Mitsubishi Chemical will develop 3D printing grade PBT materials

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) and German new material startup AM Polymers GmbH (AMP) have signed an exclusive joint development and commercial cooperation agreement for industrial 3D printed polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) powder products.

3D printed PBT parts, including parts that are tested for mechanical characteristics, car brake fluid pumps and electronic control unit housings. The fractured specimen cross-section proves that the material has high ductility. This is caused by crossing layers instead of paralleling them. This is a failure mechanism, similar to the mechanism in traditional injection molded parts.

AMP is located in Germany and specializes in the production and sale of thermoplastic powders with "plug-and-play" processing and component properties, which can be used in selective laser sintering (SLS) and powder bed fusion (PBF) processes. Through this collaboration, the two parties will jointly develop new powder products made of PBT resin for industrial additive manufacturing, which have been optimized based on Mitsubishi Chemical’s chemical expertise. A test version of Rolaserit PBY01 powder is about to be launched in Europe for customer evaluation.

This partnership provides MCC and AMP with the opportunity to further expand their 3D printing product portfolio. The SLS/PBF process allows users to produce complex geometries within a short production delivery time. Coupled with good mechanical properties, the moisture absorption characteristics of PBT powder are much lower than that of polyamide 12, which is also a commonly used material in SLS and PBF processes. Therefore, MCC and AMP hope to use the new PBT powder products for industrial applications such as automotive and aerospace. This new partnership enables MCC and AMP to further accelerate the growth of 3D printing.