Q.BIG 3D organizes innovation forum
1. October 2024, Kunststoffe.de

Size matters! The 3D printing scene demonstrated the high potential of the manufacturing strategy for large-volume components.

Additive manufacturing of oversized plastic parts offers enormous advantages for the tool-free production of small and medium-sized series. One key to this is the VFGF (Variable Fused Granulate Fabrication) process from Q.Big 3D. At the first Backnang Innovation and Technology Forum at Q.Big 3D, the manufacturer, together with ten partners from industry and research, provided information on the state of the art in large-format 3D printing with plastic granulate.

Tool-free production with a large-format industrial 3D extrusion printer opens up fast time-to-market strategies for users. The elimination of tooling costs and new strategies for component geometry in design meet extremely short amortization times for the system technology. The special highlight compared to alternative AM strategies, such as FDM printing systems, is the use of commercially available granulates without filaments. The range of applications is enormous and even very large components and assemblies can be printed economically today. One example is the 3D cockpit for a helicopter simulator additively manufactured on a Queen 1 system from Q.Big 3D at Murtfeldt Additive Solution. The dimensions of the cockpit are 2,260 mm (x), 1,780 mm (y) and 1,705 mm (z). The weight is only 200 kg because 3D printing enables resource-saving lightweight construction. Prof. Dr. Thomas Brinkmann, Impetus Plastics Engineering: “Our engineering company sees enormous potential for product development in large-format 3D printing. This also applies to lightweight construction, bionics and resource conservation. Above all, however, the VFGF process is an accelerator of the Industry 4.0 approach.”

Keynote speeches at the first Backnang Innovation and Technology Forum

Ten companies and organizations flanked the forum with speakers giving keynote speeches: HZG Group, Naddcon, Trinkle 3D, Q.Big 3D, DMRC, Alfred Kärcher, Impetus Plastics Engineering, DIPROmat, LuxYours, Amecos, 3D Industrie, Weisser Spulenkörper, and Fraunhofer IPA. The speakers explained the high potential of this manufacturing strategy. The forum thus reflected a cross-section of the large-format 3D scene: machine suppliers, consultants, material experts, users and researchers. Dennis Herrmann, Managing Director of Q.Big 3D: “We produce the future. 3D material extrusion with the VFGF process pushes the boundaries of what is feasible and enables a whole new level of profitability and amortization.”

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