DURABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF SOMOS® PROTOFUNCTIONAL® RESINS ENABLE DIVING SYSTEMS TO FUNCTIONALLY TEST DIVING MASK PROTOTYPES

Main Menu | News By Date | News By Supplier | News By Category | About Us

DURABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF SOMOS® PROTOFUNCTIONAL® RESINS ENABLE DIVING SYSTEMS TO FUNCTIONALLY TEST DIVING MASK PROTOTYPES
25 May 2001 - DSM Somos

Diving Systems International, a world leader in technology for the commercial, military and scientific diving industry, has turned to DSM Somos® ProtoFunctional® Materials as a material source to build diving mask prototypes that can be functionally tested.

Diving Systems’ M-48 SuperMask (pat. pend), a unique new two-cavity full face mask, features more than 20 parts that were prototyped using Somos® 9100 ProtoFunctional® Materials by Scicon Technologies (www.scicontech.com), a leading west coast service bureau.

The resins in the Somos® 9100 series replicate polypropylene’s tensile strength, elongation at yield, and polypropylene parts. These resins are high-speed liquid photopolymers that produce robust, functional, and accurate parts using stereolithography machines. Each resin has a wide processing latitude and excellent tolerance to a broad temperature and humidity range during and after build as well as offering superior chemical resistance. The Somos® 9100 series offers a good balance of properties between rigidity and functionality.

According to Pete Ryan, Design Engineer, Product Development for Diving Systems: “Until Somos® 9100 ProtoFunctional® Materials became available, prototype resins were too brittle to allow us to truly test the functionality of a prototyped part such as a diving mask. The ability to physically evaluate a product such as our M-48 SuperMask is critical because of the high performance characteristics demanded by our customers. This mask, for example, is unique because its bottom cavity is removable, allowing changeouts of breathing apparatus and gas breathing mixtures. With Somos® 9100 we were able to produce mainframes of the mask’s jaw and most rigid parts with a level of durability enabling painting, assembly and controlled testing during actual dives.”

Dave Green, VP. of Engineering at Scicon Technologies, Diving Systems’ service bureau, supports Pete Ryan’s perspective. “Why did we choose to use Somos® 9100?” asks Green. “Because it’s the best. Sure, there are other choices in prototyping resins but none would offer this degree of superior durability, memory and accuracy. The benefits of Somos® 9100 ProtoFunctional® Materials are numerous. We are able to achieve speed, which is key to getting products quickly and effectively into competitive markets. We are also able to refine designs based on functional prototypes, adding or modifying features. Of primary importance, of course, is that we can produce prototypes that provide us more than just something to look at. With M-48 SuperMask, rigid components of the product are to be injection molded from glass filled nylons, polycarbonate and ABS. The ability to closely approximate actual performance characteristics of those production materials is key to the design and manufacturing of products that do what their supposed to do.”

http://www.dsmsomos.com

About: DSM Somos
DSM Somos is an unincorporated division of DSM Desotech—a world leader in the development of UV-curable materials—and a member of the global DSM family.

DSM Somos is currently the world's second largest materials supplier to the rapid prototyping industry, providing stereolithography liquids and
selective laser sintering powders used for the creation of three dimensional models and prototypes directly from digital data. Somos' patented ProtoFunctional materials are used by a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical and telecommunications.

DSM Somos has developed a full line of rapid prototyping materials that replicate the performance parameters of production materials, saving both time and money in new product development. From thermoplastic elastomers to polyethylene and polypropylene, DSM Somos has stereolithography and selective laser sintering technologies.

The Somos business has been actively involved in the development of rapid prototyping materials since the late 1980s, from the introduction of the first commercial Somos stereolithography resin in 1992.

DSM Somos is part of DSM Desotech, a leading innovative formulator and manufacturer of high quality ultraviolet and electron beam (UV/EB) curable materials.

DSM Desotech is a business unit of DSM - an international chemicals and materials group headquartered in The Netherlands, with annual sales of EUR 8.1 billion and a work force of approximately 22,000 employees at more than 200 sites worldwide.

DSM is active worldwide in life science and nutritional products, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company specializes in innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life and DSM products are currently used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics & electronics (E&E). The group has annual sales (pro forma including the recent acquisition - renamed DSM Nutritional Products) of approximately EUR 8 billion and employs about 26,000 people around the world. Ranking among the global leaders in many of its fields, DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

More News:
  • For May 2001
  • From DSM Somos
  • For General