For many, 3D printing needs to handle bigger parts and produce them more quickly. Cincinnati Incorporated, a 116-year old company, proved that you can build a bigger, faster 3D printer. The company débuted its industrial-sized 3D printing technology to rave reviews at the IMTS machine tool trade show in September 2014.

The rollout of the first Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system takes 3D printing to a large, industrial scale. The new BAAM machine created a car body in a matter of hours at IMTS 2014 in Chicago.

Cincinnati Incorporated, in conjunction with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Local Motors, printed and assembled the world’s first 3D-printed car during the tradeshow. The large-scale additive machine uses the chassis, drives and control of Cincinnati’s laser cutting system as the base, and extrudes hot thermoplastic to build parts, layer by layer. The machine, developed as part of a cooperative research and development agreement between Cincinnati Incorporated and ORNL, introduces significant new manufacturing capabilities to a range of industries including automotive, aerospace, appliance and robotics.

Said Andy Jamison, CEO of Cincinnati Incorporated, “We’ve already sold our first BAAM machine, and we have other prospects in the pipeline as a result of the demonstration at IMTS, so the machine and technology have been very well-received.”

The first BAAM sale was to SABIC Innovative Plastics, the company that provided the carbon fiber ABS plastic for the IMTS car. The BAAM extruder uses a variety of thermoplastics and fiber reinforced thermoplastics and SABIC plans to test a number of materials that will meet the needs of a variety of commercial applications, including furniture and tooling. “SABIC, has already tested ABS, PPS, PEKK and Ultem, and we’re finding that carbon fiber and glass fiber reinforcing improve both the strength and thermal stability of the parts,” said Jamison.

Big Now, Soon to be Bigger

With a current work envelope of 2 x 4 x .87 m (6.6 x 13.1 x 2.9 ft) and extrusion rate of about 38 lb/hr, the machine prints polymer components up to 10 times larger than currently producible, at speeds 200 to 500 times faster than existing additive machines. And, plans are to go even bigger and faster. “We’re already working with ORNL to increase the work envelope to 2.4 x 6 m (8 x 20 ft) and with SABIC to increase the extrusion rate to 100 lb/hr,” said Jamison. “Increasing the Z-axis travel (The working height for the part being built) is also a priority.” The BAAM machine is linear motor-driven, like the laser cutting system before it, allowing it to maintain a perfectly level bed required for proper 3D printing.

Cincinnati Incorporated
www.e-ci.com