Thermwood will be exhibiting in next week's Aerodef show in Fort Worth, TX

Posted by Duane Marrett on Thu, Mar 12, 2020

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, Trade Shows, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, AeroDef


Thermwood LSAM Series Machines

Thermwood will be at AeroDef 2020Aerodef 2020 (March 17th and 18th) in Fort Worth, TX, starts next week, and Thermwood will be there (Booth #615) to talk LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing).

We will have the the 18 1/2 foot long Bell Helicopter Blade Mold on hand in addition to other 3D printed samples to see and touch as well as videos and literature.  Our knowledgeable sales staff will also be on hand to help answer any questions you may have about the future of Large Scale Additive Manufacturing and how the Thermwood LSAM can help your company charge ahead in this new area. 

18 1/2 foot long Bell Helicopter Blade Mold

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

 

Thermwood Announces Another New LSAM Model

Posted by Duane Marrett on Thu, Mar 05, 2020

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, LSAM 1010

Thermwood recently announced the LSAM MT, a lower cost moving table version of its industry-leading LSAM (large scale additive system). Although Thermwood has hundreds of open moving table CNC routers in operation, similar in configuration to the MT, and believes this configuration will also work for many LSAM customers, several larger customers requested an enclosed machine configuration that is the same size as the MT, but configured like the larger LSAM high wall systems. 

To address this request for a lower cost enclosed machine, Thermwood has announced the LSAM 1010. This system uses the walls from the larger LSAM systems with the gantry, control and sub-systems from the MT.


The new LSAM 1010 has both the print and trim heads on same the gantry just like the LSAM MT.
The new LSAM 1010 has both the print and trim heads on same the gantry just like the LSAM MT.

The new LSAM 1010 has both the print and trim heads on same the gantry just like the LSAM MT.


The Details

A single moving gantry on the LSAM 1010 carries both the print and trim heads just like on the MT.
A single moving gantry on the LSAM 1010 carries both the print and trim heads just like on the MT.

The LSAM 1010 features a fixed 10 foot by 10 foot table. A single moving gantry carries both the print and trim heads as on the MT and, like the MT, it can both print and trim (but not at the same time). The print and trim heads on all Thermwood LSAMs are the same, so all machines can process virtually any reinforced composite thermoplastic materials available today.

The print and trim heads on all Thermwood LSAMs are the same, so all machines can process virtually any reinforced composite thermoplastic materials available today.
The print and trim heads on all Thermwood LSAMs are the same, so all machines can process virtually any reinforced composite thermoplastic materials available today.

Although the LSAM 1010 is slightly higher in price than the MT, it is noticeably less than the larger LSAMs and generally less than the cost and complexity of trying to add an external enclosure to the MT.

In addition, even though the LSAM 1010 is slightly wider than the larger LSAMs (to accommodate mounting both the print and trim heads on the same gantry), the overall footprint of the 1010 is actually slightly smaller than required for the MT. And, like the MT, the 1010 can be purchased as a print only machine. 

Thermwood believes that, since it is enclosed like the larger LSAMs, the LSAM 1010 can be built to meet European CE requirements, just like the larger machines.

With the introduction of the LSAM 1010, it is clear that Thermwood is committed to responding to customer requests and providing its industry-leading LSAM additive manufacturing technology in a variety of configurations to better fit varying customer requirements.

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.


Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

CGTech and Thermwood Team up to Simulate Additive & Hybrid Machining

Posted by Duane Marrett on Thu, Feb 27, 2020

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, LSAM MT, CGTech, Vericut, Simulation

CGTech, makers of industry leading VERICUT software, has partnered with Thermwood to simulate both the additive 3-D Printing and subtractive machining capabilities of their LSAM machines.

