Vienna, April 24, 2020. Cubicure and Hachtel started a successful cooperation in the field of spare part production and digitalization within the SME Horizon 2020 research and innovation program funded by the European Commission. The main content of this joint project is the rapid manufacturing of spare parts and small series via the Hot Lithography process from Cubicure.
In June 2019, Cubicure and Hachtel succeeded against 2000 European competitors with the Hot Lithography project. This program provides a framework for the collaboration of scientific excellence, competitiveness, market leadership and grand societal challenges. Cubicure and Hachtel count as a main target group of the Horizon 2020 project as they form a successful collaboration of science and industry. The joint development of Cubicure and Hachtel covers the process line from digitalization of the original part to the optimization and production of the spare part with the innovative 3D printing technology Hot Lithography.
Innovation background
The increasing technical complexity and the shortened product life cycles are leading to increasing challenges for companies when it comes to spare parts. Primarily the field of machine- and system engineering and the mobility sector are affected, when nether original spare parts nor the initial injection moulds are stockpiled. In complex systems only one missing or broken part can be crucial for the overall system's performance. Thus, in many cases whole modules must be replaced which leads to unexpected costs for the affected business. The railway industry is especially hit by such events, as whole trains get cancelled or promised delivery and service times cannot be met, due to the lack of suitable spare parts. Additional, severe regulatory (e. g. fire protection requirements) continuously drives the demand for high-quality materials to produce new and spare parts. The combination of digital production (Hot Lithography 3D printing) and innovative material systems present the ideal answer to this problem. Modern methods of digitalization, such as computer tomography (CT), enable a fast digitalization of original parts and thus support pure digital work flows. This technology allows the digital reparation of damaged pieces before the data is transferred to produce the new 3D printed devices.
Spare part production with Hot Lithography
Cubicure's tough and robust materials represent the perfect solution for this problem. The Hot Lithography technology allows the processing of high molecular resins, resulting in materials with high-temperature stability and excellent mechanical properties. Hachtel has years of experience in injection moulding and digitalization and is the first pure industrial user of the Hot Lithography technology for additive manufacturing of functional spare parts. Hachtel's competence in polymer part production and CT-digitalization makes the company a perfect partner for the fast and digital production of spare parts.
For more information visit our project homepage https://www.hl-sme.eu/hl/home.
Cubicure GmbH develops, produces and distributes industrial 3D printing solutions for polymer parts. With roots in academia and the ambition to help shape the digital future of manufacturing, this Vienna-based company has been setting the course for agile production since 2015. Their Hot Lithography process enables the unprecedented additive manufacturing of resilient high-precision components.
