Additive manufacturing is a pro-cess of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, lay-er upon layer, as opposed to sub-

tractive manufacturing methodologies. Terms often used interchangeably with additive manufacturing are 3D printing, additive fabrication, additive processes, additive techniques, additive layer manu-facturing, rapid prototyping, or freeform fabrication.

The main steps of additive manufacturing include CAD 3D modeling, the creation of an .STL file and the realization of the object layer upon layer with one of the seven existing categories of additive man-ufacturing technologies outlined (below). Each category has its own characteristics of processing and uses different kinds of materials, as shown in the table.

Arkema, partner of choice for 3D printing materials

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With a wide range of polymer materials suitable for different printing technologies in three dimensions (3D), Arkema emphasizes its polymers portfolio on this growing market.

$4 billionis the estimated size of the global additive manufacturing market in 2014 with a CAGR of 32% (Source Wohlers Associates 2015)

Over 12,000machines (excluding desktop machines) have been sold world-wide.

SPECIALTY POLYAMIDES

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SPECIALTY POLYAMIDES NEWS / JANUARY 2016 / #5 / PAGE 1

Categories ASTM

Description Technologies/acronyms Material shape

Material used

Binder jetting Liquid bonding agent is selectively deposited to join powder

Binderjet Powder Polymer, metal, ceramic

Material jetting Droplets of build material are selectively deposited

Polyjet, multijet, inkjet Liquid Polymer

Powder bed fusion

Thermal energy selectively fuses regions of powder bed

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Selective Heat Sintering (SHS)High Speed Sintering (HSS)Selective Laser Melting (SLM)Selective Mask Sintering (SMS)Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)Electron Beam Melting (EBM)

Powder Polymer, metal, ceramic

Directed energy deposition

Focused thermal energy melts materials as deposited

Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS®)Direct Metal Deposition (DMD®)Laser cladding, CLAD

Powder Metal, ceramic

Sheet lamination Sheets of material are bonded together

Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)Stratoconception®

Solid Metal, ceramic

Material extrusion

Material is selectively dispensed through nozzle or orifice.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Freeforming

Filament Polymer

Vat photo- polymerization

Liquid photopolymer (resin)

is selectively cured by light

activation

Stereolithography (SLA)

Digital Light Processing (DLP)

Liquid Polymer

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3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES RANGE

FAST FACTS ABOUT THE 3D PRINTING MARKET

The economic world today is driven by both the €/$ exchange rate and crude oil cost among other factors. How can we anticipate more sudden and frequent fluctuations? How can you prepare your company for absorbing these impacts? To answer this question you must ask another question. How can Arkema’s high performance polyamides support you in such an uncertain business climate?At Arkema we are working every day to reinforce our differentiation to better respond to this unpredictability, and our strategy can be summarized into four key areas:

InnovationFor the fifth year in a row, Thomson Reuters has ranked Arkema among the top 100 innovating companies and organizations in the world, across all business activities. This spirit is present in the Specialty Polyamides group across the unique products range, solutions, and services, allowing the business to avoid excessive organic growth dependence.

Global presenceWith 7 plants (monomers and polymers) on 3 continents, the Specialty Polyamides group offers both proximity and links with our customers’ cost structure.

Integration and biobasedWhether you are looking for elasticity or rigidity, thermal resistance or adhesives, transparency or lightness, powders or granules, almost all our range is available in partially or fully

biobased form enabling you to make a choice depending on your objectives (visibility, stability, opportunity).

LeadershipArkema’s leading position in long-chain polyamides guarantees competitiveness and availability whatever the environment conditions.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

SPECIALTY POLYAMIDES NEWS / JANUARY 2016 / #5 / PAGE 2

The main advantage of 3D printing is the infinite possibility of designing objects with geometrical complexity for products customization, allowing to substantially re-duce the development time of prototypes or small series, without requiring a mold.

With existing machine sizes expanding from consumer/hobby to professional/industrial machines, the primary applica-tions of 3D printing are modeling, repair function prototyping, and direct part pro-duction, mainly in business areas such as consumer goods, automotive, healthcare, aerospace and mechanical industries.

Arkema’s offerArkema develops high-performance materials for 3D printing technologies most prevalent in the professional world. Thus, for laser sintering as an example, Arkema already offers two ranges of fine polyamide powders with outstanding

mechanical and surface properties. Orgasol® Invent Smooth guarantees a fine touch of the object, excellent resolution in the detail of parts, and high recyclability of unused printing powders. Rilsan® Invent Natural and Black, biobased polyamide 100% renewable, produces parts with unparalleled toughness and durability.

“Arkema keeps a unique position with its wide variety of materials responding to

the large spectrum of 3D printing tech-nologies. With an experience and pres-ence of over 15 years, we have the ambi-tion and the means to be a major player in this market”, says Adrien Lapeyre, Global marketing Manager. Nowadays, the main drivers are to in-crease the productivity, the reliability and the accuracy of structural parts.

Partners support“We see this expanding market evolv-ing from prototyping to manufacturing of structural parts. With collaborative, cut-ting-edge research focusing on technology and material performance improvement, our solutions enable us to respond to the drivers of the market and support our part-ners accordingly”, concludes Lapeyre.

COVER

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Our solutions enable us to respond to the drivers of the market and support our partners accordingly”

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Battle a complex and erratic economic environment with the help of Arkema

Matthew Crans has been with Arkema for more than seven years and is Global Market Manager for the Consumer Electronics and Health, Hygiene and Beauty markets. After completing his MBA at Penn State University, he worked within the Altuglas subsidiary for six years before joining Specialty Polyamides. Matthew is a Philadelphia & Penn State sports fan, and likes to spend free time with his wife and two sons.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thomson Reuters has ranked Arkema for the fifth year in a row among the top 100 innovating companies and organizations in the world, across all business activities. Arkema Group is among 3 French companies selected for this award.