LSAM is designed for large scale 3-D printing of thermoplastic polymers. Thermwood’s LSAM machines utilize unique patented technology to produce the highest quality thermoplastic polymer printed structures available. The machines feature both additive and subtractive heads to accommodate printing and trimming of large scale “near net shape” parts on the same machine. Thermwood’s LSAM machines are available in Dual Gantry and Moving Table models, in a variety of sizes. Both systems can process high temperature polymers which are ideal for autoclave capable tooling or compression molds for thermoset materials.

"We have over 55 patented features (and over a dozen more pending) that set the LSAM apart from any other large scale additive system available today.  Features like our chilled roller wheel, vertical layer printing system and LSAM Print 3D software make us the clear leader in large scale additive manufacturing,” says Dennis Palmer, Vice President of Sales at Thermwood. "VERICUT is an important tool to use with LSAM.  It assures that the tool path is correct, eliminating the possibility of expensive mishaps."

Vericut LSAM simulation

VERICUT's Additive module simulates both additive 3-D printing and traditional machining capabilities of hybrid CNC machines to verify that the full manufacturing process will work,and the finished part matches the intended engineered design. VERICUT simulates adding or cutting, in any sequence, making it the perfect solution for verification, simulation and optimization of Thermwood's industrial LSAM machines.

Vericut LSAM simulation

CGTech’s VERICUT Product Manger, Gene Granata, says “CGTech is thrilled to be working closely with the Thermwood team to provide the highest degree of simulation possible for their large scale additive machines. VERICUT’s Additive and hybrid simulation software is a perfect match for the LSAM’s highly versatile and capable environment."

Vericut LSAM simulation

To learn more about the partnership and see an LSAM simulation in action, click here.

About CGTech

About CGTechCGTech’s VERICUT® software is the standard for CNC simulation, verification, optimization, analysis, and additive manufacturing. CGTech also offers programming and simulation software for composites automated fiber-placement, tape-laying, and drilling/fastening CNC machines. VERICUT software is used by companies of different sizes in all industries. Established in 1988, and headquartered in Irvine, California; CGTech has offices worldwide. For more information: visit the CGTech website at cgtech.com, call (949) 753-1050, or email info@cgtech.com.

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

Thermwood offers a full line of LSAM sizes to fit almost any application
LSAM line of Additive Manufacturing Machines


Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

Thermwood Promotes Jennifer Watt to Chief Legal Officer

Posted by Duane Marrett on Fri, Dec 20, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, Employees, Promotions

jennifer_watt_headshot_800_wideThermwood Corporation is pleased to announce the appointment and promotion of Jennifer Watt as its Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Vice President. In this role, Ms. Watt has oversight of all legal aspects of the company and its corporate governance.  Jennifer previously served as Vice President and General Counsel for the company.  Prior to joining Thermwood, Jennifer was an Associate with the Indianapolis based law firm of Kroger, Gardis & Regas and the Chicago based law firm of Leo & Weber. 

Jennifer earned her J.D. degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.  She is a licensed member of the Indiana and Illinois Bar Associations. 

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

Thermwood Christmas Party 2019

Posted by Duane Marrett on Tue, Dec 17, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, Christmas Party, Thanks

Our annual Christmas party was held this past weekend, and it was a fun time for everyone to gather together and enjoy great food, music and fellowship.  Our entertainment was provided by the GTP band (featuring two Thermwood employees), and several other personnel sat in with the band on a few songs.  A good time was had by all!

Thermwood employees relax and enjoy the annual Christmas party.Socializing before the meal

Thermwood employees relax and enjoy the annual Christmas party.A fun night to catch up with each other

Thermwood employees relax and enjoy the annual Christmas party.Time to eat!

IMG_20191214_191411-1Thermwood - Celebrating 50 Years in 2019!

IMG_20191214_205327-1David Hildenbrand - President of Thermwood, plays "Brown Eyed Girl" with the band!

steve_sissley_singingElectrical Dept Assistant Supervisor, Steve Sisley, sings some Johnny Cash with the band!

duane_srv_2_christmas_party-1Duane Marrett, VP of Marketing, plays some Stevie Ray Vaughan with the band!

