MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dutch chemicals and materials company DSM has agreed another collaboration in 3D printing, coming after deal last week with US firm Nexa3D, said the company.
The latest collaboration is with Nedcam, which originated as a spinoff from the Marine Research Institute Netherlands. Under that deal, Nedcam will offer “Fused Granulate Fabrication” (FGF) 3D printing, using DSM materials. The partners will also explore new applications in tooling, large-size and circular end-use parts.
DSM believes that FGF is a critical technology to address the need for manufacturing structural and large-size components using highly filled polymers at competitive production lead times, it said. Nedcam, for its part, provides an important link between product development and market demand, and their printing activities would help accelerate the adoption of 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, DSM said. The companies also noted the potential for waste reduction.
Nedcam currently produces plugs and moulds from various materials, including glass fibre reinforced composites and steel - often for single or limited use, and resulting in “tonnes of waste every year". FGF production using DSM's recyclable materials offered a route to a more sustainable process, they said. "By combining DSM’s 3D printing and thermoplastics expertise with our production knowledge and production facilities, we want take the necessary steps toward a sustainable and fully circular model production process,” said Erwin van Maaren, co-founder and commercial director at Nedcam.
As MRC informed earlier, DSM formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with VDL Groep (Eindhoven, Netherlands), called Dutch PPE Solutions, to produce medical facemasks and establish the first permanent production of critical facemask components in the Netherlands. The companies are investing several million euros to purchase manufacturing equipment and build manufacturing facilities to produce meltblown polypropylene (PP), the critical material layer in medical facemasks that filters viruses, and make medical masks.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
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