The Flovv-e features a print volume of 320 x 320 x 400 mm, a fully enclosed design, a heated chamber and a claimed maximum speed of 300 mm/s. With this machine, it should be possible to print molds with ABS filament, apply a release agent, then inject the mold with various materials (rigid, flexible, foam).

The three-story center in Frankfurt is equipped with pilot plants, as well as extrusion and injection molding capabilities and dedicated laboratories.

Flovv and Flovv-e bridge this gap by combining the advantages of both technologies. Using RIM, they inject liquid polyurethanes into 3D-printed molds, creating dense, strong parts in just a few minutes. This approach makes it possible to produce hihgly-precise, complex parts with a high surface quality finish.

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“We are very pleased to introduce our new European Customer Solutions Center, which will become a hub for creativity and innovation and maximize our customers’ satisfaction,” said LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol during a virtual opening speech. “We will continue to pursue purposeful services and solutions for our customers that exceed market expectations.”

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Flovv and Flovv-e aim to combine the complementary advantages of 3D printing and injection molding. 3D printing offers unrivalled design flexibility, but is ill-suited to mass production. Injection molding, on the other hand, excels in the rapid production of high-quality parts, but its high cost and lack of design flexibility make it inaccessible to many users.

Given the attractive price of the machines (announced at $900 for the Flovv and $4,000 for the Flovv-e after the crowdfunding campaign), Neckog Industries is aware that some of its public lack the experience needed to design complex injection molds. That’s why the manufacturer also offers a mold design service (DaaS) to make its products easier to use. With DaaS, Neckog Industries takes charge of mold design, enabling users to concentrate on innovation and the creation of their end products. This service aims to simplify the manufacturing experience and make it accessible to a wider audience.

3D printing has seen a lot of success on Kickstarter, with notable examples including the likes of Formlabs and Bambu Lab. These projects have demonstrated the platform’s potential to fund innovations, propel them forward and bring them to fruition. Now, Flovv and Flovv-e, new projects combining desktop injection molding and 3D printing, are following in these footsteps, having already raised over $165,181 from an initial target of $10,000, and with 28 campaign days remaining.

The Flovv-e integrates a 3D printer and a reaction injection molding (RIM) machine into a single module, while the Flovv serves as a stand-alone RIM unit. Rather than plastic pellets, both devices exploit reaction injection molding, with the machines mixing two liquid materials (polyurethane and a hardener) before injecting them into a mold.

We will keep an eye out on the progress of this project to assess its real impact on the 3D printing industry. In the meantime, if you would like more information, feel free to visit the Neckog Industries website HERE.

LG Chem currently operates four CS centers worldwide — one in South Korea (Osan), two in China (Huainan and Hwadong), and the new one in Europe (Germany) — and is planning to build another CS center in the United States by 2023 to extend its support for customers around the globe.

LG Chem is a diversified supplier of plastics and other chemicals including polyolefin elastomers (POEs) used in impact modification of automotive compounds and encapsulation for solar panels, engineering plastics, polyamides (PAs), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), PC/ABS, PC/PET, and PC/PBT. The company is also a leading producer of PVC.

3Dnatives is the largest international online media platform on 3D printing and its applications. With its in-depth analysis of the market, 3Dnatives gets over 1 million unique visitors per month and is currently available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian. 3Dnatives works with key Additive Manufacturing market players and offers a variety of services such as a 3D printing price comparison engine, B2B consulting and B2B brand content, event management and much more!

The Flovv, on the other hand, is an injection-only machine, designed for those who already own a 3D printer. Both machines automatically mix polyurethane and hardener, avoiding the challenges of rapid solution curing, and run a self-cleaning program after use.

Neckog Industries, the company behind this project, is working to combine the strengths of 3D printing and reaction injection molding (RIM). Flovv and Flovv-e are the first products to be marketed by the American manufacturer. They promise to push back the boundaries of both additive manufacturing and injection molding by producing durable, precise and versatile parts at greater speed and cost-efficiency.

LG Chem has opened its first European Customer Solutions Center (EU CS Center) in Frankfurt, Germany, to provide comprehensive technology solutions for its Europe-based partners. The opening ceremony was attended by key LG Chem executives and German government personnel, including LG Chem’s Petrochemical Business President Noh Kug-lae and the deputy mayor of Frankfurt, along with customers from various sectors.

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LG Chem aims to cement its status and presence in the European market with the opening of this center, which can promptly respond to customers’ needs for technical support and provide comprehensive technology solutions, such as product development, quality improvement, and productivity enhancements.

LG Chem started building the EU CS Center in 2021 with an investment of $37.6 million. The newly constructed three-story center has a total floor area of approximately 7,400 square meters (almost 80,000 square feet). It accommodates pilot plants, as well as extrusion and injection molding processes and dedicated laboratories that play a key role in technical product qualification and customer service — an important part of the company’s commitment to its partners. Nearly 140 employees are working at the EU CS Center, providing technical support for various products, including automotive materials and eco-friendly recycled plastics.

What do you think of the Flovv and Flovv-e? Let us know in a comment below or on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly newsletter here for the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and is a proud dachshund owner.

The potential applications for Flovv and Flovv-e are vast and promising. The Kickstarter project, which has already raised over $150,000 the initial goal, bears witness to the strong interest in this technology. It’s important to bear in mind, however, that this is a project under development, and its promises have yet to be independently validated.