Flight^® Technology – The next generation of High-speed Plastic Laser Sintering

Since first introduced at TCT Asia 2019, multiple Flight 403P systems have been intensively operating at domestic and global industrial partners for commercialized productions. “We are evolving our company in huge steps,” excited Alain Stebler, CEO of Rapid Manufacturing AG, says, “We are convinced that with the already 10-year-old FARSOON, we have found a reliable partner who helps us to offer high-quality parts at extremely attractive prices.”

Fiber

Flight^® Technology or Fiber Light^® Technology takes advantage of powerful fiber lasers in place of the standard CO₂ lasers found in standard laser sintering systems. A fiber system is capable of delivering greatly increased power to the powder bed. Due to the more robust and stable nature of a fiber laser system as compared to a CO₂ system Flight^® Technology also provides increased laser longevity which is key when considering ROI for manufacturing applications. In addition with its increased power and energy absorption characteristics Flight^® Technology will be capable of accessing a much different range of process-able materials and operational flexibility as compared to standard laser sintering systems, which allows for increased freedom for future AM material and application development.

Fast

With robust laser power, improved energy distribution to the material, and smaller laser spot size, the new Flight^® Technology achieves significantly higher power density upon reaching the surface of the powder bed, thus enabling the full sintering of powder in an extremely short amount of time. With scanning speed of over 20m/s (66 ft/s), Flight^® Technology is able to achieve extreme sintering speeds that pushes the additive manufacturing productivity to a new level.

Fine Detail & Performance

Flight^® Technology was developed to take advantage of a new set of unique scanning algorithms, a powerful dynamic optical system, and the advantages of a system with fully open parameters. Flight^® Technology is able to achieve a more homogenous energy distribution over the processing surface, and a finer spot size compare to the standard laser sintering systems, while at the same time ensuring good energy penetration throughout the entire process. This results in improved feature detail compared to other plastic powder-based technologies with feature details as small as 0.3mm (0.012 inch) while still achieving the part property benefits of standard laser sintering.

Flight 403P Series

Application of Flight^® Technology on Farsoon’s flagship production system 403P series leads to a powerful, yet versatile polymer additive production. The Flight 403P series is offered in multiple industrial solutions including production-sized build cylinder for improved throughput and high-temperature-capable configuration. Like all Farsoon systems, the new Flight 403P Series is truly open. This means that machine parameters and powder choice are unlocked for the users, allowing for unparalleled freedom and flexibility when it comes to industrial polymer laser sintering production.

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