The powerful combination of 3D printing and milling

3D printers add material to an object to be created, while a milling machine removes material to create an object. By combining these devices, 10XL has developed a fully-fledged hybrid 3D printer. Industrial designer Gerbert Smits of 10XL tells about it during the Mechanical Engineering Event.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

10XL, a company that currently employs three people, started its work after Smits noticed that producing ship models was labor-intensive. Smits: “We started with model ships at 10XL. The idea was to make a towing model, a prototype of a ship. This is first tested on the computer and then tested on a scale of 1 to 10 in a towing tank. Instead of making this out of wood, which is a cumbersome process, it seemed more convenient to make this prototype with a 3D printer.”

In addition, Smits wanted to do something about the last step in classical model design: milling. He decided to integrate both processes in one device, creating a hybrid device: “There was no hybrid solution, there was simply no combination between printing and phrasing. So we decided to build it ourselves. Fortunately, we had a healthy dose of self-overestimation, otherwise we would never have started. But now we have a small factory.”

Cradle-to-cradle

The machine first prints an object in rough form based on plastic. In the second step, the object is milled. 10XL uses recycled plastic for this, which makes it possible to make cradle-to-cradle products based on waste plastics.

According to Smits, plastic is a dream material: “It is the most beautiful material you can use. It is more beautiful than concrete, more beautiful than steel. It is extremely flexible: very stiff or very soft. That gives us enormous freedom of design. And it is environmentally friendly: you don’t have to put much energy into it. Metal requires much more heat.”

Various projects

In the meantime, 10XL supplies benches to furniture manufacturer Gispen, among other things. The start-up has also designed a 'platform of the future' for ProRail, in which the benches form a whole with the rest of the platform. Furthermore, Smits says he is working with Airbus Defense and Space to develop a concept for satellites and someone from The Ocean Cleanup has visited to see if 10XL can use fished-up plastic.

Currently, printing an object takes about 8 hours. 10XL wants to reduce that time considerably: Smits thinks it should be possible in an hour. Moreover, it has to be bigger: “In two years, we will be able to make objects of 20 meters. We will make everything that is big, whether it is a boat or a blade of a windmill.”

During the Machinebouw Event, Smits will delve deeper into the development of the hybrid 3D printer. The lecture will take place on December 6 in Congrescentrum 1931 in Den Bosch. You can register for this event register for free.