EOS, a leading supplier of technology for the industrial 3-D printing of metals and polymers, revealed its Fine Detail Resolution (FDR) technology for processing polymers for the first time at the recent Formnext trade show in Frankfurt; it is the first manufacturer to develop a solution for powder-based industrial 3-D printing using a CO laser.

With this system, it is possible to produce extremely delicate yet robust parts, with fine detail and minimum wall thicknesses of just 0.22mm.

The 50W CO laser being used for FDR creates an ultra-fine laser beam with a focus diameter that is half the size of current SLS technologies.

To date, the certified material PA 1101 has been used in layer thicknesses of 40 and 60µm; this features both high impact resistance and elongation at break — and it is made from renewable raw materials.

Tim Rüttermann, EOS senior vice-president (polymer division) (www.eos.info/en), said: “The new technology will combine the detailed resolution of stereo-lithography (SLA) with the durability and quality of selective laser sintering (SLS).

"In future, depending on application requirements, customers will be able to choose the existing EOS P 500 version with a CO₂ laser for high productivity and material flexibility or the CO laser-based FDR technology for manufacturing extremely delicate components.”