Online quotes for steel 3D printing are not available on the Sculpteo site but you can contact our sales department to examine your project. Forgot your password? Don't have an account? Register now. Connect with Google. Connect with Facebook. Sign Up. Even within the same technology group, 3D printers can vary substantially.
Take metal Powder Bed Fusion PBF , the process where metal powders are fused layer-by-layer by a powerful heat source, as an example. While the key idea behind PBF remains the same, there are several quite unique takes on the technology. For example, VELO3D has developed a powder bed fusion 3D printer which features a unique recoater mechanism and is tightly integrated with the software.
This provides the system with a unique capability of printing parts with almost no support structures. In another example, Aurora Labs is developing a PBF metal 3D printer, which will be able to print parts at an unprecedented PBF technology speed of up to a tonne of metal per day. Overall, the metal 3D printing landscape is quite complex and can be difficult to keep track of.
You may want to check our Definitive Guide to Metal 3D printing to learn more about the technology. Metal 3D printing is indeed a go-to technology when looking to produce small volumes of parts. Some metal 3D printers, in particular those that are based on binder jetting technology , can accommodate medium to large batches of parts. One company illustrating this is 3DEO. The metal 3D printing company developed a patented Intelligent Layering technology, which enables it to achieve high-volume, repeatable and automated production for metal parts.
Then it sprays a binder onto the entire layer. Lastly, it uses a CNC end mill to precisely define the shape of the part at each layer. This hybrid approach allows the company, which uses its technology as a service, to handle orders of , pieces per year. Such speed is orders of magnitude faster than most metal 3D printers on the market, which makes it ideal for producing complex metal parts at high volumes.
As potential alternatives to traditional methods like machining, these methods showcase that the industry is developing solutions for faster metal 3D printing, taking the technology into a new realm of higher volume production. Metal AM was indeed first adopted for high-end applications in the aerospace and medical industries.
However, with the proliferation of more affordable metal 3D printing solutions, the range of applications has expanded to spare parts, functional prototypes and custom tooling. By using a steel powder melted into place by a laser, this process follows in the footsteps of technologies like powder welding. And by adding a mathematical model to gauge which laser settings will best reduce printing flaws, the researchers have made a process they say makes strong steel into strong 3D-printed steel items.
Using this term usually indicates the new idea is an alternative that saves a ton of time compared to a traditionally iterating or permutating algorithm that can take, well, almost forever. The results were striking right away. The team used its framework on a selective laser melting SLM additive sample made from an especially corrosion-resistant steel called AF From the paper's abstract:.
Why does introducing math make the steel so much stronger? The gripper jaws are printed using PH Stainless Steel, which has high-abrasion resistance. The closed-cell infill within the part makes it much lighter than a traditional steel part, meaning the arm can move faster than with a machined equivalent and output higher yield.
The tips of the jaws are shaped and low-profile to avoid the press brake tooling, but designed to grip the part securely. This would have been difficult and expensive to machine out of the same material, so they decided to print the complex geometry instead. The Metal X can solve a lot of problems when it comes to manufacturing, and you can see more of these solutions on our Applications page.
Many of these examples stem from three core benefits of additive manufacturing, and how they can help cut down your cost per part:. Geometric Freedom: Complexity and optimization come at a cost for most traditional manufacturing processes — additional features mean more operations, longer machining time, or multi-part molds. Additive manufacturing removes many of these constraints.
The process builds material up instead of cutting it down, so its design methodology encourages putting material exactly where it is necessary, at no cost to the operator. In fact, you consume less material and time by doing so.
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