Use cases - use cases

Elastic pull cords in the gripper: Print in Place

Best example of functional integration in a printed part with different materials:

Reverse engineering : from 3D scanning to 3D printing for assembly test on the metal part

The rear brake system of a 1989 Ford Mustang Saleen designed as a drift vehicle is to be modified.

In drift sports, a hydraulic handbrake (FlyOff) is required to specifically block the rear wheels, for example to initiate the drift, without braking on the front axle as well.

For this purpose, a brake caliper mount was developed using a scan and 3D printing, which can accommodate both brake calipers.

Entire document download here:

brake caliper mount

Equipment production: tool holders for gear machining

ZF Passau has been using the Multirap M500 in resource production for over a year.
The gear holders shown here take gear blanks and are mounted on pallet systems and then fed fully automatically for processing.

strength Multec PLA-HT .

Martin Grill, equipment designer at ZF

"By using additive manufacturing, we achieve significant improvements in the throughput time in the equipment. Additional benefits lie in the significantly cheaper production and the lower weight."

Detailed user report: Download here

Rear wing racing

Printed in two halves from PLA with the new high-speed print head.

Each half is 80cm long, weighs 2.9kg and was printed in just 18 hours.

Cost comparison of conventional print head to high-speed print head:

Machine hourly rate Multirap M800: €5.70)*

)* Machine hour rate with amortization over 4 years and 3500 operating hours per year

Printed with the innovative high-speed extruder with 4x volume flow:

Our development of the high-performance, extremely fast-printing new nozzle is already showing a reduction in printing time to around 1/4 of the previous printing time. In the example, a 70 cm high component is printed in around 10 hours, compared to a smaller component with conventional nozzles in over 30 hours.

Since the Multec print head has up to 4 nozzles, the high-flow hotend can of course also produce short print times with good surfaces in combination with fine nozzles.

Serial production of filament spool holders - cost comparison of injection moulding

A typical series production part at Multec in additive manufacturing, which is produced very cheaply at €17.

The two-part spool holder for filament spools is used in Multirap devices to change the spools quickly and to hold them securely during the printing process.
It has a quick-release fastener that can be quickly released and closed with a quarter turn.

A detailed cost comparison with injection molding production can be found here

Tires with rims - airless principle - multi-material printing

With the airless principle, the “air” that is a necessary part of the tire is replaced by a special honeycomb structure. Based on the same principle, other components made of high-strength and flexible materials can also be produced in one printing process.

The tire was printed with Multec PLA Soft 120 on a Multirap M500 and served as a successful prototype to demonstrate the ease and speed of 3D printing flexible single and serial parts. What is new about this tire is the combination of rim, tire and support material in one printing process, without any cleaning runs, post-processing or gluing work.

 Rubber sleeve multi-material printing

Multirap M500 4-fold printhead producing a 3-material sleeve.

No prime tower or cleaning run is required due to the patented, drip-free multiple print head and intelligent temperature control.

- High strength flange

- Elastic rubber cuff

- Plain bearing material in the bores for sliding bearing

Fender flares - from 3D scan to functional part

Lamination mold fender

Using the example of an individually adapted fender flare, Multec will show you step by step the procedure from the 3D scan to the 3D printed form and the laminated functional part.
Scanned with Scan-in-a-box FX

Printed with Multirap M800 4x print head

download pdf

Deep-drawing mold metal saving -290€

compared to milling aluminum

Deep-drawing mold for 0.4mm metal foil

5-15 tons of embossing force

Serial production of racing heat shields

• Material: PLA-HT natural
• print time approx
• Weight: 400g
• Use as a deep-drawing mold for metal foils and thin metal sheets
• Suitable for manufacturing heat shields
• Significant cost savings compared to conventionally manufactured deep-drawing molds made of metal
• Multec PLA-HT is ideally suited for high loads thanks to its high strength and toughness. Thermoforming molds made of PLA-HT can be loaded with several tons.

robotic gripper saving -225€

compared to milling aluminum

Material costs 12€
Printing time 5 hours

Gripper completely printed in one printing process (no subsequent joining)

Clean multi-material printing Multec PLA and elastic BioTPU for the gripper as well as Multec SmartSupport for residue-free removable support in overhanging areas

Motorcycle seat hump individually designed and printed

Material costs €25
Printing time approx. 18 hours

Individual motorcycle seat humps

Multec special plastic PLA-HT

high temperature resistant

50% more impact resistant than ABS

Dental technology: lower jaw child

Material costs €1.10
Printing time approx. 1.5 hours

Sanded and varnished after printing

Printed with food grade Multec PLA-HT

Exhibition printing part "4 in 1" - fully rotatable top

printed completely without post-processing

4-color printing top

3D printing application

The need for 3D printing applications existed long before the invention of the 3D printer. Only a few years ago, numerous workpieces that today come out of the printer as a matter of course had to be sawn, milled and sanded in laborious manual work. 3D printer industry completely abolish these work steps either. However, it represents an increasingly important addition to traditional manufacturing processes.

How does a 3D printer actually work?

Our 3D printers Multirap are suitable for numerous 3D printing applications. The functionality of the devices can best be explained in comparison with an inkjet printer. This is fitted with color cartridges filled with liquid, which feed the print head and thus enable colored printing. The 3D printer Multirap also has a print head. For 3D printing applications, however, this does not apply color, but a so-called filament. This filament consists entirely or partly of plastic and is wound on a roll. In the 3D printing application, the print head takes the filament from the roll, liquefies it thermally and then applies it in layers to form a three-dimensional object according to the specifications made in the digital plan.

What types of filament can I use for 3D printing application?

3D printing areas of application are becoming more and more diverse. This is also thanks to the fact that we offer filament with very different material-specific properties. The appropriate filament can be selected depending on how hard-wearing, impact-resistant or elastic the object created in the 3D printing application should be.

Multec you with numerous of filament for a wide range of applications:

• FDM plastics and metal
• High-strength plastics for technical functional parts
• Fiber Reinforced Filament
• Temperature resistant filament
• Food grade filament
• Metal printing filament BASF Ultrafuse 316L

The Multec material portfolio includes the following filaments:

• Multec PLA-HT
• Multec Carbon (PA-CF)
• Multec PLA
• Multec PETG
• Multec Smart Support
• Multec PLA Soft

At Multec we continue to develop filaments to expand the possibilities of 3D printing applications even further.

How does 3D printing work with metal?

In the 3D printer, the filament is thermally liquefied in order to then be applied to a three-dimensional object. For the 3D printing application, the device takes advantage of the relatively low melting point of plastic. If you were to print purely metal using this process, the print head would have to generate significantly higher temperatures. In order to still be able to implement a 3D printing application with metal, the filament used consists of 90% by weight metal powder, the remaining 10% is a binder polymer. For 3D printing, this plastic only has to be liquefied.

The resulting 3D object then has to go through the processes of debinding and sintering. The plastic is dissolved out of the printed object without shrinking before the object is then fired in a similar way to ceramics. Depending on the material, the temperatures during sintering are up to 1,360 degrees.

Various 3D printing applications with Multec

There are numerous industries that have been revolutionized by three-dimensional printing. Examples can be found in the production of prototypes, equipment or in automation technology. 3D printing is also used in mold making to easily produce models of the work you are creating. On our website we show a variety of objects that can be realized with 3D printing. Just click through our gallery and watch the videos where you can see the Multec 3D printers at work.

Do you have any further questions or would you like some non-binding advice? Then touch with us.