RedEye RPM ABSi Translucent ABS with Higher Impact Strength for Rapid Prototyping

Subcategory: ABS Polymer; Thermoplastic; Polymer

Material Notes:
ABSi (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is a durable engineering grade plastic with higher impact strength than normal ABS. This material is also differentiated from normal ABS in that it comes in a variety of translucent colors. ABS parts are built with a layered manufacturing process utilizing Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology, often for Rapid Prototypes and Rapid Prototyping. This technology can build parts with high-performance engineering materials ideal for functional prototypes and end-use parts through rapid manufacturing.

Applications

Because of its semi-translucent appearance, ABSi parts are often used where semi-transparency is desired. And with its higher impact strength it is chosen over ABS when this is critical. Typical applications include automotive lenses or other applications where transparency is required.

Note: The amount of transparency is based on the wall thickness and other attributes of the geometry.

In a rapid manufacturing application, ABSi can be used to create actual production parts in lieu of injection molding for short-run production. Rapid (or layered) manufacturing provides multiple benefits:

• High design iterations – while in production the design engineer has the freedom to modify geometry’s on the fly which cannot be done once you have committed to tooling
• Bridge manufacturing – with rapid manufactured parts, production can begin while permanent tooling is on order
• Jigs and Fixtures to be used on manufacturing/production lines
• For those manufacturers who practice lean manufacturing techniques or who maintain just-in-time inventories, RM can conserve cash flow
• Alpha and beta product releases – manufacturers can produce accurate, durable products even in the earliest stages of production