New 3D printing machine at CALM

The University of Exeter has installed a new 3D printing machine - the EOSINT P800 - at its £2.6 million Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM).

CALM aims to help companies, entrepreneurs as well as researchers make effective use of the new 3D printing technique - a type of additive production method in which complex parts and complete products are developed by laying down successive layers of material in specialist equipment.

The EOSINT P800 enables 3D printing with the help of strong thermoplastics, including PEEK and PEK, which are manufactured using the additive-layer process.

The latest technique could prove useful in fields such as creating medical implants, aerospace components or high-end parts for F1 cars.

Dr Sara Flint, commercial manager for CALM, said: "Additive-layer manufacturing allows you to design and make things that were impossible to make before. You can make complex components or reduce something that used to be made from several parts to just one piece."

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