The Future Development Of Metal 3D Printing: Those Things You Don'T Know

Bottlenecks and challenges

First of all, into the metal 3D printing itself is relatively high threshold. With the SLS patent expires in 2014, some experts predict that there will be a wave of companies to enter this field, desktop 3D printing heat as FDM in 2009 after the patent expired "". However, the "metal 3D printing" did not form climate as quickly as the polymer 3D printing, because this process is relatively complex, and it also needs more advanced and more mature machine. In order to achieve this level of technology, production process monitoring needs and supplies; on the other hand, although the SLS component of Carl Deckard technology was patented in 1980 and now has entered the public domain, but its future development and process is still restricted by intellectual property law. Technical barriers related and relatively mature market participants will put pressure on the new participants for the more mature market participants, they will try to protect their intellectual property, so the relative polymer 3D printing, 3D printing the choice of metal case is still small.

One of the most important factors should also consider the economic scale by using metal 3D printing group A (with the yield increase, the average cost decreases). To promote the raw materials (metal) price / quantity ratio curve showed a downward trend, enterprises should strictly control the material cost. Note that the melting of sintered metal using laser energy will produce high marginal costs. In the commonly used metal, titanium melting point of 1668 DEG C, the melting point of aluminum is 660 DEG C, Inconel 1390-1425 stainless steel melting point C, melting point of 1510 DEG C, to make these metal materials into liquid state, often require high energy to melt. But if you want to buy laser equipment with enough energy, the price is not necessarily the philippines. Although there are several desktop metal 3D printers and solutions have been on the market, such as the use of the FDM for the same method to produce castings, the quality is uneven, and it is difficult to professional metal printing equipment par.

Renishaw additive manufacturing division of Rob Weston that used to break through these barriers, enterprises can set up their own solutions or business center, located in the direct short-term rental of senior 3D printer equipment center.

Metal 3D print Renishaw IMTS machinery manufacturing in the United States recently exhibited on exhibition

"Report" mentioned Wallace, although professional grade metal 3D printing sector development speed in recent years, far more than the polymer 3D printing, set up in the business area around the printing equipment fixed yet less and less. The University of Birmingham is a good example, the university has now become the world's first equipped with laser metal 3D printing equipment in university.

At present, the common metal 3D printing materials include aluminum oxide, stainless steel, titanium, copper, silver, alloy. Titanium alloy metal 3D printing materials accounted for almost 1/3 of the market, analysts predict that the future market will be 10 years at a rate of 32% growth. This prediction is not groundless. The aviation giant GE has announced a $3 billion 500 million investment in 100 thousand metal 3D printing fuel nozzle production, Aram also said that plans to build 50 thousand 3D printing implant Department of orthopedics. Metal 3D printing frequently found in the aerospace and automotive industry applications, and has been from the initial prototype, now can be directly made into the final stage.

The medical company Alphaform use titanium craniofacial implant 3D printed EOS

To solve the problem of metal 3D printing speed

3D printing has obvious advantages, such as reducing waste, the realization of complex design, application of new materials and new structure forming at a lower cost, but to achieve the popularization and application, there are many technical barriers need to break in the production speed and mass production of these two key points, 3D printing is also difficult to tie with the traditional manufacturing. Because of this, some equipment manufacturers have to tackle the problem of printing speed.

Panasonic announced in 2017 will launch a proprietary 3D printer, printing speed of 110m fand / h, compared to 5-70m / h fand traditional constructing much faster.

The German SLM Solutions by adding additional laser to increase the printing speed of the 3D printer, the industrial grade equipment currently in great demand.

The metal 3D printing company XJet founder won a total of $25 million is a huge investment, investors in addition to the well-known 3D software giant Autodesk, Chinese Everbright and Israel Catalyst equity management company set up a joint venture private equity fund Catalyst CEL included. The company announced a metal 3D printer will be launched this year, can directly print out the stainless steel by using liquid metal object, then they will also be incorporated into liquid and liquid aluminum titanium materials. It is understood that the nanoparticles of XJet's proprietary injection technology (Nano Particle Jetting Technology) can be directly through the standard print head material injection, the general process of eliminating the use of laser metal printing. In the extreme environment of high temperature (550F/300C), liquid component in the material will automatically evaporate, thus forming metal parts of highly complex precise, high strength, thickness less than 2 microns.

The liquid metal 3D printing XJET3D printing equipment start-up company

Metal 3D printing in the future development will greatly benefit from the cooperation between the experts of each domain. As with polymer 3D printing, multi-disciplinary cooperation can greatly promote the development of metal 3D printing, the past isolated knowledge storage model is outdated, the requirements of individual professional at the same time, practitioners must also achieve good relations of cooperation with other experts.

According to the education and promotion of the popularization of the consumer, is the future development of metal 3D printing is another key -- what kind of object for increasing material manufacturing? What is not appropriate? This requires a standard, including the assessment of the print object, its size and shape, the scale of production, the existing materials etc.. 3D printing and other metal materials, may require alternative business models and production resources organization. University of Southern California professor Behrokh Koshnevis proposed that the remote control is likely to become the future of the organization mode of manufacturer. The producers and the traditional plant and equipment separation, even from these equipment one hundred and eight thousand. After a remote control of equipment, workers no longer beam foot in the factory, their work can be performed remotely. This kind of organization mode of benefits: health, safety aspects of the protection of workers, increase the enthusiasm of participation in the work; on the other hand through the factory located in real estate, the cost of energy was relatively low in the region, reducing operating expenses.