David Thompson

Sometimes it feels like we're racing too far ahead with additive manufacturing fixing what wasn't already broken. What's so wrong with traditional materials like metal? Why do we need to develop polymer materials?

Well, there are a few reasons why.

Polymers are great electronic insulators, while metals are conductive. When properly designed, polymers can also handle exceptionally high temperatures, making them excellent insulative components.

There are other physical attributes that give polymers the advantage over metals too. They tend to have better tensile strength than aluminium and stainless steel.They can be moulded and formed more easily without losing any of this strength.

On top of this,polymers can be selected according to chemical resistance,reducing vulnerability to corrosion.

To put it in plain terms—polymers offer way more scope than metal does. AME is all about opening the door to possibility. This means using materials that are capable of high performance—like polymers.