Opportunity:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a collaboration to further develop and commercialize its additive manufacturing methods to fabricate Ultem® materials and composites at ambient conditions.

Background:

PEI is a high-performance polymer with both ether links and imide groups in its polymer chain. Ultem® is General Electric’s trade name for PEI and is highly regarded for its superior strength-to-weight ratio and FST (flame, smoke, toxicity) rating. 3D Printing of Ultem® has only been done through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), which require high temperatures to melt the material in order to set the structure. What is needed is a method to 3D print Ultem® at lower temperatures, thus reducing manufacturing costs.

Description:

The novel approach is to make Ultem® into an ink for DIW or droplet printing by dissolving Ultem® in solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran. This produces a viscous solvent-melt that is loaded into an ambient temperature extrusion system and deposited into a defined structure by the 3D printer. Solvent mobility is limited by the polymer structure, and further solvent removal allows multiple layers of the described material to be placed on top of each other to produce the 3D-printed object. Under ambient conditions, solvent removal is accomplished by evaporation from the surface of the part. The speed of evaporation may be modulated by the use of fans directed at the print nozzle, a slight decrease in ambient pressure, or slight increase in ambient temperature.

Advantages/Benefits:

• Value Proposition: Less manufacturing costs by 3D printing at ambient conditions
• Current additive manufacturing (AM) processes require high temperatures to melt the material in order to set the structure
• 3D printing at ambient conditions expands the application space of Ultem®

Potential Applications:

• Alternative to metals in compact electronic gadgets
• High temperature ceramics
• Aerospace, automotive, and biomedical applications

Development Status:

Current stage of technology development: TRL 3

LLNL has filed for patent protection on this invention.

LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information.

Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNLs method of 3D printing Ultem® at ambient conditions should provide an electronic OR written statement of interest, which includes the following:

1. Company Name and address.
2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact.
3. A description of corporate expertise and/or facilities relevant to commercializing this technology.

Please provide a complete electronic OR written statement to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNLs method of 3D printing Ultem® at ambient conditions.

The subject heading in an email response should include the Notice ID and/or the title of LLNL’s Technology/Business Opportunity and directed to the Primary and Secondary Point of Contacts listed below.

Written responses should be directed to:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Innovation and Partnerships Office

P.O. Box 808, L-779

Livermore, CA 94551-0808

Attention: IL-13833

Attachments/Links