DSM Somos has announced the commercialization of NanoTool^™,the third generation of Somos^® ProtoComposite materials.

Heavily filled with non-crystalline nanoparticles, NanoTool^™ allows for faster processing and reduced finishing requirements that speed part production, as compared to current composite SL materials.  NanoTool^™ has a flexural modulus of 10,500 MPa, a heat deflection temperature of 260°C (at 0.46 MPa after thermal post-cure) and linear shrinkage of less than 0.001".

Excellent Sidewall Quality
NanoTool^™ SL parts demonstrate the best sidewall quality of any composite SL material on the market today. Better sidewall quality reduces the amount of finishing time required to sand layer lines, making NanoTool^™ extremely attractive for applications that require highly finished parts—such as wind tunnel testing for Formula 1, rapid tooling for injection molding, and metal plating for prototyping metal cast parts. 

In addition to demonstrating better sidewall quality, NanoTool^™ parts are easy to clean once built. Unlike other composite resins that require more extensive time and care to remove residue, a simple water honing process removes any residue left on the surface of NanoTool^™ parts.

"NanoTool^™ delivers superior sidewall quality, excellent detail resolution and is very easy to finish.  Overall handling is very similar to non-filled resins," says Ralf Deuke, Director of German-based service bureau Alphaform AG.

Metal Plating
NanoTool^™'s smooth surface quality and high initial modulus make it an excellent resin for metal plating—a growing application which saves time and money as an alternative to fully metal prototypes.

"The issue of part cleanliness becomes extremely important when plating composite resins, because the RP parts will not metallize completely if residue is present," says Sean Wise, President of RePliForm, Inc.  DSM Somos^®, in conjunction with RePliForm, is currently studying the metal plated strength improvements achievable with NanoTool^™.  To date, flexural modulus values of >55GPa have been reached based on a metal to resin volume ratio of 1:4.  The technology, coined "MC2^™" promises to greatly enhance the effectiveness of prototyping metal parts.