Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is driving forward its commitment to the attractive 3-D printing market. The specialty chemicals company will participate in HP Inc.’s Open Platform program and introduce new customized powder materials to the market for HP Multi Jet Fusion technology.
As a result of active participation in HP’s Open Materials program, Evonik expects to see further development in additive manufacturing technologies in the direction of large-scale production of components, such as those used in the automotive and aircraft industries. Therefore, the Group intends to launch special powder materials for this innovative 3-D printing technology in HP’s Open Platform program.
“HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology opens up new 3D printing applications and, in doing so, creates the basis for researching new materials for the future,” says Matthias Kottenhahn, head of Evonik’s High Performance Polymers Business Line.
Evonik has been developing special polymer materials that enable the industrial manufacture of high-tech components in 3-D printing for many years. The polyamide 12-based powders from the Vestosint brand enable outstanding processing quality and are designed to suit the 3-D printing technology profile of properties perfectly.
Vestosint is a modified polyamide-based powder that is produced at Evonik’s Marl site in Germany using the company’s own special process. The Group is currently expanding its existing annual capacity for Vestosint in order to meet amongst other things the rising demand for 3-D printing. The new production line is scheduled to start operations at the end of 2017.