Blue Care PA11 - SLS Printing Powder

Fabulous is a French manufacturer specialised in the development and production of powder bed additive manufacturing materials. It has a specialised portfolio of functional and application-specific high-performance materials compatible with the most common technologies such as LS, SLS or IRS.

Image 1: Fabulous powder range. Source: Fabulous

Its range of products includes materials for the food industry, which are easily recognisable by their characteristic blue colour.

In recent years, the demand for open 3D printing systems, compatible with new materials developed by specialised companies, has been growing. This has led to a growing tendency for manufacturers to give users the option to parameterise and use materials from any manufacturer, either originally or through software updates of the equipment. This trend, which started with filament technologies, has recently spread to other technologies such as resin and powder bed printing. With a few exceptions such as Formlabs, which does not allow its equipment to be open to materials from other manufacturers, most manufacturers such as Sinterit allow and even encourage the use of materials from any manufacturer through open parameters.

Image 2: Sinterit Lisa X printer, with the possibility to configure up to 50 different parameters. Source: Sinterit.

PA11 BlueCare is an innovative material based on additivated polyamide 11 compatible with most open powder bed manufacturing equipment, especially designed for use in the food industry. It combines high mechanical and thermal properties, good finish quality and food contact certification.

Specially designed for the food sector

PA11 BlueCare is certified to comply with European regulations no. 10/2011 and 202/2014 governing the manufacture of plastic materials and articles intended for food contact.

Image 3: Dispensing nozzle made of PA11 BlueCare. Source Fabulous.

Compliance with these regulations ensures that the OML (overall migration limits) and SML (specific migration limits) values are below the maximum permitted values, which guarantees that there is no transfer of non-volatile substances from the plastic into the food.

For this purpose, strict tests are carried out in accordance with EN 1186-1, EN 1186-3 and EN 1186-15:2002, which determine the migration of non-volatile substances into acidic, fatty, aqueous and alcoholic foods.

Image 4: Food conveyor belt element made of PA11 BlueCare. Source: Fabulous.

However, its suitability for the food sector is not only limited to ensuring the absence of contamination in contact with food. Its characteristic blue colour "Safety Blue" (RAL5023 / PANTONE 7691U-7694U) is not due to an aesthetic appeal, but has the function of facilitating the detection of fragments or pieces that may become detached and mix with food. The blue colour is unusual in foodstuffs, which facilitates its detection both by visual inspection by operators and by automatic quality control imaging systems.

Image 5: Shade equivalences in RAL and Pantone. Source: Fabulous.

 High mechanical and thermal performance

In contrast to other common food contact certified materials, BlueCare has excellent mechanical properties and high temperature resistance due to its polyamide 11 base.

Image 6: Robotic gripper for the food industry made of PA11 BlueCare. Source: Fabulous.

With a Young's modulus of 1.8 GPa and a flexural modulus of over 1.5 GPa, this material is suitable for high performance applications. In addition, it can withstand working temperatures in excess of 100°C, an important requirement in many food applications.

Applications

When talking about food contact materials, the first application that comes to mind is the production of food packaging. However, the food industry requires this type of material for the manufacture of components and tools for its production systems.

It is precisely the latter application that benefits most from the properties of PA11 BlueCare. The manufacture of components or tooling for food production lines requires not only compliance with industry regulations, but also good mechanical properties that guarantee the strength and durability of the components, something that this material fulfils perfectly. Moreover, due to its colour, it is easily detectable in the event of fragments becoming detached due to breakage, thus adding an extra layer of safety.

Image 7: Examples of parts and components manufactured with PA11 BlueCare. Source: Fabulous.

It is a material with applications in the canning industry, food processing, sorting and separation of fruit and vegetables or the wine and brewing industry.

High compatibility

BlueCare PA11 powder is highly compatible with most powder bed additive manufacturing systems, whether by laser sintering (LS, SLS) or irradiation (IRS). Its blue colour favours laser or lamp absorption of virtually any commercial system, as most of them use infrared wavelengths, providing excellent performance even with the low power NIR lasers of compact format systems..

Video 1: 3D printing of PA11 BlueCare on a Prodways device. Source: Fabulous

 To further ensure optimum printing performance, Fabulous powders are available in two formulations:

• A formulation compatible with industrial equipment. This formulation is compatible with equipment from leading manufacturers such as EOS, Farsoon, 3DSystems, Prodways, Sondasys, Aspect and Ricoh.

• A formulation optimised for compact desktop format equipment. Compatible with Sinterit and Sintratec equipment.

When using this equipment, it is necessary to have open parameters and to know how they work. In case of doubt, the equipment manufacturer or supplier can be consulted to verify the availability or possibility of activating the open parameters.

PA11 BlueCare represents a major leap in the availability of functional materials for open 3D printing systems. It complements the manufacturers' own range and provides an optimal solution for the food industry.