The Las Vegas Raiders football team had a tall order to fill. They wanted to commemorate their late owner Al Davis by creating a stunning architectural centerpiece in their new Las Vegas stadium.
Their solution: Quite possibly the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure. It is a striking, nine-story-high “memorial torch” constructed of 225 3D-printed blocks made of carbon fiber-reinforced polycarbonate (PC), each weighing about 350 pounds. Inscribed high on the structure is a quote from their former owner, proclaiming: “The fire that burns brightest in the Raiders organization is the will to win.”
Overland Park, Kan.-based Dimensional Innovations (DI) designed and 3D printed the structure. DI said a team of 18 employees invested more than 50,000 hours in developing, creating and installing the structure and the firm printed the PC blocks nearly continuously for more than seven months. Based on the 93-foot structure’s unique shape and precision requirements, DI purchased a Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) machine from Dale, Indiana-based Thermwood Corporation.
Thermwood recommended Techmer PM as a materials partner.
“Techmer PM worked closely with Thermwood to develop the advanced technology needed to complete a project of this magnitude," said Ken Susnjara, CEO of Thermwood Corp. "Their material and its ability to process flawlessly through our LSAM system was a critical component to successfully completing what looks to be the tallest 3D-printed structure in the world.”
Clinton, Tenn.-based Techmer PM, formulated and supplied 120,000 pounds of Electrafil, the carbon fiber-filled PC material.
“This product has great mechanical properties, printability, coefficient of thermal expansion and meets ASTM E84 class A rating,” said Anthony Fiorini, Techmer PM’s Business Development Manager – 3D Printing. “We designed this material to achieve flawless print quality and to hold tight tolerances. PC offers good dimensional stability while the carbon fiber reinforcement helps control shrink, warp and coefficient of thermal expansion in such large parts.”
