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TB-Safety AG

A prime example of intelligent AM: additively manufactured battery holder

As one of the leading developers and manufacturers of ventilation systems and ventilated full-body protective suits, TB-Safety AG provides innovative and customized products for industries like pharma/chemistry, emergency services/hospitals, fire departments, army, and the nuclear industry. With every product, safety is key. Products offered by TB-Safety have become more and more customized and must be adjusted quickly and simply according to the customer's requirements. You may find protective suits in the desert as well as in nuclear power plants.

The described plastic component is used for holding and storing the electronics of the battery charger. Once charged, the battery supplies power to the ventilation system of the protective suit.

Because the application and use of protective suits can differ drastically, the requirements are too complex for a conventional manufacturing process via the injection molding or milling process.
In order to be able to adjust the geometry based on the various requirements and to be able to quickly produce the plastic components, Nik Keel, CEO of TB-Safety AG decided to use additive manufacturing instead of injection molding. The holder that holds and charges the battery inside the transport box is an expressive example of the advantages of additive manufacturing using MJF technology. The following options were implemented and used:
  • Functional integration: Many functions, such as the rear ventilation in the holder, were integrated. This would not have been possible using injection molding or milling technologies.
  • Design flexibility: Geometry adjustments can be made at any time.
  • Time to market: Once the order and the correct production data have been received, the battery holders can be delivered within 3-5 business days.

Nik Keel uses the design flexibility in such a way that he has a 440 series of the battery holder (Image 2) in 6 different versions. The materials, for example, the PA12, which is processed using MJF technology, comes remarkably close to the mechanical properties of injection-molded PA12 (see http://www.prodartis.ch/technologie/materialien), and the stabilities are similar to those of injection-molded parts. With additively manufactured components, depending on the nominal size, a tolerance of one to several tenths of millimetre must be expected and thus can certainly be compared to that of precision casting. This must be taken into consideration during the construction process. That is why the battery holder’s snapper and battery tabs were slightly restructured. Now, the battery and the board, including all the electronics, are firmly attached within the holder, and the charging process functions properly.