2024-09-04 15:52:07
The fact that 3D printing can replace CNC milling and injection molding of plastic products has not yet become a consensus. It is a way of thinking that has not yet been embedded. However, 3D printing does have its advantages. Maarten Adolf, senior business development manager at Loctite, predicts that digital libraries and on-demand printing will grow. However, he warns that we should expect an evolution, not a revolution.
With Loctite adhesives, Henkel’s Adhesives division achieves a turnover of around 6 billion euros per year. These adhesives are available in many variants for almost all applications, including niche ones. For example, the instant adhesives are available in twenty different variants. The Henkel subsidiary has 160 plants around the world that produce these adhesives and specializes in these special products. For Maarten Adolf, Senior Business Development Manager Europe for Henkel 3D Printing, the choice of resins to focus entirely on DLP and LCD printing over the years was a natural progression. “These liquids have a lot in common with our adhesives. The medical adhesives produced by Loctite are UV-curing. Basically, DLP and LCD printers use the same resins.”
Instant Technology
Critical mass, which is also important for Henkel, has not yet been achieved. The German company (62% of its shares are owned by a single family, the rest are traded on the DAX) is currently suffering the consequences of too high expectations, according to Maarten Adolf. “3D printing is often confused with instant technology; you press a button and the product comes out. That’s not the case with 3D printing, and that’s not the case with injection molding either.” If the market is to be truly successful, you need applications in every market segment where you can offer clear added value compared to conventional technologies. The development of each project takes three years. “Big companies usually don’t have the patience,” he points out. According to him, smaller resin producers lack the scale required by chemical companies to comply with all regulations such as REACH and to provide all the necessary documentation for the resins.
Key concepts of data
Maarten Adolf calls data one of the key concepts to make 3D printing with DLP and MSLA/LCD technologies more widely available in the market. “Everything you write in the safety sheet is a statement.” As a resin producer, you have to achieve this and be able to prove it with data and experience. That’s why you have to develop applications for each market segment together with the market. “You have to build a legacy,” says the senior business development manager….
The entire interview process is You can read Maarten Adolf in the autumn issue of Solutions Magazine 2024
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