Re: SLS Copper Polyamide

From: tjgorn01 (tjgorn01@athena.louisville.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 03 1998 - 20:51:27 EET


Darrick we have been running the Copper PA for about 6 months or so. I can
tell you what we have done with it.
Tim

--
Tim Gornet      Computer Aided Engineering Consultant
INTERNET:   tjgorn01@athena.louisville.edu
SLUGNET:   Vogt Bldg. Rm 101, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292
PHONENET:  (502)852-0714  FAXNET: (502)852-8890
Darrick Spaven wrote:

> Hi All, > > I am interested in results users are having with the Copper PA material > release by DTM. > > 1.) How well does it process?

Runs easily in the machine. We run at .003 or .004" layers. Parts are run at a 15 degree angle and we use a 0.1 inch wall thickness.

> 2.) How easy is it to finish?

We seal and sand it down to a 400 grit paper finish.

> 3.) What post processing is necessary to achieve optimum results?

Seal and sand well!

> 4.) How must you treat the inserts in order to use in conjunction with > conformal cooling lines?

We include conformal cooling and sleeved ejection pin holes in the CAD model. The sealer that we use to seal the parts we also seal the cooling lines with as well. We backfill with a MetSpec low melt temperature alloy to assist with heat transfer. We include T-ribs or ribs with holes in them to lock in the backfilling material.

> 5.) How many shots have you been able to achieve and in what materials?

We have run close to 400 parts out of polypropylene. We have also run ABS, polystyrene, and stryene. We tried to run Noryl but the melt temperature was too high for the CopperPA. We run all of our tools with standard molding cycle times and pressures. We sometimes just run air instead of water for cooling depending upon part size and material.

> 6.) How re-usable is the material?

We recycle the material like we would our othe DTM materials. We generally use about 25% virgin material when we recycle. We remelt the MetSpec out of old inserts and reuse it.

> > > Any information would be sincerely appreciated. > > Kind Regards > > Darrick Spaven > > Managing Director > > RPM Solutions Australia Pty Ltd > 116 Frederick St Welland PO Box 5 > SA 5007 Australia > > Phone +61 8 8340 8344 > Fax +61 8 8340 8277 >

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