FreeFoam™ | a Revolutionary, Expandable 3D Printable Resin for Volume Production of Foam Parts

Desktop Metal, a global leader in additive manufacturing technologies for mass production, today unveiled FreeFoam™, a new family of photopolymer resins that produces durable and dimensionally accurate closed cell foam parts without tooling – delivering all-new benefits for the automotive, furnishing, footwear, sporting goods, health care and other industries.

● FreeFoam is a new family of photopolymer resins containing heat-activated foaming agents that are 3D printed with Digital Light Processing (DLP). After printing, FreeFoam parts are briefly put into an oven where the foaming agent creates closed cells inside the material in a tightly controlled process
● This innovative material can be programmed to expand a specific amount between 2 to 7 times its original printed size – allowing FreeFoam parts to be shipped in a compact form and expanded on-demand in an oven close to the final point of use or assembly, saving shipping and inventory expenses
● While 3D printers today can process photopolymers into lattice designs that simulate foams, FreeFoam is a true foam containing closed cells that can be printed in a lattice up to a fully dense design – delivering benefits for the automotive, furnishing, footwear, sporting goods, health care and other industries
● In addition to eliminating expensive tooling and the waste associated with standard foam production, FreeFoam enables new design freedom and delivers a high strength-to-weight ratio that produces light, high-performing parts that can reduce shipping costs and improve efficiency in cars and other products
● FreeFoam resin will be offered in a wide range of Shore hardness values and will initially be 3D printable exclusively on the ETEC Xtreme 8K top-down DLP system from Desktop Metal’s polymer 3D printing brand