Techmer PM’s materials expertise helps team realize larger-than-life tribute

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.

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The finished Al Davis Memorial Torch stands 93 feet tall and is the largest free-standing, 3D-printed structure in the world. The reinforced polycarbonate substructure is finished with 1,148 machined aluminum façade panels giving the structure it’s polished silver appearance. (Photo: Business Wire)

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. Ken Susnjara, CEO of Thermwood Corp., says, “This amazing project required the collaborative effort of the pioneering leaders in large-scale additive manufacturing technology. Techmer PM worked closely with Thermwood to develop the advanced technology needed to complete a project of this magnitude. 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,” noted 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.”

“When undertaking a project of this size and magnitude,” explained Justin Wood, DI’s Sports Practice Director, “we needed a partner who understood the development process as well as the manufacturing technology as a whole. That's precisely what we received with Techmer PM. They supported us during the ideation phase for the Al Davis Memorial Torch and ultimately supplied the key material for a structure that is truly larger than life.”

This collaboration between DI, Thermwood, and Techmer helped deliver an amazing tribute to the Raiders’ Al Davis, ensuring that his legacy lives on in style.

About Techmer PM

Founded in 1981, Clinton, Tenn.-based Techmer PM LLC is a materials design company that specializes in modifying and fine-tuning the properties of technical polymers. The company thrives on partnering and collaborating with plastics processors, fabricators, designers, specifiers, and brand owners. Drawing on a broad portfolio of resins –– from polyolefins to PEEK –– Techmer PM helps manufacturers enhance product function and appearance in scores of end-use markets. The award-winning firm operates seven North American plants and has extensive expertise in virtually every plastics- and fiber-related process, from additive manufacturing and blown film to nonwovens, injection molding, and sheet extrusion. Techmer PM is a six-time Plastics News honoree on its “Best Places to Work” list. Learn more at www.techmerpm.com.

About Dimensional Innovations

Dimensional Innovations, an experience design, technology, and fabrication firm with a national presence, partners with professional and collegiate sports organizations, entertainment giants, Fortune 500 companies and brands, and world-renowned hospitals to develop engaging experiences within a physical space. A team of brand strategists, animators, fabricators, interior designers, graphic designers, architects, interactive and environmental designers, and digital engineers collaborate together in 110,000 square feet of design and fabrication space to create some of the most talked-about experiences across the country. Learn more at www.dimin.com.

About Thermwood Corporation

Founded in 1969, Thermwood is a U.S.-based, multinational, diversified machinery manufacturer that has become the technology and market leader in large scale additive manufacturing systems for thermoplastic composite molds, tooling, patterns and parts with its line of LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing) machines that both 3D print and trim on the same machine. Thermwood is also the oldest manufacturer of highly flexible, 3- and 5-axis high-speed machining centers known as CNC routers. Learn more at www.thermwood.com.

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This amazing project required the collaborative effort of the pioneering leaders in large-scale additive manufacturing technology. Techmer PM worked closely with Thermwood to develop the advanced technology needed to complete a project of this magnitude.