IMG_20191214_220801-1A good time was had by all!

As we head into the new year, we are very grateful for all of the positive business that we've enjoyed in 2019, and encouraged that 2020 promises to be even better!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us here at Thermwood!

PC_Thermwood_HolidayGreeting_Color-1

Thermwood Structural Changes and Promotions

Posted by Duane Marrett on Thu, Dec 12, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, Employees, Promotions

Thermwood, who has been producing CNC routers longer than anyone else, is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. It is also experiencing unprecedented growth. 

Much of this growth is attributed to the success of its new large scale additive manufacturing systems. Called LSAM (L-Sam), these are industrial sized 3D printers, some capable of printing composite parts up to forty feet long and weighing several tons. These machines are currently producing large composite structures from the chassis of an autonomous urban bus to tooling for the production of the interior of modern jet aircraft. 

These systems are transforming the company, resulting in structural management changes and new advancement opportunities.  

Thermwood Appoints Jason Susnjara as Executive Vice President

Thermwood Appoints Jason Susnjara as Executive Vice President

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Jason Susnjara to Executive Vice President. Jason has been with Thermwood since 1995 and has held numerous positions, most recently as Vice President of Marketing.  He is also on Thermwood’s board of directors.

In this new position he will oversee and manage Thermwood’s technology, engineering, manufacturing and marketing operations. Thermwood operates a complex manufacturing operation, building some of the most technically sophisticated industrial products built today. In his new position Jason will manage the operation and expansion of these activities to support ongoing growth.

Jason resides in southern Indiana with his wife April and their three children. 

Thermwood Appoints Brian Smiddy as Vice President of Product Development

Thermwood Appoints Brian Smiddy as Vice President of Product DevelopmentWe are pleased to announce the promotion of Brian Smiddy to Vice President of Product Development.  He has been with Thermwood since 1995 and has managed the engineering department over the past 17 years.

In this new position, Brian will be responsible for new technology development and incorporation of that technology into Thermwood’s product line and production processes. In the past three years Brian has assisted in activities that have generated over 50 patents on new technical developments. In his new position, he will be able to focus more directly on these vital activities.

Brian resides in southern Indiana with his wife Michanne and daughter. 

Thermwood Appoints Larry Epplin as Vice President of Software Development

Thermwood Appoints Larry Epplin as Vice President of Software DevelopmentWe are pleased to announce the promotion of Larry Epplin to Vice President of Software Development.  He has been with Thermwood since 2000 developing and managing the Company’s cabinet design software products. 

In this new position, Larry will manage the development of Thermwood’s software product line, including integrating a type of artificial intelligence into Thermwood’s CNC control so that cabinet makers can produce and almost unlimited number of products without needing a CNC programmer. He will also oversee continued development of Thermwood’s industry leading industrial 3D printing software and manage a network of thousands of cabinet shops currently using Thermwood software to design their products and run their shops.

Larry resides in southern Indiana with his wife Kristi.

Thermwood Promotes Duane Marrett to Vice President of Marketing

Thermwood Promotes Duane Marrett to Vice President of MarketingWe are pleased to announce the promotion of Duane Marrett to Vice President of Marketing.  Duane’s career at Thermwood began in 1998 in the engineering department as a technical writer. He has held positions with ever increasing responsibility in various marketing functions. In his most recent position, he developed and managed the company web site, interacted with traditional and social media along with creating promotional videos, issuing product releases and conducting market analytics for the company. 

In Duane’s new position, he will manage Thermwood’s overall marketing function including development and execution of trade show exhibitions around the world and overall management of company functions.

Duane resides in southern Indiana with his wife Carrie and son.

Thermwood Promotes John Fuquay to Manager of Engineering

Thermwood Promotes John Fuquay to Manager of EngineeringWe are also pleased to announce the promotion of John Fuquay to the Manager of Engineering.  He has been with Thermwood since 2003 in engineering, designing products and providing documentation for production.

