Thermwood has released a Vertical Layer Printing (VLP) option for its LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines. This option allows parts to be printed which are as long as the machine table itself.

It does this by adding a second moving table, mounted perpendicular to the main fixed horizontal table. As layers are printed, this vertical table moves after each layer is printed, growing the part along the length of the machine rather than growing it upward. Thermwood’s “controlled cooling” print technology minimizes sag, which might otherwise pose a serious problem if the part were kept at an elevated temperature, as is common with traditional thermoplastic composite printing.

VLP Example Video

12 Foot Long ABS Trim Fixture for Boeing 777x Aircraft

As previously announced, one of the initial parts printed with this system is a 12 foot long, carbon fiber reinforced ABS trim fixture for use in the production of the Boeing 777X aircraft.

VLP More Info

During development, Thermwood has vertically printed and validated the use of a variety of polymers, including high temperature materials such as PSU, PESU and PEI with good results. It appears that parts printed using VLP are structurally and functionally identical to parts printed in the traditional horizontal layer orientation.

This means that, just as with traditional horizontally printed LSAM parts, molds and tools printed using VLP maintain vacuum in an autoclave to aerospace standards right from the machine, without the need for any type of external coating.

Versatile Vertical Layer Printing

During VLP printing, the growing part rides on Teflon coated stainless steel belts. The belts and table drives (which can be fitted to any LSAM that is at least 20 feet long), have been designed to process parts which weigh up to fifty thousand pounds. Thermwood believes that this is more than adequate for anything customers are considering today.

Print Long Parts in One Piece with VLP

The main advantage of Vertical Layer Printing is that long parts can be printed in one piece.

While it might be faster to print multiple sections of a large part simultaneously, they must then be bonded together so that they can be machined as a single piece. There are some disadvantages to this approach:

• It requires time, labor and effort to machine mating surfaces, glue them together and wait for the adhesive to completely cure.
• It may also require more than one bonding session for a larger part which typically requires more time and effort than simply printing the part in one piece.
• Also, gluing printed parts together generally only works for certain room temperature or low temperature polymers.
• Higher temperature materials are generally chemically and solvent resistant enough that they don’t bond well enough for autoclave use. This means if you want to 3D print a really large autoclave tool using a high temperature polymer, printing it in one piece is the only real option. Thermwood’s VLP now makes this both feasible and practical.

Quick Change from Horizontal to Vertical

VLP has been designed so that the machine can be reconfigured from standard horizontal layer printing to vertical layer printing or back again in a matter of a few hours. It is clear that technology exists, right now today, to 3D print large autoclave capable aerospace tooling on a production basis. Thermwood has already been granted patent protection on key aspects of its Vertical Layer Print technology. 

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 19 separate patents on various aspects of this new technology (several 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. 

The Secret to LSAM Print Quality...A Different Process

Boeing and Thermwood Partner to Demonstrate New 3D Printing Technology

Boeing and Thermwood have employed additive manufacturing technology to produce a large, single-piece tool for the 777X program.  The project is demonstrating that additive manufacturing is ready to produce production quality tooling for the aerospace industry.

Thermwood used a Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) machine and newly developed Vertical Layer Print (VLP) 3D printing technology to fabricate the tool as a one-piece print, eliminating the additional cost and schedule required for assembly of multiple 3D printed tooling components. In the joint demonstration program, Thermwood printed and trimmed the 12-foot-long R&D tool at its southern Indiana demonstration lab and delivered it to Boeing in August 2018.

Boeing Research & Technology engineer Michael Matlack believes the use of Thermwood’s additive manufacturing technology in this application provided a significant advantage, saving weeks of time and enabling delivery of the tool before traditional tooling could be fabricated.

The tool was printed as a single piece from 20% carbon fiber reinforced ABS using the Vertical Layer Print system. Boeing purchased a Thermwood LSAM machine with the VLP functionality for the Interiors Responsibility Center (IRC) facility in Everett, Washington.

The ability to quickly produce large-scale tooling at a quality level suitable for a real world production environment represents a significant step in moving additive technology from the laboratory to the factory floor.

Please click below for video  

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 19 separate patents on various aspects of this new technology (several 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. 

The Secret to LSAM Print Quality...A Different Process

The Thermwood Multi-Purpose Five Axis Series are designed for trimming formed parts, patterns or molds using five-axis simultaneous motions.  

Whether you are interested in a moving table for high-speed plastic trimming, a fixed table for large aerospace/aviation applications or a machine for other applications ranging from patterns and molds/plugs to trimming & machining production products for various industries such as composites using large/heavy fixtures, aluminum and non-ferrous metals, woodworking, automotive, or the defense industries, we have a solution for you.

Multi-Purpose 67

The Multi-Purpose 67 is a versatile five axis CNC router available with a variety of either single or dual moving aluminum table sizes.

Model 67 7x10 Single Moving Table

Model 67 5x10 Dual Moving Tables

Videos

Multi-Purpose 90

The Multi-Purpose 90 is a heavy-duty, high-speed five-axis CNC router designed for trimming and pattern machining, available in single or dual moving aluminum tables.

Model 90 5x12 Dual Moving Tables

Model 90 10x5 Single Moving Table

Videos

Multi-Purpose 77

The Multi-Purpose 77 is a heavy-duty, high-speed contained system for the machining of large materials (various sizes available). 

Videos

Multi-Purpose 70

The Multi-Purpose 70 is a heavy-duty CNC router designed for applications utilizing large/heavy fixtures (various sizes available).

Model 70 10x20 Fixed Table

Model 70 10x10 Fixed Table

Video

More Info

Thermwood CNC machines are used across a wide variety of Industries.  One Thermwood Customer – Universal Plastics and Mayfield Plastics - are involved in the thermoforming of plastic materials.

Since Universal Plastics was founded in 1965, they have been a leader in the thermoforming industry.

The Universal plant has over 95,000 square feet and over 80 employees.  As Universal Plastics has grown, they have refined and further developed the thermoforming process to allow the manufacture of large and complex products that could never have been conceived in the previous generation. Today’s thermoformed products can match the quality and finish of injection molding, in high performance plastics, and in sizes that dwarf the capabilities of most molders.

Universal utilizes Thermwood CNC machines for trimming of complex thermoformed parts as well as producing thermoforming tooling.  In fact, Universal and Mayfield Plastics have purchased 10 Thermwood C67 machines in the last seven years.

Thermoforming tooling can be built from wood, composite, cast aluminum, or machined aluminum billet. Temporary molds are commonly built of wood or composites, which can be easily machined. Permanent tools are either machined or cast aluminum, depending on the depth of the tool. Thermoforming tools can be modified easily, so changes can be made quickly and for much less money than the hardened steel tooling typical of molded parts.  For this reason alone, thermoforming is often the better process if your design hasn’t been solidified.

Universal believes quality parts are a direct result of quality tools, and take great pride in making quality machined or cast aluminum tools that deliver consistent quality products year after year. Our 5 full time toolmakers have a combined 100 years’ experience in tool and fixture making and they build many of tools in-house.

Mold makers use cast aluminum molds for larger quantities production. Aluminum molds are designed by CAD designers.  Once designed, these mold designs are transferred to Thermwood CNC routers that produce the patterns required for the final mold.

Also of note, the Western Mass Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association conduct several tours of member companies each year to give the membership a view of the diversity of the companies that do machining.  About 25 members of the WMNTMA visited Universal in February for a tour of their facility and in particular, to review the mold making and machining capabilities. Universal produces about 30% of their tooling and the balance is purchased from tool vendors around the country and area.

The Western Mass chapter has machine shops as well as vendors to the machining industry in their membership.

The Thermwood Multi-Purpose Five Axis Series combines all the elements needed for the machining of large aerospace and composite materials as well as trimming and machining large format patterns and molds/plugs for the aviation and defense industries.

Here we look at the Thermwood Model 77 and Model 70.  These heavy-duty, high-speed, moving gantry machines are ideal for machining of large applications using large/heavy fixtures.

Multi-Purpose 77

The Multi-Purpose 77 is a heavy-duty, high-speed contained system for the machining of large aerospace and composite materials (various sizes available):

Features:

• 12HP HSD Tool Change Spindle (3,000-24,000 RPM Spindle) (other spindles available)
• Impact Resistant 5 Axis Head 
• 36" Z (other sizes available)
• 10 Position Rotary Tool Change System
• Full 5 Axis Simultaneous Motion
• Fixed Drill and Tapped Aluminum Table
• Conventional Style Vacuum Plumbing
• Heavy Duty Access Doors
• Tool Center Point Programming (TCP)
• Rapid Speed: 3500 inches per minute
• Moving Gantry
• Thermwood Q Core SuperControl
• Siemens Intelligent Servo Drives Throughout
• Volumetric 3D Laser Compensated Axis Alignment
• Automatic Tool Length Sensor
• Chip Collection
• Multi-Function Nemi Pod Table
• Machine Training and Installation
• Free Lifetime Phone/Forum Support 

Model 77 10x20 Fixed Table

Videos (please click images to view videos on our blog)

Multi-Purpose 70

The Multi-Purpose 70 is designed for aerospace and composite applications utilizing large/heavy fixtures (various sizes available):

Features:

• 12HP HSD Tool Changer Spindle (3,000-24,000 RPM larger spindle sizes available)
• Impact Resistant 5 Axis Head 
• Fixed Aluminum Table
• Moving Gantry
• 24" Z Standard (available up to 60")
• Full 5 Axis Simultaneous Motion
• Siemens Intelligent Servo Drives Throughout
• 3D Laser Compensated Axis Alignment
• Thermwood QCore SuperControl
• Tool Center Point Programming (TCP)
• Chip Collection System
• Multi-Function Nemi Pod Table 
• In the Leg Tool Changer 
• Bar Style Tool Changer
• Automatic Lubrication
• Automatic Tool Length Sensor

Model 70 10x20 Fixed Table

Model 70 10x10 Fixed Table

Videos (please click images to view videos on our blog)

More Info

To find out more about either of these two machines, or any of our other 5 axis offerings, please give us a call at 1-800-533-6901 or click below to fill out an information request form.  We hope to hear from you soon!