Impossible Objects is Disrupting 3D Printing With a New Process | AMUG 2023 w/ Vision Miner
What this covers
Today we’re here with Steve Hoover from Impossible Objects checking out their revolutionary CBAM 3D Printing technology that can create parts faster than traditional methods. PEEK, NYLON 12 combined with carbon fiber or glass fiber can be 3D printed with high-speed inkjet printing methods to create high performance composite parts. This technology is insane in an age where PEEK, ULTEM and other high performance thermoplastics require advanced industrial machines in order to pull off acceptable results.
The AMUG conference is one of the biggest additive manufacturing expos in the world and is a premiere event to catch the latest trends and see what current and future innovations are hitting the market. As always we are bringing you guys our top picks from the show. The kind of companies and innovators that are making great strides and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Join Rob as he presents the most eye-catching products from AMUG conference 2023!
At Vision Miner, we specialize in Functional 3D printing, especially high-performance plastics like PEEK, ULTEM, PPSU, PPS, CFPA, and more. We also have extensive experience with 3D scanners, and a whole array of solutions available for purchase. If you're interested in using functional 3D printing and materials in your business, feel free to reach out, and we can help you make the right choice for your application.
Call 833-774-6863 or email contact@visionminer.com, and we're here to help!
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Impossible Objects' composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM) process produces faster, stronger carbon fiber parts than traditional FDM by printing at room temperature on non-woven fabric sheets, then compressing the entire stack above the polymer's melting point, eliminating thermal stresses and enabling manufacturing-scale production.
- Room-temperature printing eliminates differential thermal stresses that cause cracking and warping in FDM processes
- 15mm non-woven carbon fiber strands produce stronger, stiffer parts than chopped fiber while enabling rapid layer printing (2 layers per minute)
- Post-compression at uniform temperature creates solid monolithic parts rather than laminated structures susceptible to delamination
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Impossible Objects' composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM) process is radically different from traditional FDM because it prints at room temperature on non-woven carbon fiber fabric sheets using an inkjet head to spray thermoplastic powder patterns, then compresses the entire stack above the polymer's melting point to create solid monolithic parts
“our process is called composite based additive manufacturing every word makes a difference in there this is a fabric non-woven fabric carbon fiber we also do it with fiberglass you start with that blank sheet and what do you do you take an inkjet head and you spray the pattern you want on that layer whatever pattern you want”
CBAM produces faster parts because printing two layers per minute is achievable at room temperature, whereas FDM processes must heat up and cool down each layer sequentially, creating a fundamental speed bottleneck
“unlike an fdm process where you got to heat up and cool down and where there's differential thermal stresses because the layer beneath is at a different temperature than the layer above we don't have that problem so we can print very quickly at room temp”
CBAM parts can withstand repeated thermal cycling in harsh chemical environments: a wave solder fixture made from CBAM has been run through a 230°C molten solder bath with corrosive flux tens of thousands of times without degradation because PEAK polymer combined with carbon fiber is chemically resistant
“so we take this board and run it tens of thousands of times through a 230 degree C bath with solder and solder flux which is pretty chemically nasty and that's where the peak and the carbon fiber is high-tech chemically resistant absolutely right”
CBAM produces stronger and stiffer parts than FDM with chopped carbon fiber because it uses 15 millimeter long non-woven carbon fiber strands that cannot fit through an FDM nozzle, providing significantly greater fiber length and thus better load distribution
“they tend to fly apart yeah not if you've got carbon fiber in there keeping that stiff so it is a non-woven sheet um but these fibers in here are 15 millimeter long so way longer than the top fiber because they can't fit through a nozzle so we get much stronger much stiffer Parts than you can get with the chopped carbon fiber”
Eliminating differential thermal stresses by printing at room temperature and compressing the entire stack at uniform temperature prevents the cracks, bending, and warping that occur in other additive manufacturing processes where layers are at different temperatures during printing
“because again we're doing that compression when the object is all at one temperature we don't get the differential stresses the cracks and the bending and warping that can occur with other processes”
CBAM parts produced with non-woven carbon fiber require minimal post-processing: sandblasting away excess non-woven fibers is quick and easy because the fibers are flimsy without the polymer consolidated around them, unlike traditional laminated structures that require extensive finishing
“everywhere where you didn't have powder you simply sand blast away it's like Indiana Jones digging out your dinosaur down”
CBAM can manufacture parts using multiple thermoplastic polymer matrices (PEAK, nylon, and other materials) selected based on application requirements for chemical resistance, temperature stability, and mechanical properties
“the powder is a thermoplastic in this case we do Peak we do nylon we can do other materials”
CBAM-printed drone propellers can operate at 20,000+ RPM without flying apart because carbon fiber reinforcement provides sufficient stiffness to counteract centrifugal forces, and the long fiber length in non-woven substrate prevents delamination under rotational stress
“drone blades run pretty fast they rotate really quickly 20 000 plus RPM there you go and uh they tend to fly apart yeah not if you've got carbon fiber in there keeping that stiff”
The CBAM process produces parts with excellent surface finish as they come directly from the sandblaster, without requiring additional surface processing or polishing operations
“we love the flatness of these kinds of parts and the surface finish if you get a close-up of that it's pretty good that's right as it comes out there's no extra surface processing this is as coming out of the out of the sandblaster”
CBAM is suitable for manufacturing high-complexity industrial components such as bearing cages that require dimensional precision and chemical resistance in bearing mount assemblies
“that's a bearing cage right I mean just a amount for uh yeah for an industrial uh bearing Mount whatever whatever kind of maybe that one's nylon”
CBAM parts exhibit superior tactile properties compared to metals: the consolidated carbon fiber and polymer composite feels like stone or compressed material rather than metal, indicating a distinctive material signature
“it feels like it's like a comp it's like Stone as opposed to metal”
Rapid DCP (Conference) is the venue where leading additive manufacturing companies unveil new products and showcase the latest technology, serving as the primary industry platform for demonstrating innovations across all 3D printing modalities
“if you guys want to see literally the latest and greatest in technology here in the US in additive manufacturing rapid DCP is the show to be at it's where everybody unveils their new products and they come out with all the cool stuff you'll see robot arms you'll see all kinds of manufacturing stuff at every kind of 3D printer there is”
CBAM enables the rapid iteration and experimental testing of prototypes: a shop employee (Cole) was able to print multiple drone propellers and test them at incrementally higher rotational speeds to find the failure point before the propellers exploded
“our our guy Cole loves to do random experimental crazy stuff and so when I walk into the office one day and he's got some big you know Ultra KB motor and he's printed a few props and he's like I'm seeing how fast they go before they explode and I'm like dear God we're safety goggles anyway um yeah don't try this at home don't try this at home”
CBAM-printed parts exhibit a distinctive visual aesthetic with red carbon fiber strands visible in the cross-section, providing both functional reinforcement and visual differentiation from traditional manufactured parts
“I love like the red carbon fiber Pizza”
The host operates high-temperature 3D printing capabilities (high-temp FDM, PEEK, PTSU materials) and provides 3D scanning services as complementary offerings alongside material science consultation
“if you've been following us for a while you know we do high temperature peak old 10 ptsu stuff like that and fdm so when we saw these guys doing Peak carbon fiber parts with a completely different and new process”