In his new position John will manage the engineering department, implementing new product designs, maintaining the extensive engineering database and providing engineering support to manufacturing.


John resides in southern Indiana with his wife Rachael and their two sons.

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

Thermwood Introduces New LSAM Model

Posted by Duane Marrett on Mon, Nov 18, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, LSAM MT

At its 50th Anniversary Gala Open House, Thermwood introduced and demonstrated an all new LSAM additive manufacturing machine model, offering even more choices for large scale additive manufacturing applications. Called LSAM MT, the new machine offers an all new configuration and significant advantages in certain applications.

Crowds watch the LSAM MT demonstration at the Thermwood 50th Anniversary Gala Open House

Crowds watch the LSAM MT demonstration at the Thermwood 50th Anniversary Gala Open House

Video

Please click below to see a video of the LSAM MT in action!

 

The Details

Unlike standard LSAM systems, which feature dual gantries operating over a large fixed table, the MT (which stands for “Moving Table”) features a single fixed gantry mounted over a moving table. Available with a 10x10 foot table, this configuration offers several significant advantages, not the least of which is a dramatically lower price.

Despite the lower price, the LSAM MT is still a massive, robust industrial production machine capable of reliable, day in and day out production. Unlike standard LSAM systems, the MT can be configured as a “Print Only” machine. The logic for this is simple.

Despite the lower price, the LSAM MT is still a massive, robust industrial production machine

Despite the lower price, the LSAM MT is still a massive, robust industrial production machine

New Options

Near net shape printed tools dramatically reduce machining time for many companies currently machining tools from solid blocks of material. This frees up significant machining capacity which is already purchased and installed. For these companies, it makes no sense to purchase additional machining capacity with their additive system, since the change to additive frees up more than enough existing capacity to handle everything they can print. With this in mind, Thermwood decided to offer both “Print and Trim” and a “Print Only” versions of the MT.

The MT is available with a 10 foot by 10 foot table. The 10 x 10 machine actually has a 10 x 12 foot table with a 10 x 10 working area. The extra 2 foot is used to mount an optional Vertical Layer Print table. The 10 x 10 foot MT can be equipped with a new version of Thermwood’s patented Vertical Layer Printing technology. This means that it can make parts up to 10'x10' by 5 foot high using traditional Horizontal Layer Printing or, 5'x10' by 10 foot high using Vertical Layer Printing.

Since the print technology and print heads used on the MT are the same as used on the larger machines it offers the same throughput, print quality and layer to layer fusion that has made LSAM the leader in large scale additive manufacturing. As with the larger systems, the MT can process high temperature polymers which are ideal for autoclave capable tooling or compression molds for thermoset materials.

The large demonstration part printed at the open house is one of twenty similar parts which when combined become a production mold for a large yacht hull

The large demonstration part printed at the open house is one of twenty similar parts which when combined become a production mold for a large yacht hull

With the same print technology as used on the larger LSAM machines, the MT offers the same throughput, print quality and layer to layer fusion that has made LSAM the leader in large scale additive manufacturing
With the same print technology as used on the larger LSAM machines, the MT offers the same throughput, print quality and layer to layer fusion that has made LSAM the leader in large scale additive manufacturing

The LSAM MT is the ideal additive machine for a variety of exciting new applications

The LSAM MT is the ideal additive machine for a variety of exciting new applications

Things to Consider

With the addition of the MT, selecting the best size and configuration for an LSAM may not be quite as straightforward as it first appears. It depends on two major factors plus some additional considerations. The major factors are the material being printed and the size of the parts needed. Of these two, the material being printed is the most significant.

