Thermwoods new machine called LSAM (pronounced L-Sam, short for Large Scale Additive Manufacturing), uses a two-step, near-net-shape production process.

Thermwood Corporation, located in Southern Indiana and established in 1969, manufactures an extensive line of CNC Routers and is now offering a line of 3D Additive Manufacturing Systems for the production of large to very large reinforced thermoplastic composite parts. Thermwoods new machine called LSAM (pronounced L-Sam, short for Large Scale Additive Manufacturing), uses a two-step, near-net-shape production process.

First the part is 3D printed, layer by layer, to slightly larger than the final size, then it is machined to its exact final size and shape using a CNC router. The process operates in free space and does not require molds or tooling.
The LSAM is targeted for the production of tooling, masters, molds, fixtures, patterns and plugs for a variety of industries including aerospace, automotive, boating, foundry and thermoforming. In addition, Thermwood believes it will find additional applications as various industries become aware of the substantial benefits of large part additive manufacturing. For tooling, the primary benefits of this approach are a substantially lower cost and a dramatically shorter build cycle.
The LSAM is based off of the Thermwood Model 77 high wall, overhead gantry CNC router that features a ten foot wide, five foot high work envelope. Length of the LSAM work envelope can be as short as ten foot but as long as 100 foot or more. LSAM systems include both a print gantry and a five axis trim gantry. Both gantries operate over the entire table surface. With this configuration, all functions needed to make parts are performed on the same machine.
LSAM's print gantry features an advanced, Thermwood-developed, vertically-mounted PH Series print head that melts and precisely meters the polymer bead. It can process filled thermoplastic composite materials at temperatures up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit. LSAM uses a bead compression wheel to shape and flatten the extruded bead and fuse it with existing layers. This wheel is servo controlled to automatically follow machine motion. Advantages of this unique design includes a much more accurate print bead, the ability to change bead dimensions while printing, the ability to print at high output rates, better fusion between printed layers and a superior void free printed structure.
Thermwood currently offers the PH15 Print Head on its LSAM machines. The PH15 prints at rates up to 150 lbs/hr which might is the highest output rate available today. Although Thermwood believes the PH15 is appropriate for many current tooling applications, Thermwood is actively developing even higher output versions of the PH Series Print Head. The size and typical geometry of parts to be printed, the number of parts to be printed at the same time and the overall size of the machine will dictate how large a print head is appropriate. PH Series Print Heads also include the ancillary systems required to dry and transport material from storage to the print head.
The trim or subtractive gantry is a five axis CNC router system equipped with a 12HP (3,000 to 24,000 RPM) spindle and a ten-position automatic tool changer. The vertical Z axis stroke is enhanced, so that the router head can machine from the print table surface to a point completely over the top of a printed part. The machine is also equipped with an automatic tool-length measurement system and Thermwoods patented impact resistant head. The machine uses Siemens Intelligent Servo Drives throughout, for both printing and trimming.
Each gantry has its own, free standing Thermwood, High-Performance QCore CNC Control for movement. The print gantry also includes an integrated print head control to manage melt, pressure and metering functions. Special control functions (not normally part of a CNC control), have been developed to operate the servo drive print head and bead compression wheel. These functions automatically perform tasks that would otherwise need to be incorporated in the CNC print program. This simplifies 3D print programming.

About Thermwood Corporation:
Thermwood is a US based company with dealers and distributors worldwide. In addition to machine manufacturing and software development, Thermwood has a technical service organization that provides support, machine installation, training, retrofits, custom programming and production assistance. Please visit the website, call 1-800-533-6901 or Contact Us Here for more information.