CRP Technology is constantly active in researching and studying new solutions and materials, exploiting the laser sintering technology, aimed at RP and RM.

Let’s talk about the new project developed (right now being in a testing and improving phase) by CRP Technology’s RP Department in collaboration with CRP Racing: a 125cc bike reed valve made by the new flexible material Windform® FX and SLS technology.

The reed valve frame made in Windform® FX represents a great example of an excellent union between CRP Technology’s R&D Department and the applications on track carried out by CRP Racing.

The most innovative aspects about this application are the material used and the results obtained, such as a better performance of the reed valve, a better repeatability and production speed and its lower cost.

The material used is the newly created Windform® FX, the latest material from the Windform® family, invented by CRP Technology in 1996. Windform® FX was launched in June 2007 and is a new generation polyamide based material, in which mechanical and repeatable characteristics make it particularly suitable for Rapid Manufacturing applications.

Windform® FX is characterized by exceptional resistance and resilience to repeated bending and torsion effects and by an excellent impact resistance.

In fact, this is a material particularly suitable for the creation of RM components with a complex shape or with thin walls, but overall flexible, especially in the aerospace and motorsport areas.

Thanks to these structural properties, Windform® FX was chosen to manufacture the frame of the reed valve, a component that has to be stiff and overall resistant to shocks and vibrations.

To better understand why Windform® FX was chosen for the realization of the reed valve it’s necessary to give a short description of this component and its characteristics.