EOS launches Digital Foam Architects network
Designed to accelerate the development and additive manufacturing of consumer, medical, and industrial products featuring Digital Foam applications
EOS, an industrial 3D printing technology company, has launched its Digital Foam Architects network, designed to accelerate the development and additive manufacturing of consumer, medical, and industrial products featuring Digital Foam applications. Founding members include EOS, Arkema, General Lattice, and DyeMansion.
Digital Foam enables the upgrading of mature products, as well as the creation of entirely new product offerings from athletic shoes, orthotics, protective gear, and medical products. Manufacturers can “dial in” the exact performance or features they need to deliver product differentiation and provide mass-customized products.
Digital Foam applications typically have complex requirements, requiring multiple disciplines to ensure success. The Digital Foam Architects network formalizes a standing alliance of AM experts ready to bring ideas to production – design software, materials, and the various AM hardware elements, from printing to post-processing and colorization.
“Digital Foam applications can be designed and produced with tailored features for performance, protection, and lightweighting. But Digital Foam is not a product, rather it is an approach to 3D printing foam-like products. The Digital Foam Architects network is another chapter in the maturation of this approach by coalescing the required AM expertise. We are very pleased to announce our first commitments to this network of experts,” said Jon Walker, Digital Foam spokesperson for EOS.
“Arkema is committed to supporting new additive manufacturing application development through more sustainable material solutions. In collaboration with EOS, we continue to push the boundaries on what is feasible in 3D printing by combining strong enablers, such as Digital Foam, and new materials, such as Pebax elastomers. We look forward to the growth of Digital Foam and we will continue to play an active role in this program,” said Adrien Lapeyre, Director of Arkema’s 3D printing program.
Underpinning Digital Foam is the EOS patent relating to any generatively 3D printed object which has a flexible grid-like structure or matrix (i.e., lattice), composed of open cells that are joined together in groups of differing characteristics. Described in basic terms, this covers any varying 3D printed lattice structures morphing into each other.
