BASF 3D Printing Solutions (Heidelberg / Germany), a 100% subsidiary of BASF New Business (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf-new-business.com), is collaborating with Essentium Materials (College Station, Texas / USA; www.essentium3d.com) to build up a global distribution network for plastic filaments. The companies are systematically pooling a substantial part of their industrial filament materials under the name “Ultrafuse”. The cross-regional distribution agreement covers several products, including Ultrafuse Z, an extra-strong filament based on BASF materials that has been further developed by Essentium and is offered along with the US company’s “FlashFuse” processing technology.

“This enables us to provide a special material for FFF [fused filament fabrication] that allows printing components with optimum strength in the z-direction,” explained Firat Hizal, marketing and sales manager, plastic filaments at BASF 3D Printing Solutions. The partners intend to launch further filled and flame-retardant filaments during the course of the year.

BASF has also developed a range of new materials for 3D printing. One of these is a grey PA 6-based powder, “Ultrasint PA6 LM X085”, which has been developed for use in selective laser sintering (SLS) processes. The powder melts at about 193 °C and is easy to process on most commonly used SLS machines, with manufactured parts distinguished by high stiffness and strength, according to BASF.

“These properties allow us to offer a PA 6-based material to customers, especially those in the automotive and consumer goods industries, where today there is mainly only a choice between different PA 11 and PA 12 types,” said Alexander Cochrane, marketing manager, 3D-printing powder bed fusion. Cochrane added that the first parts produced with Ultrasint PA6 LM were “convincing” and BASF expected to be able to supply first customers in late summer.

In addition, the company is working on new developments in the field of UV-reactive materials. “Photo-Resin X004M”, which has recently become available, has been specially optimised for stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP) and LCD printers, in which the light source is placed beneath the printing material.

Further developments are in ceramic photopolymers. These allow additive manufacturing of metal-casting moulds for applications in the aerospace and automotive sectors.

BASF said that in order to address customer needs better, it would be focusing future activities on the automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, medical and dental technology industries. Since February, it has been a member of the Direct Manufacturing Research Center at the University of Paderborn (Paderborn / Germany; www.dmrc.uni-paderborn.de), which aims to develop and improve 3D printing processes.