FABTECH 2015 Preview: Cincinnati

Cincinnati will demonstrate the versatility of additive manufacturing with displays featuring a full size Shelby Cobra automobile, a scaled fighter jet, a12-ft. kayak, and a utility vehicle that were all produced using the new Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system.

Cincinnati Inc will be exhibiting in booth N9000.

The carbon and glass fiber reinforced ABS plastic materials for these displays were provided by SABIC and Techmer Engineered Solutions. The large-scale additive machine uses a steel fabricated chassis and advanced linear drive motors as the base, and extrudes hot thermoplastic to build parts, layer by layer. The machine, developed as part of a cooperative research and development agreement between CI and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, introduces significant new manufacturing capabilities to a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, marine, appliance and many more.

The BAAM machine on display at Fabtech has a work envelope of 65”x140”x34” and extrusion rate of about 38 lbs/hr and will be printing parts made with SABIC’s THERMOCOMP compound, an ABS carbon fiber material which provides excellent strength-to-weight ratio and high stiffness.  CI makes a larger size that has a work envelope of 8 x 20 x 6 ft. with an extrusion rate of about 100 lbs/hr. The machine prints polymer components up to 10 times larger than currently producible, at speeds 1,000 times faster than existing additive machines. The machine’s extruder uses a wide variety of thermoplastics and fiber reinforced thermoplastics to meet the needs of a variety of commercial applications, including furniture and tooling.

“All of the displays will show the art of the possible with additive manufacturing,” said Carey Chen, President and CEO of Cincinnati Incorporated. “The kayak display will be shown as 1/3 raw additive material (ABS carbon fiber), 1/3 filled with gel coat, and 1/3 finished and painted, demonstrating the phases of finishing 3D printed parts. These displays will have a huge ‘wow’ factor at the show because they show how large-part additive manufacturing can be applied in our daily lives.”

In addition to the four displays, the company will have two exhibits. The BAAM machine will be on display in booth N-9000 in the entrance to the North Hall of Chicago’s McCormick Place, while the new electric 40-ton GOFORM press brake will be demonstrated in booth S-2799 in the South Hall. The South Hall booth will include a large video wall with unique footage angles of CI’s laser cutting systems, automation, and press brakes.

For more information, visit www.e-ci.com.