On the eve of TCT Asia 2023Taking place at NECC Shanghai from September 12th to 14th, 2023, TCT Magazine spoke to Chinese 3D printing OEMs Farson.
Farsoon traditionally uses China’s leading additive manufacturing event to showcase its latest product developments, regularly introducing bigger and better machines to the thousands of TCT Asia visitors.
This year seems to be no different, as Farsoon confirmed that the company will be launching two new hardware components for its metals and polymers additive manufacturing offering.
Below, Chenlu Fang, Farsoon’s Global Marketing Manager, previews these new products while assessing the biggest trends in China’s additive manufacturing market, detailing the latest developments in its Flight technology, and hinting at what Farsoon is up to future has to offer.
Register for TCT Asia 2023 and visit Farsoon at booth K15.
TCT: Can you tell us what products and applications you will be presenting at this year’s TCT Asia in Shanghai?
CF: Farsoon will be showcasing a new 16-laser large-scale metal powder bed melting system on the first day of TCT Asia. Its XY installation space is in the ⌀1500 mm range with a significant Z height. We will also be exhibiting the FS350M-4 metal system that we announced for the Chinese market earlier this year. It is designed for fast and economical metal production.
On the polymer side, Farsoon will introduce the Flight HT 1001P-4 system. We will also introduce a new PMS – Powder Management System. This system is fully compatible with 403P system cartridges. The new PMS system provides a more automated and cleaner workflow for the powder handling process and has integrated the entire workflow from part cake breakout to sieving, mixing and loading.
In terms of applications, we will highlight large-sized metal components; molds and tools; medical implants; Oversized automotive functional parts made from glass bead reinforced PA6 and PA12 materials; 3C industries and robotic applications; as well as sports and sporting applications.
TCT: Farsoon recently broke ground on a new research and development headquarters in Xiangjiang New District – what does this mean for the company and its customers?
CF: The new research and development headquarters will provide improved infrastructure for our future innovation and manufacturing. Farsoon can accommodate a larger number of machines for development, integration and testing. In addition, we can offer industrial customers more diverse technical training, benchmarking and project-based series production.
TCT: At last year’s TCT Asia, Farsoon announced the development of its quad laser flight technology on the HT1001P 3D printing system. How can you let us know that you are interested in this technology?
CF: I’m glad you asked about it. We have been working on many aspects around the Flight HT1001P platform:
- Machine-related tweaks: Last year the Flight HT1001P was released via a beta program. We have worked on a number of optimizations and updates to key components and process parameters to improve the plasticity and productivity of the material.
- Material development: We are currently working on a new PA12 copolymer with higher ductility, balanced XYZ properties, excellent EAB, which is also very easy to break out. This material is currently in beta testing with some industrial customers in China. It is expected to launch globally next year.
- Collaboration with third-party materials: Given the unique properties of fiber lasers, we have tested a range of engineering materials from our material partners: TPU, PK, PA11 with ESD and CF reinforcement – allowing customers to produce end applications with the materials they want.
TCT: What do you think is the most significant trend in the AM industry today?
CF: [On the polymer side]I think material development and availability, at least in polymer L-PBF, has steadily increased over the last three to five years and continues to trend upward. Early on, the main material options on the market were “pure” or unfilled PA11 and Nylon12 materials. However, as technology has evolved with industry needs, we are increasingly seeing new additives to existing materials (e.g. PA11 FR flame retardant, Nylon 12 glass, mineral, carbon fiber filled) as well as entirely new materials such as TPU, TPC, PA6, PPS and PEEK/PAEK to extend rapid prototyping technology to industries such as automotive, aerospace, footwear and medicine. Material development has truly been a driving force in the additive industry.
In the metals space, we are seeing a big trend toward custom machines (requiring a specific size and optical systems, scanning strategies, processes, etc.) that process specific materials for the application. Our technical team needs to work with you in various aspects, from machine design to process development and application. Metal additive manufacturing has also become a 3C industry, significantly increasing production yield, cost efficiency and large-scale factory design. The future trend will be to integrate multiple metal 3D printing systems into an automated production line instead of running a single system.
TCT: Are there any trends that you think are unique to the market in China?
CF: The speed of technological innovation in the Chinese 3D printing market is remarkable. In comparison, many major international brands have not updated their products in recent years.
Key aspects of the trend in the Chinese market:
- Increased installation space size
- Efficiency: more and more lasers
- Innovative process developments with the aim of higher production speeds and niche materials
[There is also the] Increasing industrialization of 3D printing in the consumer goods market:
- High-end sporting goods (please see Farsoon’s brief case study on the use of 3DP metal golf clubs below)
- Metal molds and tools for the footwear industry (Farsoon’s customer has produced over 100,000 pairs of athletic shoe products with 3D printed shoe molds)
- 3C industry (computers, communications and consumer electronics), especially smartphones and watches
- Wearable products
Every year more new machine models from Chinese manufacturers are introduced to the domestic industry. With advances in value and service, local brands are taking the majority of market share in China.
TCT: Can you share with us a recent customer application success story?
CF: I’m excited to share our client’s latest success story with you Futai technologywhich specializes in high-quality sports equipment [which are] Made of titanium material. With a current manufacturing capacity of 1 million parts per year, Futai offers a comprehensive solution from product development to manufacturing and post-processing to services.
Futai has installed a fleet of Farsoon metal 3D printers (FS200M and FS273M) for their largest application – a titanium golf club. In addition to its standard products, Futai also offers customized solutions and small-batch production using 3D printing. Futai is now able to deliver over 15,000 golf clubs per year to global customers in Japan, Korea, Europe and the USA
TCT: Like many industries, the AM sector has experienced some turmoil in recent years – how do you see the industry heading into the remainder of 2023 and beyond?
CF: With the increasing application of 3D printing in the market, the benefits of the technology have been well received by the end user. In our opinion, the entire 3D printing industry will develop rapidly in the next few years, especially in the area of mass production.
3D printing technology, products and services focus on productivity, quality and cost control for industrial-scale applications.
TCT: Finally, what can you tell us about the future development of Farsoon and its product offering?
CF: Farsoon will continue to learn and grow with the market to develop industry and customer-specific systems that meet their needs.
Our future systems will have a clear focus on increasing throughput and reliability of repeatable parts; We offer our customers a truly advanced manufacturing tool for industrial end applications.
