool of some kind, and many are CNC machined from PEEK fiber board, a material that's quite tough on cutting tools. This is yet another area where additive manufacturing in general—but particularly the CBAM process—is proving to be a more cost-effective alternative."

There are similar success stories about components for drones and other uncrewed aircraft, because carbon fiber is both strong and lightweight. When fused with engineering-grade polymers such as PEEK and Nylon, then 3D printed into topology-optimized structures, it becomes a viable replacement for metal in these and similarly demanding uses.

"We’re seeing strong interest from the electric vehicle market as well," DeGrange said. "Battery enclosures made of thermoset plastic and fiberglass, for example, are quite strong, lightweight, and fire resistant to boot. There's also the potential for carbon fiber use in fuel cell construction, but as with several other applications, we’re still in the early stages."

Impossible Objects also has its sights set on commercial products made in the plastic injection-molding market. "Granted, AM doesn't require any investment in molds or tooling," DeGrange explained, "but its limited manufacturing speed has always been a serious detractor, particularly as you move into medium to high production volumes like those found in the automotive and consumer product sectors. I anticipate that CBAM-HS will compete quite well in these areas."

With more than 35 years in the field, DeGrange knows all about everything additive. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a master's degree in manufacturing engineering, DeGrange became a senior material and process engineer at McDonnell Douglas. That was in 1988, and he spent the next decade tackling a range of projects— from the fabrication and assembly of aircraft components to the implementation of automated material-handling and retrieval systems on the production floor.

When Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, DeGrange went on to head up the company's research, technology, and AM materials and processes efforts, where he worked for another 10 years. He also led Boeing's certification and qualification of flight hardware built with different AM technologies for the F/A-18 Super Hornet and 787 aircraft programs.

In 2008, DeGrange took his extensive knowledge of AM and the aerospace sector to go to work for Stratasys as a vice president to create a vertical business unit for production applications. Though he didn't know it then, the next seven years would lay the foundation for his current role at Impossible Objects, a position he's held since joining the company in 2014.

Through it all, DeGrange has given freely of his time. He helped found the Direct Manufacturing Research Center at Paderborn University in Germany. He has mentored students at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and FIRST Robotics, an organization that supports youth interested in STEM, and he is a board advisor at the University of Iowa's College of Engineering.

DeGrange also serves in a similar capacity at the University of Minnesota, where he shares his knowledge of AM at the Earl E. Bakken Medical Device Center.

DeGrange was there for the early days of AM, when stereolithography and fused-deposition modeling were the only printers in town. Having worked on both sides of the additive fence—first as a user, then as a supplier—he has valuable insight into what each faces. When asked what the next 10 years hold for the industry and his current employer, DeGrange had a lot to say.

While he certainly touts CBAM's accelerated build speed (with even faster enhancements to come), he suggests that 3D-printer manufacturers (and their customers) also need to think about repeatability, reliability, uptime, and throughput on their equipment.

Another observation is that "the whole closed-material system" approach might have its place, and that it's important for suppliers to tune their products for specific feedstocks, but the end user should also have a pathway to experiment with other materials. "Some 3D-printer companies continue to make very nice margins on their consumables, although I think that's beginning to change as the technology continues its upward growth into manufacturing and customers expect greater material-sourcing freedom."

DeGrange went on to call out the elephant in the room: post processing. As anyone who's operated a 3D printer knows, parts don't just spit out of these machines finished and ready to go. "Whether metal, polymers, or composites, there's a lot of downstream work that has to be done before arriving at a final product," he added. "Until we automate these steps, adoption by high-volume manufacturers will remain minimal."

Despite these considerations, DeGrange is optimistic about AM's future. "With the younger generation coming in and all the different design optimization tools they have available to them, I think AM is really going to see continued acceptance and growth, especially if we can solve the automation concerns I just mentioned. Add to that 3D printing's ever-increasing speed and accuracy, along with the development of AM-specific materials, and we’re on the cusp of something truly game-changing."