CRP Technology launches Windform SL for UAV needs
Carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide, added to CRP’s Top-Line series, is well suited to demands for lightness, stiffness and thermal resistance in composites 3D printing.
Windform SL targets the UAV/UAS sector. Source | CRP Technology
3D printing service bureau CRP Technology (Modena, Italy) introduces Windform SL, the 12th material in the Windform Top-Line additive manufacturing (AM) series. A black carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide composite, Windform SL combines ultra-light (designated by the “SL”), rigid characteristics with a low density of 0.87 g/cc, ensuring light weight without the need to reduce thickness.
Designed specifically for powder bed fusion/selective laser sintering (PBF/SLS), Windform SL is particularly well suited for producing functional prototypes and components in the UAV/UAS sector, and applications demanding a balance of lightness, stiffness and thermal resistance, such as automotive.
A heat deflection temperature (HDT) of 182.5°C at 1.82 MPa, combined with high values in specific tensile modulus, specific tensile strength and impact strength (Charpy and Izod), are among Windform SL’s key features, which provide it with the ability to maintain structural stability under intense stress, even at elevated temperatures, ensuring reliable performance in demanding environments.
CRP Technology says that its post-process surface finish is equally noteworthy, with Ra values of 5.44 µm after the SLS process, 1.56 µm after manual finishing, and 0.83 µm after CNC processing, ensuring smooth and precise surfaces.
Related Content
-
Materials & Processes: Resin matrices for composites
The matrix binds the fiber reinforcement, gives the composite component its shape and determines its surface quality. A composite matrix may be a polymer, ceramic, metal or carbon. Here’s a guide to selection.
-
Cryo-compressed hydrogen, the best solution for storage and refueling stations?
Cryomotive’s CRYOGAS solution claims the highest storage density, lowest refueling cost and widest operating range without H2 losses while using one-fifth the carbon fiber required in compressed gas tanks.
-
Materials & Processes: Composites fibers and resins
Compared to legacy materials like steel, aluminum, iron and titanium, composites are still coming of age, and only just now are being better understood by design and manufacturing engineers. However, composites’ physical properties — combined with unbeatable light weight — make them undeniably attractive.
