User:Fred Butzen/sandbox

= Impossible Objects = Impossible Objects is a company based in Northbrook, Illinois, that is a technology developer, manufacturer, and service provider.

Technology Development
Impossible Objects has developed proprietary 3D printing technology that it calls composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM).

Briefly, CBAM builds objects from sheets of substrate, as follow:
 * Each sheet is printed with a fluid. The pattern that is printed is that of the slice of the object to be formed from that sheet.
 * The sheet is then flooded with a thermoplastic polymer powder, which adheres to the area of the sheet that had been printed with the fluid.
 * The printed sheets, or pages, are stacked in register in a build block.
 * The build block is heated and compressed.
 * Heating melts the polymer powder, which bonds the printed areas of the pages, thus forming the object.
 * After heating, the unbonded portions of substrate are removed, usually by abrasive blasting or chemical means.

Carbon fiber is commonly used as the substrate material, as are Kevlar and fiberglass. A variety of polymers are used as bonding agents, nylon being used most commonly.

History
Impossible Objects was founded in 2009 by Robert Swartz.

Products
As a manufacturer, Impossible Objects builds and sells the Model One CBAM Printer.

It also sells consumables for the Model One printer, including substrates, print fluids, and polymer powders.

Services
As a service provider, Impossible Objects uses CBAM to create customized objects on request.

Awards
Impossible Objects has received the following awards.

2018: Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Excellence in Composites Manufacturing (Small Company)

2017: RAPID + TCT Exhibitor Innovation Award Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) Innovation of the Year TCT Technology Innovation Hardware Award

2016: International Nonwovens and Disposables Association (INDA) IDEA16 Long Life Converted Products Achievement Award

2015: TechConnect National Innovation Award Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) RAPID Innovation Award

Contact
3455 Commercial Avenue Northbrook, IL 60062