An industrial adoption: Owens Corning talks 3D printing

Adam Kohut

Applications

As an industry leader in composite materials, Owens Corning is always looking ahead. But to remain on the forefront of new technologies, the Ohio-based organization must consistently push boundaries. Materials that are stronger, more reliable, heat-resistant – whatever is of potential use to engineers is of interest to Owens Corning.

Perfect print profiles

In 2018, Owens Corning and Ultimaker announced a collaboration in which Owens Corning would create material profiles for Ultimaker Cura.

Watch the video

“We really wanted to leverage all the knowledge and competencies that we have in composite material and apply it to the 3D printing industry,” Emmanuel Vaquant, Additive Manufacturing Platform Leader at Owens Corning, said.

For the collaboration, Owens Corning developed material profiles for two filaments composed of 30% glass fiber – one polyamide, the other polypropylene – which are used for 3D printing with FFF technology. These materials are often used in injection molding, and allow manufacturers to 3D print prototypes and other parts in-house, before entering mass production.

A win-win-win

Using these materials – which are part of Owens Corning’s XSTRAND™ line – engineers are able to get as close as possible to actual injection molding, without long wait times or great expense. Owens Corning has done all the legwork in creating the print profiles, and Ultimaker Cura provides the parameter basis that will allow prints to work directly after the profiles are installed from the Ultimaker Marketplace. To start printing, all engineers need to do is click – no optimization necessary.

Owens-Corning-uses-XSTRAND — Owens Corning's XSTRAND™ materials allow engineers to replicate injection molding in-house

Emmanuel said the collaboration is not only a win for both Ultimaker and Owens Corning, but for 3D printing technology as a whole. The partnership shows that, provided the opportunity, people can be quick to convert, becoming 3D printer users themselves.

“3D printing is not easy to adopt in an industry,” he said. “If you propose a printer that will be specially adapted to the material, it’s a way to accelerate adoptions [and to ultimately] have an easier and better experience for the end user.”

Increase awareness, increase adoption

Owens Corning operates innovation labs in Ohio and France that are dedicated to 3D printing. There, experts who specialize in the technology use Ultimaker S5 and Ultimaker 3 printers to create parts for the organization’s manufacturing plants, as well as its science and technology center, to support R&D. These experts take orders, which are usually in the form of quick sketches, from Owens Corning plants around the world and adapt them, so that they are fit to be 3D printed.

Owens-Corning-uses-Ultimaker-printers — Owens Corning uses Ultimaker 3D printers in its innovation labs

This process has colleagues from different continents working, iterating, and creating together. What begins as a sketch becomes an STL file, which in turn becomes a fully functional 3D printed part or prototype. It's a relatively simple process – and a process that works, resulting in plants continuing to submit requests for 3D printed parts.

“It’s nice to see that adoption can be very quick once you create awareness – and when people see the value of this very strong material,” Emmanuel said.

Ready to see what 3D printing can do for your industry? Check out the ‘How Ultimaker unlocks more 3D printing applications’ white paper.

Download the white paper

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Inside Ultimaker: Meet Lenneke de Penning
Our series, Inside Ultimaker, is designed to give you some insight into the people who work with us. Meet Lenneke de Penning, our assembly team leader, who leads our group of talented assembly operators; and ensures that our production line runs smoothly
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Inside Ultimaker: Meet Layla Smid
Every company needs a great team behind it – which is why we feel very fortunate to have so many talented, passionate people working with us. Our Inside Ultimaker series gives you the chance to meet our team and discover what it’s like to work here.
- News
Ultimaker wins print competition with SLA torture test
We're proud to announce that the Ultimaker 2 Go and Ultimaker 2+ won the first and second prize in the competition, proving that they're up to printing complex models originally designed for SLA printers.
- News
Ultimaker Original upgrades
We owe a lot to our trusty Ultimaker Original. It’s where our journey into 3D printing began and we’ll continue to support it well into the future, just as we know our wonderful community will.
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An introduction to the 3MF file format
If it’s happening in Ultimaker’s world, you can find out about it here. 3D printing stories about inspiring moments, original 3D printed projects and much much more.
- Trends
3D printed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) model
When we introduced the Ultimaker 2+ printers we asked popular modeler Jacky Wan, also known in the community as Valcrow, to create a model that would show off the new features of the Ultimaker 2+ line. He immediately came up with this beautiful model.
- Applications
Designing, 3D printing and painting the Fallout 4 Mini Nuke
Do you love Fallout 4? In this detailed walkthrough, you will find out how to make your own Fallout 4 Mini Nuke. It covers everything from designing the 3D models to post processing.
- Applications
Ultimaker Schooling - 3D printing
When preparing a print, choosing the right 3D printing profile makes a really big difference. To help give you the lowdown on 3D printing best practices we’ve combined the knowledge of our experts with our online knowledge base.
- Applications
Releasing our source files: the Ultimaker 2 Go and Extended are now available
If it’s happening in Ultimaker’s world, you can find out about it here. 3D printing stories about inspiring moments, original 3D printed projects and much much more.
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Sharing the Ultimaker Original+ files
If it’s happening in Ultimaker’s world, you can find out about it here. 3D printing stories about inspiring moments, original 3D printed projects and much much more.
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Transform your Ultimaker in a Pen Plotter
If it’s happening in Ultimaker’s world, you can find out about it here. 3D printing stories about inspiring moments, original 3D printed projects and much much more.
- Applications
3D Printed Ducati 1199 Superbike
If it’s happening in Ultimaker’s world, you can find out about it here. 3D printing stories about inspiring moments, original 3D printed projects and much much more.
- Applications
Painting 3D-printed models
Painting 3D-printed models is a great way of adding detail and production value to your models, often making the difference between a ‘cool print’ and a real piece of art.
- Applications
3D-printed lightsaber design philosophy and printing tips
For May the 4th, I designed a 3D printed lightsaber in commemoration of Star Wars day in collaboration with Ultimaker. In this guest blog I will explore some of the design nuances and share some tips.
- Applications