Home » Misc » 3D print foam

3D print foam


FreeFoam, a Revolutionary, Expandable 3D Printable Resin Designed for Volume Production of Foam Parts

Team DM

Platforms

Metal and composites 3D printing 3D printing solutions for health care Industrial-grade polymer 3D printing

™

Sand and tooling 3D printing solutions 3D printers for sheet metal

Materials

Breakthrough photopolymer development Advancing 3D printed upcycled wood

Apps & More

The hydraulic additive manufacturing experts Multi-material powder recoating technology Driving digital transformation in dentistry

_Articles

Revolutionary, Expandable 3D Printable Resin Designed for Volume Production of Foam Parts

  • Download Spec Sheet

FreeFoam is a new family of photopolymer resins that produces durable and dimensionally accurate closed cell foam parts without tooling – delivering all-new benefits for the automotive, furnishing, footwear, sporting goods, health care and other industries.

Manufacturing Closed Cell Foam without Tooling in an All-New 3D Printing Process

FreeFoam is a new family of photopolymer resins containing heat-activated foaming agents that are 3D printed with Digital Light Processing (DLP). After printing, FreeFoam parts are briefly put into an oven where the foaming agent creates closed cells inside the material in a tightly controlled process. FreeFoam can be programmed to expand a specific amount between 2 to 7 times its original printed size – allowing parts to be shipped in a compact form and expanded on-demand in an oven close to the final point of use or assembly, saving shipping and inventory expenses.

While 3D printers today can process photopolymers into lattice designs that simulate foams, FreeFoam is a true foam containing closed cells that can be printed in as a lattice or as a fully dense design – delivering benefits for a wide range of industrial applications.

See How FreeFoam Works

Your browser does not support the video tag.

[VIDEO]

Delivering all-new benefits for the automotive, furnishing, footwear, sporting goods, health care and other industries.

FreeFoam 3D Printing Production offers a variety of benefits that will change the foam production market.

  • 3D prints closed-cell foam products in any volume without tooling
  • Manufacture complex foam designs with ease, from lattice designs up to fully dense foam, without trimming or significant waste
  • Print your design on a DLP resin 3D printer and then expand the design with accuracy during foaming in an oven at 160-170°C (320-340°F)
  • Lightweight existing foam designs to improve product efficiency and reduce shipping costs. You can even ship your foam parts compact and expand or foam them at the final point of assembly or use
  • Innovative new material delivers a high strength-to-weight ratio
  • Iterate designs as desired, without the penalty of changing tooling

  • Standard automotive seating 3D printed in FreeFoam, developed in partnership with Camaco.

  • This all-new process allows 3D printers to produce much larger final foam parts than the printers’ original build areas and will enable foam products to be shipped at compact sizes and expanded at the final point of assembly or commercial use.

  • Manufacture complex foam designs with ease, from lattice designs up to fully dense foam

Expandable 3D Printable Resin Designed for Volume Production of Foam Parts

FreeFoam is part of the recently launched DuraChain™ category of one-part, one-pot photopolymers that delivers breakthrough elastic and tough material properties through a Photo Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation (Photo PIPS) process. When illuminated during DLP printing, these materials phase separate at the nano level into a material that cures into a resilient, high-performance polymer network. DuraChain enables FreeFoam parts to be foamed with control in an oven without a mold.

FreeFoam will initially be 3D printable exclusively on the ETEC Xtreme 8K top-down DLP system from Desktop Metal’s polymer 3D printing brand.

  • FreeFoam resins contain a heat-activated foaming agent, and are 3D printed into parts like other resins with Digital Light Processing (DLP). However, these parts expand controlled air pores during a quick oven cycle, expanding the part 2-7 times their original size.

Keep Up with the Latest News

Sign Up for Access

Using 3D printed foam & microporous morphology

ARTICLE

Read more

The hole story of 3D-printed foam

Additive manufacturing has long sought a solution to two of the biggest restrictions often faced with traditional materials: rigidity and heaviness. Today, 3D-printed foam and microporous morphology solve for both.

What isn’t there is what makes it great

3D-printed foam is achieved when you print a structure that has breathable pores. It can be firm or pliable, and water-soluble or not, all of which solve common problems faced in 3D printing. In the context of additive manufacturing, microporous morphology is achieved when you print a structure with extremely small pores. For example, Infinite™ Material Solution's Caverna™ PP material has a pore size of 1-4µm (microns).

From the factory floor to the operating room and beyond

3D-printed foam works better than standard cellular materials in terms of durability and long-term mechanical performance, making it an ideal resource in a variety of industries, including transportation, medicine, and aeronautics.

Moving technology forward

From armrests and tray tables to hand breaks and air filters, many interior parts in autos, plane cabins, and train cars require soft, lightweight, and spongy materials.  