Thermwood offers a full line of LSAM sizes to fit almost any application

Thermwood offers a full line of LSAM sizes to fit almost any application

For purposes of machine selection, reinforced thermoplastic composite materials for room temperature or low temperature applications such as foundry patterns, boat plugs, boat and yacht molds, building structures and the like can generally be bonded securely with a variety of industrial adhesives. For these type of parts, even for really large parts, the smaller less expensive machine may be a better choice. The part can be separated into sections which can be printed individually and bonded into the final, potentially extremely large structure.

Although it seems counter-intuitive, this approach can be faster than printing the large structure as a single piece on a larger, more expensive machine. To better understand this we turn to the basics of the print process. Additive manufactured parts are printed in layers. The speed at which a layer can be printed depends primarily on how long it takes for the polymer being printed to cool enough to support the next layer. This layer cooling time depends on the polymer and is not affected by the size of the part. Each layer of a particular polymer takes the same amount of time, regardless of how big it is.

LSAM print heads can print faster, sometimes significantly faster than needed for most parts. Often it can print two three or more parts in the cooling time required for each layer. The large machine is only printing a single part, one layer at a time, making it two or three time slower. To print the part in one piece, the large machine must operate continuously, around the clock, sometimes for days.  This is not a problem for factories that operate on all three shifts but can present staffing problems for single shift operations. With the MT, several different segments of the same part can often be printed in a single shift. Depending on the item being printed, it is possible to print as much in a single shift as the large machine, printing a single part, can do in 24 hours.

For large parts made from bondable materials, often the smaller, less expensive machine is a better choice.

Materials intended for high temperature applications, PSU, PESU, PEI, Ultem, etc. generally are resistant enough to solvents that they can’t be effectively bonded. Even if they could, few if any, adhesives exist that can withstand the operating temperature or the thermal cycling these materials experience. For these applications, the machine needs to be large enough to print the part in one piece, even though it could be slower. This is where larger machine configurations are needed. The larger machines also offer the ability to print and trim at the same time, which may be beneficial in some circumstances.

Since the print heads are the same on all Thermwood LSAMs, the smaller MT can be used for these high temperature parts, provided they fit in the available envelope.

Just like the standard LSAMs, the MT comes complete, fully engineered with everything needed for production operation. 

About Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

10’ x 10’ LSAM MT (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing)
10’ x 10’ LSAM MT (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing)


Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

Thermwood and Purdue Successfully Compression Mold Parts Using Printed Tooling

Posted by Duane Marrett on Mon, Nov 11, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, Announcements, Purdue, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, Compression


Thermwood and Purdue’s Composite Manufacturing & Simulation Center have been working together to develop and test methods of using 3D printed composite molds for the compression molding of thermoset parts. They have just announced that they have successfully been able to compression mold test parts using 3D printed composite tooling.

Thermwood and Purdue’s Composite Manufacturing & Simulation Center have been working together to develop and test methods of using 3D printed composite molds for the compression molding of thermoset parts. They have just announced that they have successfully been able to compression mold test parts using 3D printed composite tooling.

Final part has over 50% carbon fiber volume

The test part, a half scale thrust reverser blocker door for a jet engine, was designed at Purdue and is approximately 10x13x2 inch in size. The two-part matched compression mold for the part was 3D printed using Techmer PM 25% carbon fiber reinforced PESU at Thermwood, using its LSAM large scale additive manufacturing system.

The mold halves were then machined to final size and shape on the same system. The completed tool was next taken to Purdue’s Composite Manufacturing & Simulation Center, in West Lafayette Indiana, where it was mounted to their 250 ton compression press. Parts were then molded from Dow’s new Vorafuse prepreg platelet material system with over 50% carbon fiber volume fraction.

The Details

Both halves of the mold were printed at the same time during a single 2 hour and 34 minute print cycle. When using Thermwood’s “continuous cooling” print process, the polymer cooling determines the cycle time for each layer, allowing both halves to be printed in the same time it would take to print one half (since both parts could be printed in the layer cooling time available).

