MVP large-format system prints thermoset resins
Magnum Venus Products’ Reactive Additive Manufacturing (RAM) system is a large-format AM machine that prints with fiber-reinforced thermoset resins.
MVP Reactive Additive Manufacturing (RAM) system. Photo Credit: Magnum Venus Products
Magnum Venus Products (MVP, Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.) in 2019 introduced its Reactive Additive Manufacturing (RAM) system, a large-format AM machine that prints with fiber-reinforced thermoset resins. Originally co-developed with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.) and subsequently updated by MVP, RAM features an 16 x 8 x 3.5-foot build envelope, a multi-axis print head, prints at speeds of up to 50 in/sec and offers a maximum deposition rate of 60 lb/hr. The resin system, developed by Polynt Composites (Carpentersville, Ill., U.S.) is an ambient-cure, high-viscosity unsaturated vinyl ester that offers low shrinkage, a long gel time and a heat-deflection temperature of 94°C. The strongest attribute of the resin system, however, is reported z-direction strength two to four times greater than that offered by 3D-printed thermoplastics.
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