Dyemansion introduced a new “Black Line” for 3D print coloring.
The Black Line doesn’t just refer to the new DM60 Black Line’s exterior color, which is quite black. The name also refers to the ability of this device to color 3D printed parts black.
The DM60 Black Line is actually a modified version of their popular DM60 device, which is used to reliably color PBF parts produced using SLS, SAF and MJF 3D printing processes.
These processes tend to produce parts in very limited colors, typically white or grey, and so coloring is accomplished with a post processing step to dye these parts. Historically dyeing was done using pails of dye where freshly 3D printed parts would soak for a fixed amount of time. Here’s an image of a typical manual dyeing setup from some years ago:
This approach was not particularly reliable, as the color obtained was dependent on many uncontrollable factors, including temperature, timing, dye amounts, all inherent to the manual nature of the dyeing process.
That changed with the introduction of machines designed to dye parts with great accuracy, as Dyemansion has done. This type of equipment allows a manufacturer to confidently produce mass quantities of 3D printed parts with virtually identical coloration.
But there’s one problem: black.
Black is one of the most difficult colors to reproduce because it must absorb a significant patch of the visible light spectrum; the dye must absorb light in many frequencies.
Dyemansion has been on this problem for some time now, as we first saw examples of their black colors back in 2019.
At the time they indicated there was very significant interest in black from the automotive industry, where black parts are frequently found. If you think about it, an inability to dye parts properly black might have held back use of 3D printing in automotive operations for years.
There are sophisticated measurements required to certify black colors for the industry, and Dyemansion has been able to meet them.
Now they’re introducing a new system for producing black parts: the DM60 Black Line. It’s specifically tuned for dyeing grey PBF parts to black. However, the big feature is that it can do so with greater throughput.
The device is bundle of a DM60 and a DM60 Reservoir, which allows for re-use of the processing water for up to five dyeing cycles. DyeMansion said the cycle time can be as low as half the time of their standard DM60, and the resulting part dyeing costs can be 50% less.
That’s good news for companies requiring the production of larger quantities of dyed black parts, and to me, that sounds like the automotive industry. It could be that DyeMansion is looking to assist that industry in scaling up their use of additive manufacturing.
One more thing: the DM60 Black Line is apparently only available for a short period: it’s a “limited edition” according to DyeMansion, as it can be ordered only until the end of March.
I’m interested to see how many units DyeMansion sells to Detroit companies.
Via DyeMansion
