3D PRINTABLE, REACTIVELY DEPOSITED HYBRIDSIL POLYIMIDE MATERIALS FOR THE FFF PRODUCTION OF HIGH TEMPERATURE TOOLING

The objective of this program is to develop, cultivate, and commercially transition innovative high temperature HybridSil polyimide copolymers that may be 3D printed via fused filament fabrication (FFF) processes using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 3D printers to additively manufacture tooling for high-pressure injection molding operations. The proposed FFF printable HybridSil polyimides will provide a disruptive, game-changing material technology to a rapidly evolving additive manufactured tool and die industry that is dominated by commodity thermoplastics limited to applications below their extruding temperatures. To address this fundamental challenge, NanoSonic will design, synthesize, and empirically optimize novel, thermally latent HybridSil polyimide copolymers that are FFF depositable using COTS 3D printers at temperatures < 220 oC. Uniquely, NanoSonic’s HybridSil polyimides will be molecular engineered to crosslink during FFF deposition to form robust, high temperature triazine networks that provide dimensional stability and thermomechanical robustness required for high-pressure injection molding tooling for over-molded polyurethane cable ends. In support of a near term Phase III transition, NanoSonic has purchased a ZSE-18HP-e twin screw compounding extruder that will be used to extrude multiple 1 kg monofilament (1.75 mm) spools of its Phase I HybridSil polyimide cyanate ester materials for 3D FFF printing trials during the Phase I program.