Rapid + TCT 2021: A Round-Up of the News from the Event

After over a year of exclusively virtual events, slowly in-person 3D printing conferences are coming back. The most recent one was Rapid + TCT which took place this week (September 13-15th, 2021) in Chicago. Rapid + TCT is one of the largest Additive Manufacturing (AM) events in North America though it has not been held in person since 2019 due to the health crisis. Many companies chose to take advantage of the opportunity to attend and reconnect as well as to roll out some big announcements. However, due to the sheer amount of announcements coming from the event, it is likely that many were lost in the shuffle. To that end, we decided to recap some of the news from Rapid + TCT, including from Stratasys, DyeMansion, Essentium and other major AM players, that you may have missed!

Arkema’s New UV Curing Formulations

Chemical company and leader in high-performance materials for 3D printing was another group present at Rapid + TCT 2021. While there, attendees were able to check in at their booth where they introduced five new formulations for UV-curing, the materials needed most often with SLA and DLP technologies. There introduced four resins: HT-511, a tough high-temperature resin; DMT-303, a performance resin for acurrate dental models; IC-163, a casting resin perfect for high-resolution, high-detail parts; and LF-053, an all acrylic 355nm SLA resin for small to medium prototype parts. They also introduced the N3D-TOUGH 784, a high-strength material with good tensile strength and flexibility. You can learn more HERE.

Arkema has released new resins (photo credits: Arkema/Exton Center of Excellence)

DyeMansion’s Process Innovations for the Powerfuse S

For German company, DyeMansion, Rapid + TCT 2021 was an opportunity to show its new innovative processes including ready-to-use parameters for different Levels of Smoothing for the Powerfuse S and the announcement that the VaporFuse Surfacing process is now compliant with FDM contact regulations. For the Powerfuse S, DyeMansion has released three ready-to-use set for different Levels of Smoothing strengths. They hope that these parameters will continue to make the Powerfuse S to be one of the most customizable and reliable vapor polishing systems in AM. In another gain for DyeMansion’s post-processing solutions, they also announced that the VaporFuse Surfacing process for sealed surfaces is compliant with FDA’s food contact regulations. At a time when many are working to introduce AM more into the food industry, this is certainly interesting news. Perhaps in the future, thanks to post-processing solutions like these, 3D printed parts will become a normal part of the food industry.