Page 34 - 3D Metal Printing Winter 2020

3D Largest formnext Yet
10,000 2-in.-long models of Volkswagen’s ID.3 electric vehicle to VW. HP announced the supply as an example of the system’s ability to manufacture in production vol- umes. The miniature models, complete with the detailed VW logo and produced across a 4-week production run, will be used in marketing efforts.
HP Inc.: www8.hp.com
Compact Multi-Laser Machine Ideal for Medical, Tooling Applications
Trumpf displayed its compact TruPrint 2000, offering a small, 55-micron-dia. laser
Demonstrating the efficacy of metal AM, Dr. Klaus Parey, managing director of Trumpf Additive Manufacturing, holds a metal AM part previously produced via assembly of 10 separate parts--that component is on the table. Besides cutting component cost by 30 percent, design-and-build capabilities inherent in AM yielded optimal cooling channels that improve the part's cooling efficiency by 20 percent.
beam to provide detailed, high-quality surfaces, according to company officials. The system, with comprehensive process monitoring, including melt pool moni- toring, for consistent component quality, provides a cylinder build area of 200 mm dia. by 200 mm high. Two 300-W fiber lasers scan the entire build area. Company officials see the system as ideal for medical
devices as well as dental devices and tool and mold making.
The inert-machine concept of the TruPrint 2000, with its powder-preparation station,
provides simple powder and parts handling under shielding gas, according to Trumpf officials. In practice with the integrated powder feeder, the component is inertly unpacked directly within the machine. Excess powder collected in the overflow bin is placed in the powder-preparation station and sieved for reuse into the supply cylinder, under shielding gas. The powder circuit closes so that the user does not come into contact with the powder. In simpler terms, an operator can remove excess powder from the component directly within the system rather than removing it and unpacking at a separate station. And with powder processed in an inert environment, contaminants are prevented from infiltrating the powder circuit—key when producing sensitive medical devices.
Trumpf: www.trumpf.com
Titanium Hip Cups in 225-Part Builds
To reduce cost per part, a 3D Systems DMP Flex 350 stack-prints hip cups using the company’s LaserForm Ti Gr23 (A), a titanium alloy. Printing in layer thicknesses of 60 microns for the scaffold and 90 microns for solids, the machine produces 225 parts/build when using the full plate, for an average build time per part of 45 min.
The printer features a build volume of 275 by 275 by 420 mm with a maximum achievable part size of 275 by 275 by 380 mm using a standard-height build plate of 40 mm. A unique vacuum chamber heavily reduces argon-gas con-
sumption while achieving oxygen levels of less than 25 ppm. This results in exceptionally strong parts of high chemical purity, according to 3D Systems officials. Designed for R&D projects, application development or for serial production, the machine also is
Printing in layer thicknesses of 60 microns for the scaffold and 90 microns for solids, a 3D Systems
DMP Flex 350 machine stack-prints hip cups using the company’s LaserForm Ti
Gr23 (A), a titanium alloy.
Design-to-Production Capability,
New Facility for Metal Part Production
Materialise highlighted its AM design-to-production capabilities, including redevelopment of a suction gripper. Materialise engineers created a part using less material,
eliminating machining steps and integrating
internal channels. The resulting part:
94 percent lighter, half the production cost
and improved suction. During 3DMP's visit,
Jurgen Laudus, vice president of Materialise's
manufacturing segment, reported
groundbreaking for a new facility in
Bremen, Germany, for AM of metal
industrial parts. Expected completion:
early 2021.
Materialise: www.materialise.com
32 | 3D METAL PRINTING • WINTER 2020
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