Large Scales Additive Manufacturing

Large Scales Additive Manufacturing

LSAM (pronounced L-Sam) represents the industry leading technology for large scale 3D printing of thermoplastic polymers. LSAM utilizes unique patented technology to produce the highest quality printed structures, repeatedly.

LSAM uses the “Near Net Shape” approach to part production where the part is first printed at high speed slightly larger than needed, then trimmed to the final size and shape. This is the fastest, most efficient method of 3D printing large structures. With LSAM, both printing and trimming can be done on the same machine.

LSAM can process parts from virtually any thermoplastic composite material including high temperature materials that are ideal for moulds and tooling that must operate at elevated temperatures. LSAM’s unique printing system produces parts that are solid, fully fused, vacuum tight and virtually void free.

LSAM is intended for serious industrial production. It is not a lab, evaluation or demonstration machine, but is instead a full-fledged industrial additive manufacturing system intended for the production of large-scale components.

What Makes Thermwood LSAM different;

An Extruder Screw That Works Differently

Traditional plastic extruder screws, designed for steady state operation, do not work for additive manufacturing. In fact, any extruder available today, by itself, will not work for additive manufacturing because of surging. LSAM uses a combination of a patented extruder screw design, and a polymer melt pump to overcome these basic limitations.

This approach also means you do not need to change screws to process different polymers. LSAM can process virtually all materials with the same screw and melt pump. A patent pending design using special steel alloys supports processing temperatures of 450°C (Approx. 850°F) allowing the processing of high temperature polymers ideal for autoclave tooling.

A changeable Melt Core means you can, on the same machine, increase print head throughput for really large parts.

Parts can be printed either in the traditional horizontal orientation, or, with an optional vertical layer print system, they can be printed vertically, allowing parts to be printed that are as tall as the machine table length.

Screw speed is constantly changing in Additive Manufacturing, so the traditional approach means uneven heat.

In the LSAM extruder, more than 60% of the heat comes from the heated barrel and not the screw, so polymer heating is more even.

Since friction between the polymer and screw geometry is not the major source of heat, the screw does not need to be changed to process different polymers.

LSAM prints a large bead at room temperature in a process which is essentially an exercise in controlled cooling. Polymer cooling and not print head output determines print speed. Polymer cooling determines how fast you can print each layer. Print head output determines how large a part you can print in the layer time available. LSAM print heads are available that can print well over 500 pounds per hour which means really large parts are possible.

Large print beads plus Thermwood’s patented compression wheel create solid, fully fused, virtually void free printed structures that can sustain vacuum in a pressurized autoclave at elevated temperature without the need for problematic add-on coatings.

Parts are printed on a patented Bead Board, virtually eliminating cooling stresses and part warping. The compression wheel not only totally fuses layers together but also generates highly precise print bead dimensions, measured in thousandths of an inch.

Large print beads plus Thermwood’s patented compression wheel create solid, fully fused, virtually void free printed structures that can sustain vacuum in a pressurized autoclave at elevated temperature without the need for problematic add-on coatings.

LSAM Systems

These systems are a single gantry, moving table configuration and are available in two table sizes, 5’x5’ and 5’x10’. The 5’x10’ table is available in two configurations, 5’ wide with 10’ of front to back motion and 10’ wide with 5’ of front to back motion. Choice of configuration depends on several factors, fitting it existing factory floor space is one factor.

The weight of the heaviest part you may want to print may be another factor. Systems come standard with a single servo table drive which can accommodate parts that weigh up to about 1,000 pounds. The 10-foot-wide table can be equipped with an optional second table drive increasing the maximum weight capacity to 2,000 pounds.

The final factor is Vertical Layer Printing. All LSAM Additive Printers can print parts up to four feet tall. If you need taller parts, you may be able to print them by lying the part down and printing vertically. The only Additive Printer that supports Vertical Layer Printing is the 5 wide 10-foot-deep version. It can print parts up to 10 foot tall.

The specially designed, highly rigid tab and slot, structural steel gantry also incorporates a fume extraction system that pulls print fumes through specially designed activated charcoal filters to remove them and “sweeten” the air.

LSAM additive Printers use the exact same print head mechanism as all the other, including the largest LSAM Systems which means that they produce the same amazing print quality that has made LSAM the leader in large scale additive printing. They also use the same highly advanced Ultra 6 control with all its exclusive, patented print features and capability.

The systems come standard with a single hopper polymer dryer for applications that don’t change print material very often. For installations that print a wider variety of materials, a dual hopper dryer is available as an option.

An enclosure that surrounds the machine is also available. The machine with the full enclosure can also be built to meet European CE standards.