New Revolutionary Fire Retardant Material For Laser Sintering
BELTON, TX – December 12th, 2007 – Advanced Laser Materials, LLC, a developer and manufacturer of materials for rapid manufacturing processes, announces general commercial availability of its FR-106 material. FR-106 is a fire retardant, engineered material for use in the laser sintering and rotational molding processes. The introduction of the FR-106 material represents a major breakthrough in rapid manufacturing, a critical step in pushing the laser sintering industry from rapid prototyping to functional, high performance parts for production applications.
Designed to meet the rigorous property demands of the aerospace industry, Advanced Laser Material’s patent pending FR-106 is the only material currently available for laser sintering that passes the 60 second vertical burn test as outlined in part 25 of the Federal Aviation Requirements while maintaining excellent mechanical properties. Where other competitive laser sintering materials all show significant losses in key application properties to achieve minimal fire retardancy, parts fabricated from FR-106 maintain in excess of 35% elongation to break while continuing to offer excellent resistance to flame propagation.
This revolutionary material for laser sintering enables part manufacturers to produce high complexity fire retardant nylon parts, allowing designers to reduce part counts in assemblies and realize significant cost savings in short run production applications through direct manufacture and the elimination of high cost tooling. The excellent strength of the material empowers engineers to fabricate part designs with minimal wall thicknesses, thus saving weight in the final design, as well as provide the necessary flexibility for survivable, lasting snap fits, hinges, brackets, and clips.
FR-106 was first approved for use in late 2006 and has undergone extensive trials and testing with select test sites over the past year to validate its performance before this general commercial release. Product specifications can be obtained from Advanced Laser Materials and various video clips of our FR-106 parts undergoing a standard burn test may be found here.
Advanced Laser Materials consults, researches, develops, and manufactures materials for use in rapid prototyping and manufacturing processes such as laser sintering. ALM specializes in working closely with rapid prototyping and manufacturing companies to develop custom materials designed to meet their specific application needs. ALM has several key partnerships with material suppliers and developers, maintains its own in-house analysis and development laboratories, and provides extensive quality control data on its products.
More information on Advanced Laser Materials can be found at www.alm-llc.com or via e-mail at materials@alm-llc.com. Please call Todd Strait at 254.939.5873 for information regarding availability and authorized distributors.
|
