30 years on from its inception, LPE is laying the foundations for a post-pandemic recovery with a £500,000 investment in new additive manufacturing machinery.
Within the space of just a few days in May, three new machines (Neo 450s, EOS P396, Figure 4 DLP Printer) were installed at the Belfast facility, allowing LPE to offer its customers greater choice and rapid lead-times.
LPE is a 3d printing and additive manufacturing company with over 30 years’ of experience in manufacturing parts in plastic and metal for a wide range of customers throughout the UK and Ireland.
The company says these latest machine additions will secure its position as a leader in the additive manufacturing industry and will help it to continue to be at the forefront of the latest technologies.
The installation of the new NEO 450s brings the total number of machines in the SLA department at LPE to six.
Offering standard definition and high definition parts from a single machine, the NEO 450s produces superior quality parts with outstanding accuracy and detail, and all at speed.
Engineering Director Patrick Walls said: “Our medical work has increased steadily over the years, and with the recent events we have experienced a huge surge in the requirement for medically approved materials. Adding a new fast NEO 450s machine running Watershed allows us to help companies hit their lead-times with high quality SLA models.”
The new EOS P396 is the latest addition to a growing SLS department at LPE and is the third EOS SLS machine to be installed at the company.
Improved consistency, laser power and the build rate of the P396 means the company has increased capacity to produce high quality, reliable parts for a range of prototype and production applications.
Having adopted the DLP technology at its introduction in 2019, LPE has now installed its third Figure 4 DLP printer. This additional Figure 4 machine will expand capacity at LPE and facilitate an increased range of materials to be run ensuring that the company can meet an increasing demand for accurate, tough, detailed small parts.
At LPE, high temperature, medically approved, direct printed rubber, and wax parts can now all be printed, finished and delivered within just a few days.
“The three new machines are testament to the ongoing demand from our customers, not just for prototypes but also for ongoing production work. Our investment in this state of the art technology will increase our capacity to deliver high quality parts with extremely fast turnaround times. We strive to be at the forefront of a very fast moving industry, so this constant re-investment in the technologies is vital for LPE,” said Tom Walls, Managing Director.