e-Manufacturing is making its inroad to series production

EOS is increasing quality and efficiency for e-Manufacturing

Frankfurt / Krailling / Munich, 20.11.2008: At this year’s EuroMold in Frankfurt, Germany, (3–6 December 2008), the topic of e-Manufacturing will be dominated by industrial series production – no matter if in aerospace, the medical sector or the toolmaking industry. The world market leader EOS will be presenting several technological highlights for increasing the quality and efficiency for e-Manufacturing with laser-sintering technology at stand F70 in hall 8.0. These include an entirely unique high temperature system for processing high-performance polymers extremely well suited for use in the aerospace industry and many other special applications. The EOS IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System) is being augmented with yet another important module through the introduction of an Online Laser Power Control (OLPC) that takes process control, parts quality and traceability to a whole new level. Another important EOS highlight at EuroMold 2008 is the Integrated Process Chain Management (IPCM) system for EOSINT M, which facilitates fast, user-friendly and secure handling of metal powders and parts.

Focus on series production
“Our stated goal is to establish e-Manufacturing wherever there is demand for highly complex and customized parts and products”, says Dr. Hans Langer, founder and CEO of EOS in Krailling near Munich. “Our presence at this year’s EuroMold therefore is devoted entirely to technical innovations that all contribute to increasing the quality and efficiency of serial production with e-Manufacturing.”

A world first: e-Manufacturing with high-performance polymers
Just in time for EuroMold, EOS is presenting a first in the industry highlight – EOS P 800, the first high temperature system for laser-sintering of high-performance polymers. As a result of their outstanding material properties, high-performance polymers are well suited for numerous applications such as aerospace or Formula 1. The EOS high-performance polymer PEEK HP3 has a tensile strength of up to 95 MPa and a Young’s modulus of up to 4400 MPa, values up to 100% above those attained by the PA 12 and PA 11 materials currently available. Depending on the field of application, the continuous operating temperature is between 180 °C (356 °F) and 260 °C (500 °F). This makes for excellent application-specific properties, such as flame retardancy, biocompatibility and sterilisability. Thanks to suitability for process temperatures of up to 385 °C (725 °F), the high temperature system is the first system worldwide to make use of this interesting material group for laser-sintering technology. The system is based on the sophisticated, tried-and-proven EOSINT P 730 and is built to withstand the demands of high temperature processing with newly designed modules such as processing chamber and exchangeable frame. EOS PEEK HP3, a material from the polyaryl ether ketone family, was the first high-performance polymer selected for use in the new system and readied for market by EOS.

Quality and efficiency innovations
EOS will also be debuting several innovations at EuroMold 2008 for enhancing quality and efficiency of the plastic laser-sintering process. The new Online Laser Power Control (OLPC) unit, for example, ensures a more constant flow of energy to the part built through regular control and readjustment of laser energy. This enables EOS to enhance the part quality as well as the quality control of the entire laser-sintering process. OLPC is available for the EOSINT P 730.

Another efficiency-increasing highlight in direct metal laser-sintering is the IPCM‑M, which consists of various optional modules that can be used in a variety of ways to suit the customers’ needs. A conveyor system facilitates fast and convenient emptying of metal powder from the EOSINT M systems. A sieve station for reused powder ensures constant powder and process quality and is capable of sieving even large amounts of powder. Laser-sintering operations are not interrupted during sieving, as required in a production environment. The IPCM-M furthermore enhances the traceability of the material used with exchangeable, clearly labelled powder containers. This factor is important for fields of application such as the medical sector, where proof must often be provided of the origins and composition of the material used. Last but not least, a platform-handling module makes it easier removing completed jobs from the system, even in conjunction with reference positioning of the building platforms. All modules are designed for efficient and economical use, even with installations of multiple EOSINT M systems.

Just in time for EuroMold, EOS is also presenting various new materials that open the door to new e-Manufacturing fields of application. They include Inconel 718, which is frequently used to produce aircraft engines and other components subject to high stress levels.

EOS will be located at stand F70 in hall 8.0 at EuroMold 2008, where it will display the new high temperature system as well as the familiar EOSINT M 270 and FORMIGA P 100 systems. The new solutions will be introduced at a press conference on Wednesday, 3.12.08, at 3:00 p.m. at the EOS stand.

About EOS
EOS was founded in 1989 and is today the world leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems. Laser-sintering is the key technology for e-Manufacturing, the fast, flexible and cost-effective production of products, patterns or tools. The technology manufactures parts for every phase of the product life cycle, directly from electronic data. Laser-sintering accelerates product development and optimizes production processes. EOS completed its business year 2006/2007 with revenues of 59.7 million Euro which is an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year. The company employs more than 250 people worldwide, more than 200 of them at its headquarters in Krailling near Munich, Germany.
www.eos.info

Press contact:
Schwartz Public Relations
Isabel Radwan / Dieter Niewierra
Email: ir@schwartzpr.de / dn@schwartzpr.de