EUROMOLD 2009: EOS PRESENTS PART PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CONCEPT


Frankfurt am Main/Germany, 2 December, 2009 – EOS, the world-leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems, will be at EuroMold this year (December 2-5, 2009) in the new hall 11. EOS will be presenting a new Part Property Management concept, which will guarantee the standardization and comparability of building processes and results on the basis of Part Property Profiles (PPP).

Dr. Hans Langer, CEO and founder of EOS explains: "By introducing Part Property Profiles we are emphasizing our quality leadership. Added to this are important advantages for our customers' decision-making and manufacturing processes. Designers will have constant access to standardized property profiles and corresponding material values. People responsible for purchasing and quoting will profit from clearly defined specifications that will make the preparation of quotes more efficient and transparent.

“With increasingly automated data preparation and more flexible production planning, PPPs also offer manufacturers benefits such as increased efficiency and cost reduction and, moreover, optimal and transparent quality assurance processes. On the basis of the PPPs we will, above all, be able to further expand e-Manufacturing with laser-sintering for series production. In this way laser-sintering becomes a competitive and cost-effective manufacturing process for plastic and metal parts."

Part Property Profiles (PPP): Standardization for reliable part quality
In the last few years, EOS has established high standards for laser-sintering through intensive process and applications development. With consistent quality assurance along the process chain, EOS has made it possible for users to produce parts with defined properties on the basis of standardized parameter sets. EOS has sold 20 systems for the series production of dental restorations alone, and many producers (OEMs), for example from the medical technology and aerospace industries, are qualifying this technology for their production.

At EuroMold, EOS introduces the new Part Property Management concept based on standardized parameter sets which produce defined part properties—Part Property Profiles (PPPs)—in combination with similarly standardized and quality assured machines and materials. As such, EOS ensures that reliable material characteristics can be achieved so that designers, manufacturers and end users can access uniform and reliable data.

PPPs and their application areas as exemplified by plastic laser-sintering
The underlying definitions of the PPPs are the typical requirements regarding, for example, surface quality, mechanical properties, accuracy and detail resolution. In addition, quality and cost targets exist that are normally in competition with one another, and which generally complicate the ascertainment of an optimal part-oriented trade-off. The five PPPs for plastic laser-sintering systems, which correspond to five parameter sets, therefore focus upon the individual requirements with regard to costs, quality aspects, or carefully balanced compromises.

TopSpeed, 180 µm layer thickness: Very economical parameter set for parts with medium to high quality requirements. In comparison with 120 µm layer thickness (EOSINT P730) the production costs are reduced typically by 15 - 20 percent.
Speed, 150 µm layer thickness: This parameter set offers slightly higher surface quality than TopSpeed. Production costs are reduced by typically by 10 - 15 percent in comparison with 120 µm layer thickness (see Balance, below).
Balance, 120 µm layer thickness: The advantage of this parameter set is its economic equilibrium. The layer thickness of 120 µm offers a perfect balance between production costs, mechanics, surface quality and accuracy.
Performance, 100 µm layer thickness: Performance parts are characterized by the highest degree of isotropic strength and stiffness.
TopQuality, 60 µm layer thickness: This parameter set is designated for very small to medium-sized parts with detailed, delicate geometries or geometric elements and the strictest requirements in surface quality.

The PPPs Balance, Performance and Top Quality are available for all EOSINT P and FORMIGA systems; TopSpeed and Speed are available for the EOSINT P760 and EOSINT P395. They contain values for, among others, tensile strength, elongation at break and Young’s modulus for the horizontal, parallel-to-layer X/Y-directions. Values for the vertical, orthogonal-to-layer Z-direction are now also standard. The Part Property Management concept will be introduced for EOSINT M systems in a similar way.

Starting in January 2010, EOS will provide access to the attributes of the Part Property Profiles for plastics via the Material Data Centre, a public database which has been established by the plastics industry. To access it from the EOS website, www.eos.info, please click on the link provided there to the Material Data Centre. Selecting EOS in the database will lead you to the PPPs. A detailed white paper about the PPPs can also be requested from EOS.

About EOS
EOS was founded in 1989 and is today the world-leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems. Laser-sintering is the key technology for e-Manufacturing, the fast, flexible and cost-effective production of products, patterns and tools. The technology manufactures parts for every phase of the product life cycle, directly from electronic data. Laser-sintering accelerates product development and optimizes production processes. EOS completed its business year 2008/2009 with revenues of approximately 60 million Euros. The company employs 300 people worldwide, 250 of them in Krailling near Munich, Germany. For more information visit www.eos.info

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