EOS Develops Sustainable Polymers for Additive Manufacturing

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EOS developed its climate-neutral PA 1101 and carbon-reduced PA 2200 polymer materials for 3D printing as part of its efforts to create more sustainable materials, systems and processes for additive manufacturing (AM). When it comes to AM materials, EOS looks at three dimensions — material sourcing, material consumption during the 3D printing process and material reusability for continuous part production and the reduction of powder waste.

The PA 1101 climate-neutral polymer material is a bio-based material that provides a smaller carbon footprint than petrol-based polymers. Production efficiency has been and will be continuously improved for this material, according to the company.

The term climate-neutral reflects the broader inclusiveness of other greenhouse gases in climate change, even if carbon dioxide is the most abundant. The material comes with proven quality and material composition, yet now it is climate neutral to support customer’s own climate protection and sustainability goals. Customers will receive a certificate that proves the correct calculation and offsetting for the application.

EOS’ PA 2200 carbon-reduced polymer material has a notable set of properties for final part properties. The material is traditionally a petrol-based polymer, with an elevated impact on climate. EOS aims to constantly increase production efficiency of this material while providing the added value of almost 45% reduced CO2e footprint of the PA 2200 carbon-reduced. For material production, renewable energies are used.

For material sourcing, EOS focuses on three factors — the choice of polymers for 3D printing, how the polymer powders are being generated and how the qualified AM powder is being processed on EOS systems. Depending on the choice of raw materials, the CO2e footprint for AM powder production can be reduced by increased production efficiency and quality to lower scrap and increase material reusability throughout the production journey.

“When it comes to responsible manufacturing, we currently evaluate the climate impact of every aspect of industrial 3D printing to create transparency of the status quo. We also evaluate and improve production efficiency. For our new environmentally green materials, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible,” says Björn Hannappel, head of EOS sustainability bei EOS. “And we invest in Gold Standard climate protection projects to offset the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainability is not just a key driver for us but has also become increasingly important to our customers as well.”

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