Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 15, 2014 02:00 AM

Arburg starts taking orders for Freeformer

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Plastics News/ Caroline Seidel
    Arburg GmbH + Co. KG shows off a pair of customized scissors it is manufacturing at Fakuma.

    FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY — For fans of 3-D printing, Fakuma 2014 marks an important date: Arburg is taking German orders for the Freeformer.

    Arburg GmbH + Co. KG is showing two Freeformers at Fakuma, in stand A3-3101.

    After a decade of development, Arburg introduced the Freeformer one year ago, at the K 2013 show in Dusseldorf. Arburg became the first plastics machinery company to also make a 3-D printing machine. At K, the company announced the Freeformer with much fanfare — dramatically lifting a huge curtain, with a body-suit wearing acrobat atop the machine.

    This week, on the shores of Lake Constance, Arburg is ready to begin selling them in Germany. Arburg officials said the first serial machines will be delivered in Germany by next March or April.

    Here is the rollout plan for the rest of the world: Sales will follow for the rest of Europe in April, after NPE 2015 in March to the United States, and to Asia after Chinaplas 2015 May.

    The Freeformer has a discharge unit with a patented nozzle that opens and closes up to 100 times a second, depositing drops of liquid plastic to build up parts, layer by layer.

    By the end of this year, Arburg will have sold about 20 Freeformers on a pilot basis, Heinz Gaub, Arburg's managing director of technology and engineering, said at a Tuesday news conference. Gaub stressed these are production machines that were purchased by the customer, not placed for free.

    At Fakuma, Arburg is showing mass customization by making personalized scissors, in a combination of a Freeformer 3-D printer with an injection molding machine, an electric Allrounder 370 E.

    Visitors to Arburg's stand can get scissors-in either left-handed or right-handed versions-with pointed or rounded ends. The operator places the desired scissor blank directly into the robotic gripper. The robot then transfers the insert into the mold. After the handle has been molded on, a laser applies an identity code on the part, so each individual pair of scissors can be tracked. At the Freeformer station, individually configurable lettering is then additively applied onto the scissors, a process that takes about two minutes.

    Freeform your name on it and nobody will steal your scissors again!

    The Arburg host computer system (ALS) networks the various work stations and records all production data and test results before transmitting these to a central web server. Each visitor can use a mobile device to call up the parameters for “his” or “her” scissors online from a personal web page via the code.

    The second Freeformer demonstration is not as much fun as the scissors, but just as important, according to Arburg officials: Showing the latest development of supporting structures that can be removed in a water bath or mechanically, after the part is printed. The part is a sliding lock, a spare part for Arburg machines.

    In other technology news at Fakuma, Arburg is the particle-foam composite injection molding (PCIM) process on a production cell built around a hydraulic Allrounder 470 S. For the first time, a foaming system is integrated directly into the production cell. The part is a screw socket of injection molded polypropylene, surrounded by a round, expanded polypropylene foam housing.

    The surface of the PP or PS melts in a defined manner, so a strong, permanent bond is created between the two components.

    At the news conference, Arburg executives said business is solid in most markets around the world. Michael Hehl, managing partner and spokesman for the managing board, said 2014 sales should top 500 million euros, up from 470 million euros in 2013.

    “It's going to be quite a bit above 500 million,” Hehl said.

    Arburg also has expanded its workforce by 4.5 percent this year, to a total of 2,350 worldwide. Of those, 1,950 work in Germany, including Arburg's headquarters in Lossburg, Germany.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    PVC compounder Manner launches $54M expansion in Illinois
    2
    Debate exposes divisions in plastics treaty talks
    3
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    4
    India's Vasantha invests $7M to open mold making support firm in Ohio
    5
    Graham Packaging wins validation for GHG emissions reduction
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified