Nanores

Project idea was born from the critical necessity for Rapid Manufacturing (RM) based technologies to expand radically their field of impact in current manufacturing technologies. This can be performed basically via radical innovations in the materials base used in polymer based RM and/or via radical innovations in the area of processes (quite long, risky and highly demanding). 
The introduction of nano materials is a challenge with large future. Even though polymer is the most processed type of material in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), the consolidation phenomena and properties invoke for new polymer grades. The fact that the raw materials used are powders (grain size 10-100 µm) and the nano materials state of the art encourage the promising application for SLS polymers.
STEPUP through a close interaction between design, material, technology and the RM multidisciplinary expertises promotes a radical innovation on RM materials.

An innovative mechano-chemical approach (based on the high energy ball milling technology) will be used for the development of these innovative polymer based SLS matrixes, in which mechanical and thermal properties will be drastically improved as a result of three different mechano-chemical strengthening actions on polymers:

Mechano-chemical strengthening actions on polymers

• Structural modification (up to nanopolymers stage) using a currently widely used polymer like Polyammide (“nanoPA” will be produced);
• Alloying (at nanoscale) with different polymers to tune mechanical properties and especially elongation at fracture;
• Nanocharging of polymers (development of nanocomposites) to further tune and reach the required (from users) specifications and aims.

Moving from this background, the project will make a real, LARGE, step up in polymers and composites properties by including nano features into the base materials and the final products.
STEPUP project will provide innovative SLS polymer systems (mainly PA based) enabled to create “final products” through the employment of the new nanopolymers/nanocomposites using the current existing technologies for Rapid manufacturing.
The improvement of material mechanical thermal and conductive properties will be function of the milling conditions, the nanocharges nature and their amount.

Research and development efforts will be addressed primarily to improve radically the mechanical properties of SLS polymers. From the technological point of view of RM manufacturing process only marginal developments needs on RM machines are expected.
The final products will benefit from radically extended performances (i.e. operating temperatures, increased strength.). In this way it will be possible, using existing prototyping machines, to realize direct automated and customised freeform manufacturing technologies, to enlarge the range of possible applications (from vehicle applications to medical instrumentation and consumer goods) and to increase the production of parts and products from small to medium size batches.

The proposal includes significant demonstration elements in various industrial sectors via one large end-user (BMW), one job shop company (+90) and one service bureau (INSPIRE).