Luvocom-News

Additive Manufacturing – New LUVOSINT material solutions

Lehmann&Voss&Co., a well-known producer of tailor-made high-performance compounds, also develops and sells material solutions for industrial 3D printing under the brand name LUVOSINT®. This technology is currently bringing about a fundamental change in the way in which consumer and industrial goods are produced and marketed. LUVOSINT® X92A-1, a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for laser sintering, is already playing an important role in this process, particularly for the shoe and fashion industries.

Now, with LUVOSINT® 65-8824, Lehmann&Voss&Co. has a polypropylene (PP) for laser sintering developed in line with the needs of a manufacturer of robot grippers. The company, LMD Innovation, has already been successfully producing individual gripper and suction cup solutions made exclusively by means of laser sintering for 10 years. LUVOSINT® 65-8824 offer LMD Innovation new potential applications. “The low specific density of the polypropylene results in a 10% saving in weight over PA12, which is an important figure for high-speed robot applications,” explained Managing Director Michael Hümmeler. “The high impact strength of the material makes it possible to design space-saving, air-powered actuators, which are, as it were, our trademark.”  LUVOSINT® 65-8824 does not absorb any moisture and therefore does not become brittle due to the effect of dry compressed air. At the same time, microbial growth in food applications is also avoided in this way. The extraordinary chemical resistance of PP additionally opens up opportunities for robotics applications in aggressive atmospheres or media.

Lehmann&Voss&Co. works together closely with its customers and technology partners in order to achieve individualized products by means of laser sintering. In developing the PP material LUVOSINT® 65-8824, Lehmann&Voss&Co. received support for the first time from LSS Laser Sinter Service from Austria. At its site in Germany, LSS develops and produces individual machine components that are bringing the laser sintering process, which was originally developed for the construction of prototypes, to production maturity. “We are able to adapt our new machine platform to the specific material from Lehmann&Voss&Co. Before application-specific production can take place, it is necessary to match the product to be printed, the material and machine exactly to each other in line with the customer requirements,” explained Guido Elbrecht, Managing Director of LSS. Further joint projects are in the preparation stage. LSS and Lehmann&Voss&Co. will be jointly providing further information from 17 to 20 November at FormNext in Frankfurt, Germany.

Laser-sintered gripper – combines the low weight of PP LUVOSINT® 65-8824 and the high flexibility of TPU LUVOSINT® X92A-1. Design & 3D printing: LMD Innovation (© Lehmann&Voss&Co.)

Contact person:

Lehmann&Voss&Co. KG
Dr Marcus Rechberger
Schimmelmannstrasse 103
22043 Hamburg, Germany
Tel.: +49 40 44197 411
Fax: +49 40 44198 411
E-mail: mrb@lehvoss.de