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D-MEC Ltd., a JSR Group Subsidiary, to Launch World’s First Microwave Molding System that Enables Quick, Inexpensive and Easy Molding of Products

PRODUCTS  02/13/2014
Tokyo, Japan, February 13, 2014 – D-MEC Ltd. (Head office: Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Representative: Hideaki Kumazawa; hereinafter “D-MEC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSR (President: Mitsunobu Koshiba), will launch Amolsys® M-150, the world’s first uniquely developed microwave molding system.

A microwave molding system is a new-type of 3-D molding system where conventional thermoplastic resins to be molded are melted using microwaves. This system will expand the range of application of 3-D printers from rapid prototyping, which has mainly been used for industrial purposes, to rapid manufacturing capable of creating actual products. This is expected to lead to the emergence of a new system for molding thermoplastic resins.

D-MEC is a pioneer in Japan in the field of stereolithography systems, a system for 3-D printers, which is attracting increasing attention. For many years the company has dealt with a super-precision stereolithography system as a special manufacturer for products for industrial purposes. JSR and D-MEC worked cooperatively to thoroughly analyze the processes of rising temperature and the melting of thermoplastic resins, and succeeded in the development and commercialization of a new molding system for thermoplastic resins for the first time in the world, by combining temperature-sensor-controlled microwave molding machines with special rubber molds.

Since conventional 3-D printers and stereolithography machines use only limited types of raw resins and cannot create molded products using conventional thermoplastic resins due to the principles of their systems, their range of application is significantly restricted. This microwave molding system, which will be launched by D-MEC, enables molding of actual products, using diverse thermoplastic resins (ABS, etc.) as easily and quickly as 3-D printers do. It is most suitable for designing and manufacturing products with quick delivery time and when manufacturing a small quantity and wide variety of products, or a small quantity of on-demand products.

The market for molding technologies, such as 3-D printing technologies, is greatly expanding from rapid prototyping to rapid manufacturing that produces actual products. D-MEC provides not only technologies capable of creating prototypes, such as a stereolithography system, 3-D printers and stereolithography resins, but also integrated manufacturing systems by adding a microwave molding system to enable molding of actual products quickly and easily at low cost, using desired resins. Through the provision of these technologies and systems, D-MEC will meet the needs for plastic molding, which has been conventionally difficult until now.

(Reference Data)
Overview of Amolsys® M-150

 Dimensions: W 520 × D 425 × H 439 mm
 Power: 100 V
 Maximum mold size: 150 × 150 × 50 mm
 Price: ¥2.98 million (before taxes)
 Major resins capable of being molded: Conventional thermoplastic resins,such as ABS/PC/PS/PE/TPE/PMMA/ABS-G/PC-G/PP