Tenders

6.2. K+F+I Development Related to 3D Printer Development

• Beneficiary’s Name: GRANTE Antenna Development and Manufacturing Private Limited Company

  Project Title: GRANTE ZRt. R&D&I Development Related to 3D Printer Development

  Project Identification Number: GINOP-2.1.2-8-1-4-16-2017-00345

  Contracted Grant Amount: HUF 76,650,169

  Grant Rate: 45%

  Project Completion Date: April 28, 2021

  Brief Description of the Project:

  3D printing is undeniably one of the most promising development areas of our time. Since the technology emerged roughly 30 years ago, continuous innovation has led to its increasingly widespread daily use in recent years, and it has been tested in nearly every manufacturing field. In some cases, we already see attempts at industrial-level use (end-product manufacturing). However, two factors currently present the biggest obstacles to the explosive spread of 3D printing in the industry: the printing speed and the limitations of using printed materials as end products. Today, printed plastic products are mostly used „just” as prototypes, with actual usability for most products being severely limited.

  Our goal is to address these two aspects during development, in cooperation with DO3D Innovations Kft., using the Voxel type printer they design, market, and partially manufacture at our facility as the base machine, to create a new 3D printer capable of industrial applications. This printer will be unique in both the speed of the workpiece polymerization and the possible material composition. By enriching with various fillers, we aim to create materials with mechanical properties capable of meeting requirements long-term, either incorporated into a product or as standalone products. Our stated goal is for the printer development and materials resulting from our R&D project to offer a reasonable alternative to injection-molded parts for small- and medium-series productions.

  Enriching and strengthening photopolymers with various materials, and developing them for additive use, is a challenge that very few attempt globally due to its complexity.

  Another objective is to explore, following successful development, how we can make the raw material printable by other existing printers on the market without significant modifications. As an external unit and/or head unit, this would make the product and materials accessible to a broader range of users.

  Material Development:

  • Development of photopolymer systems enriched with various fillers
  • Examination of the additive processing of these materials
  • Mechanical testing of validated materials

  Machine Development:

  • Creation of a closed polymerization chamber
  • Examination of the spread of high-viscosity raw materials in the polymerization chamber
  • Solution for homogenizing raw materials enriched with fillers
  • Solution for introducing high-viscosity raw materials into the polymerization chamber with assistance
  • Development of an increased cross-sectional build area
  • Finalization of the machine’s external design and internal control
  • Examination of the compatibility of the raw material handling unit with other existing machines on the market