Both halves of the mold were printed in less then 3 hours

Both halves of the mold were printed in less than 3 hours

Machining, however, must be done in the traditional manner, one part at a time, although there is an advantage to machining printed parts. Since the part is printed to near net shape, the overall amount of material that must be removed is significantly less than if the tool was machined from a solid block. Machining of the two mold halves required an additional 27 hours.

The first attempt at compression molding was not successful, but techniques were developed to account for the mechanical and thermal conductivity characteristics of the polymer print material and a second attempt produced acceptable parts.

The team determined that using printed composite molds in a compression press does require a significantly different approach than a tool for the same part machined from a block of metal. First, the tool must be internally heated since the polymer composite doesn’t transmit heat as well as metal. Thermwood developed a technique for deep hole boring of the printed composite part using the trim head on its LSAM machine, allowing the deep insertion of cartridge heaters.

A special heat control allows the temperature of various areas of the tool to be controlled independently, helping address the challenge of balancing the thermal characteristics of the thermoplastic composite mold with the processing temperature requirements of the thermoset material being processed.

Printed polymer composite mold must be heated and reinforced

Printed polymer composite mold must be heated and reinforced

Printed polymer composite mold must be heated and reinforced

Printed polymer composite mold must be heated and reinforced

Also, the outside of the mold must be reinforced so that the composite polymer used for the mold itself is under only compression loads and not tension during the molding operation, since forces developed during molding are greater than the tensile strength of the composite polymers used for the mold. This approach has successfully withstood molding pressure of 1,500 PSI during initial testing and the team believes even higher pressures are possible.

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Parts were made on Purdue’s 250 ton compression press

Final Thoughts

Both Thermwood and Purdue believe this is an important first step in bringing additive manufacturing to compression molding. The speed and relatively low cost of printed compression tools has the potential to significantly modify current industry practices. Printed tools are ideal for prototyping and can potentially avoid problems with long lead time, expensive production tools by validating the design before a final version is built.

Additional development effort will be needed to further refine tool design and broaden the range of parts that this process will support, but all parties involved believe that this project demonstrates the viability of the basic approach.

Potential applications in the auto industry include prototyping and production tool verification. Because of high volume requirements for auto production, it is unlikely that these tools would function adequately for full production use, but actual useful production life is still unknown. It will require additional testing to determine just how many parts can be molded from an additive manufactured compression mold and what the ultimate failure mode actually is.

In aerospace, parts tend to be much larger and production volumes much lower, so it is possible that printed compression molds could find actual production use for larger, lower volume aerospace components, perhaps replacing open face tools and autoclaves for certain parts.

The relatively low cost and fast build rate of these additive molds significantly alters the decision matrix and timeline for developing new products using compression molding.

Purdue’s Composites Manufacturing & Simulation Center

The Composites Manufacturing & Simulation Center (CMSC) is a bridge between the academic and industrial communities, connecting the global composites industry and Indiana manufacturing to Purdue University.  The CMSC research is driven by industry needs and grounded in academic rigor.  Global sponsors and partners include aerospace and automotive OEMs, Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, materials suppliers, wind turbine manufacturers, and commercial software providers.  The CMSC is a collaboration of the College of Engineering and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and is a Purdue University Center of Excellence.

State-of-the-art manufacturing and characterization facilities provide a one-stop-shop for composites design, manufacturing, prototyping and model validation.  Finally, the CMSC is dedicated to training engineers across the entire composites community in composites manufacturing and simulation.

Thermwood Corporation

Thermwood is a US based, multinational, diversified CNC machinery manufacturer that markets its products and services through offices in 11 countries. Thermwood is the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible 3 & 5 axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers.

Thermwood has also become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. These are some of the largest and most capable additive manufacturing systems ever produced and are marketed to major companies in the aerospace, marine, automotive and foundry industries as well as military, government and defense contractors.

Thermwood 10'x20' LSAM

10’ x 20’ LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing)


Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

Another Thermwood LSAM 10'x40' is Ready to Ship Out!