 

In 2019, all of the Formula 1 constructor teams used additive manufacturing to print parts for their race cars. While those parts weren’t porous, the ability to print foam-like parts that can withstand heat and form complex geometries opens up even more potential for 3D printing in the sport. One such promising application: air filters that can be printed to the specification of the tight and awkward spaces within and around the driver’s cockpit. 

 

3D-printed foam is incredibly well suited for off-the-ground uses as well. In an industry where every ounce must be accounted for, the relatively lower weight of 3D-printed foam makes it a material of great interest to those in aeronautics. 

 

In a test on a remote-control plane comparing the performance of three different wing materials — traditional foam, 3D-printed PLA, and 3D-printed foam made from colorFABB’s LW-PLA (lightweight polylactic acid) — the latter performed as well as a traditional wing and better than the PLA wing. As 3D printing becomes more adopted and commonplace in all industries, the speed to prototype and create lighter end products will be of great use in aeronautics. 

“

For aeronautics, the barrier to entry is high due to regulations, but lightweight 3D printing will play an important role. Every gram matters when you’re trying to get an airplane in the air.

— Jeff Cernohous, Infinite

Advancing medicine, one pore at a time

Developments in manufactured porous materials make it a go-to in the medical industry. Its resemblance to bones, breathability, and varying density offer great advantages in medical research and hospitals. In a field where time is often of the essence, 3D printing can put these materials into the hands of doctors and scientists quicker than ever. 

 

In 2020, COVID-19 wreaked havoc on supply chains, creating medical supply shortages. In response, a team at the University of Louisville designed a unique solution: a novel 3D-printed swab made of a pliable resin material.  

 

3D printing also allows for the creation of realistic models, enabling researchers to study new devices in clinical situations and establish their effectiveness before they are introduced to patients. The technology is also being used for orthotics and prosthetics. 

“

Lightweight, breathable, and compliant microporous foams should have a tremendous impact in creating truly custom, comfortable prosthetics.

— Brandon Cernohous, Infinite

Space: A frontier made for 3D-printed foam

Since 2014, the International Space Station has had a 3D printer onboard. When a new or replacement part is necessary, printing it is far easier than waiting for it to arrive from Earth. Because square footage and time onboard ships and space stations are at a premium, the ability to create parts on-demand instead of bringing them along makes 3D printing a vital part of space exploration. And because many of those parts need to be strong, lightweight, breathable, or insulating, 3D-printed foam with microporous morphology is an ideal fit.

“

Resupplying from Earth is cost and time prohibitive.

— Niki Werkheiser, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

When French astronaut Thomas Pesquet flew to the International Space Station, he brought with him 3D-printed parts, including packaging for meals. These parts were designed from a recyclable, edible foam made from PHA, a naturally occurring polymer. Capabilities like these hold great interest as the space exploration industry looks forward to a longer, more distant time in space.

Running to the future

Most athletic gear needs to be breathable, pliable, and water-resistant. With 3D printing, sportswear manufacturers can achieve these qualities in their products, including various parts of sneakers. Insoles need to offer support while also providing the right amount of responsiveness for a runner’s movements. In the future, 3D printing can allow for individual customization of shoes at a speed and accessibility not seen before.  

 

In collaboration with 3D printing specialist Materialise, Adidas is working on a shoe designed to the specifications of an individual runner’s footprints. According to Eric Liedtke of Adidas: “Our 3D-printed mid-sole not only allows us to make great running shoes but also to use performance data to drive truly bespoke experiences, meeting the needs of any athlete.”

Related resources

  • The cost savings of additive manufacturing

    Compared to traditional methods, additive manufacturing can be more cost effective in purchasing materials, rapid prototyping, and producing end-use parts.

    3D Printing

    FFF

    Cost Savings

    Soluble Core

    Support Material

    Printers

    Automotive

    Aerospace

    End-Use Products

  • Additive manufacturing in the medical & dental industries

    Part III of this four-part series examines the ways in which additive manufacturing is impacting medical training, patient treatment, and healthcare

    3D Printing

    FFF

    Jigs & Fixtures

    Rapid Prototyping

    Support Material

    Medical & Dental

  • Caverna™ PP: 3D printable foam

    Read our paper about Caverna PP, our 3D printable foam. See its specs, applications, and adhesion traits.

    3D Printing

    FFF

    Cost Savings

    Soluble Core

    Automotive

    Education & Research

    Medical & Dental

    Aerospace

    End-Use Products

  • Open vs closed systems in additive manufacturing

    Should you invest in an AM system that’s tried and true, or one that’s more flexible? Explore your options in this in-depth comparison of open and closed systems.

    3D Printing

    FFF

    Cost Savings

    Printers

    Education & Research

    Medical & Dental

    Aerospace

  • Material knowledge: common 3D printer filaments guide

    Learn the basics of additive manufacturing materials.

    3D Printing

    FFF

    Rapid Prototyping

    Support Material

    Automotive

    Education & Research

    Medical & Dental

    Aerospace

    End-Use Products

Explore all Resources