SPECIALTY POLYAMIDES NEWS / JANUARY 2016 / #5 / PAGE 3

What kind of applications in consumer electronics can utilize Arkema polyamide products?Matt Crans: Housings and rigid parts like frames for all types of devices are very common applications for our materials. We also have found that components requiring dimensional stability can benefit from the solutions we offer. I would also say, specifically with Pebax® TPE, any dynamic components that require flexibility and durability are great applications.

How does Arkema’s offer to the market differentiate from the competition?MC: We have the broadest and most unique range of long-chain polyamides, so we are able to select the specific grades required by the unique requests of each customer. Arkema is also a world-wide leader in polyamide chemistry, which gives us the capability to partner with our customers across all regions and develop new materials and solutions to meet their specific needs in local environments.

Is there anything exciting on the horizon in Arkema innovation for electronics?MC: To me, the most interesting projects that we have in the pipeline are novel solutions based on Pebax® TPE. We are constantly working to broaden its properties, which will widely expand the applications in which this family of materials can be used. We are also continually pushing the bounds of our ultra-rigid materials to give our customers more options for super-lightweight housing options.

Are there any strategic areas of consumer electronics that Arkema will focus on in the future?MC: Wearable electronics are opening a significant window of opportunity for Arkema, specifically for our Pebax® TPE solutions. The way users interact with their devices is becoming more intimate and Pebax® elastomers can help bridge the gap of high-performance and elegance for such device solutions with its combination of durability, flexibility, softness, and lightness.

How does Arkema keep up with the rapidly advancing electronics market?MC: Our group has recently aligned and focused our efforts by market, giving us a dedicated electronics team, which allows us to be responsive and quickly prioritize projects. Local resources in Asia, Europe, and North America can also support new material developments for regional projects. Our global team is working around the clock; time to market is critical for electronics, and this resonates in our work ethic.

ARKEMA’S VOICE

Time to market is critical for electronics, and this resonates in our work ethic”

“Wearable electronics are opening a significant window of opportunity for Arkema”Focus on Arkema’s strategy in the field of consumer electronics with Matthew Crans, Global Market Manager.

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS MARKET

The electrical & electronics (E&E) industry possesses very specific needs. Indeed, this highly innovative market requires

both precise technical characteristics, as well as a comprehensive set of required supplier capabilities (e.g. cutting-edge R&D, rapid product development cycles, worlwide supply chain). Arkema’s Specialty Polyamides division offers a tailor-made portfolio of products, as well as the requisite service level to address these requirements.

Rilsan® Clear polyamides offer a unique set of properties, meeting the needs of various E&E parts. This transparent material provides high stress cracking resistance, fatigue strength and good dimensional stability. Its colorability, lightness and easy processing allow E&E actors to use Rilsan® Clear resin in numerous components (e.g. frames, housings, covers, headphones, connectors).

Rilsan® XD high-performance polyamide resins offer super-rididity, excellent flow and gentle processing to allow cost-efficient production of complex and thin parts. Its low water absorption yields dimensional stability and property retention. High ri-gidity and pleasing aesthetic finish make Rilsan® XD the perfect choice for frames, housings and structural components.

The Pebax® TPE range of products is widely used for its exceptional combination of high performance properties, including: softness, lightness, chemical resistance,

durability, and availability of flame retard-ant grades.

Typical applications of Pebax® materials in-clude cases, dynamic (moving) parts, straps (electronic wearables devices), and cables.

Glass reinforced Rilsan® S PA 6.10 provides rigidity, temperature resistance, and good chemical resistance. Rilsan® S grades meet the necessary performance characteristics to manufacture frames, housings and various other electrical parts.

Arkema is constantly working on new prod-ucts to support the rapid evolution of the E&E market. The digitization of society and the emergence of new technologies like wearable devices are well integrated in Arkema’s strategic roadmap. In addition to the technical performance of our polymers, Arkema is also working on the processability of these resins. With a wide portfolio for both injection and

extrusion processes, Arkema opens to de-signers new and exciting design opportuni-ties, and to manufacturers, the chance to reduce production cycles, and significantly improve tolerances and product variety. For these reasons, choosing Arkema solutions can help E&E companies achieve a faster time-to-market while reducing develop-ment and manufacturing costs.

High performance materials support cutting-edge electronics technologiesThe electronics market is a trend-setting industry, and it continues to demand lighter and more resilient solutions.

The excellent performance characteristics of Arkema’s products are now recognized by many of the major players in this market

SPECIALTY POLYAMIDES NEWS / JANUARY 2016 / #5 / PAGE 4

Editorial Director: José Teixeira Pires - info.polyamides@arkema.com - Photos: Arkema - Production: ARCA Agency - http://en.agence-arca.com

At Fakuma 2015, the International Plastic Fair that took place in Ludwigshafen (Germany) October 13-17, Arkema shared that its unique portfolio of long chain polyamides for chassis & powertrain applications was recently expanded with Rilsan® T (PA1010) & Rilsan® S (PA610). With these materials, Arkema is looking

IN BRIEFFakuma 2015: Arkema expands its high performance plastics portfolio for automotive applications

to explore new territories in E&E and interior/exterior applications. Polyamide specialties (elastomer, rigid, transparent) and fluorinated polymers (Kynar® PVDF), now together within the Arkema Technical Polymers division will also fuel new developments.