Posted by Duane Marrett on Fri, Oct 11, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, 3D printing, Additive, LSAM, 3D Print, Thermwood LSAM, Additive Manufacturing

Another Thermwood LSAM 10'x40' featuring optional VLP (Vertical Layer Printing) capability is ready to be packed up and shipped out! Look how small this massive LSAM makes the Model 70 10'x30' in production next to it look!
More Info on LSAM: http://bit.ly/2KheM0r

Overhead view of another 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM ready to be packed up and shipped out!
Overhead view of another 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM ready to be packed up and shipped out!


Some of the guys who helped build this latest LSAM pose with the machine.
Some of the guys who helped build this latest LSAM pose with the machine.


Looking down the table from the trim side to the print side of this 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.
Looking down the table from the trim side to the print side of this 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.


Optional VLP (Vertical Layer Printing) on this latest 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.
Optional VLP (Vertical Layer Printing) on this latest 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.


Perspective!
Perspective!


Another view from the trim side of this latest 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.
Another view from the trim side of this latest 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.


Look how small this massive LSAM makes the Model 70 10'x30' in production next to it look!Look how small this massive LSAM makes the Model 70 10'x30' in production next to it look!


A quick side-view of this latest 10'x40' Thermwood LSAM.


More Information on LSAM

LSAM is based on exciting new technology developed from an entirely new direction.

LSAM is intended for industrial production. It is not a lab, evaluation or demonstration machine, but is instead a full-fledged industrial additive manufacturing system intended for the production of large scale components.

Thermwood has already applied for over 45 separate patents on various aspects of this new technology (more than half of which have already been granted) and more will be coming as development continues. LSAM is truly “state of the art” in this exciting new world of Large Scale Additive Manufacturing. 

LSAM produces superior printed parts.

Click for More Info on the Thermwood LSAM

Watch a Thermwood 3 Axis High-Performance Heavy-Duty Model 45 Machine an Aluminum Pyramid

Posted by Duane Marrett on Thu, Oct 10, 2019

Tags: Thermwood, aluminum, High Performance, Model 45, Video, Heavy Duty

dual_spindle_m45_lg.jpgThe Thermwood Multi-Purpose 45 is a heavy-duty, high-performance three axis CNC router designed for real-world production.

Available in either single or dual spindles (with optional rotary axis), the Model 45 is used in the machining of composites, tooling boards, plastic sheets, aluminum, cabinets, solid wood, millwork, phenolic, display fixtures, nested based panels and much more.  

This versatile machine is available in a variety of table sizes and has enough standard features and options to get the job done.

The Details

This part was programmed in MasterCam 2019 and had over 50,000 lines of code.  The roughing pass used a dynamic Optirough tool and was ran at 17,000 RPM and 600 Inches Per Minute.

Click below to watch a Thermwood 3 Axis High-Performance Heavy-Duty Model 45 5'x 10' machine a pyramid out of aluminum. 

Video

Features of the Model 45:

  • 12 HP HSD Spindle (3,000-24,000 RPM). Optional 18 HP Spindle
  • 4 Position Bar Style Automatic Tool Changer. Optional 7 Position
  • Optional Rotary Axis (accepts stock from 8" (200mm) in diameter and up to 56" (1.4m) in length)
  • Fixed Steel High Flow Table with Moving Gantry (sizes from 5'x5' to 7'x12')
  • Multi-Function Table (pod system capable) (Optional)
  • At the Head Automatic Tool Changer (Optional)
  • Extended Z Clearance and Stroke (Optional)
  • Optional Pod System Available
  • Optional Pause Mats Available
  • Automatic Lubrication (optional)
  • Automatic Tool Length Measurement (Optional)
  • Three-Dimensional Laser Compensated Axis Alignment
  • Control Nesting
  • Siemens Intelligent Servo Drives Throughout
  • QCore SuperControl
  • Machine Training and Installation
  • Free Lifetime Phone/Forum Support

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