Page 12 - 3DMP Spring 2022

3D
AM INSIGHTS By Mark Barfoot
Accelerating AM Growth Coming Out of the Pandemic
The last two years have provided many challenges in dealing with the Covid pandemic, causing minimal new developments or product launches in the additive man- ufacturing (AM) realm. However, we expect that as the pan- demic winds down, many new innovations/developments will emerge in the coming months.
For example, we expect machine launches and other announcements related to electron-beam powder-bed (EB- PBF) technology. This market has consisted strictly of a single technology provider (GE/Arcam); however, during the last few years several new companies have entered the market. Way- land Additive, for example, has launched the Calibur3 system featuring its NeuBeam technology for charging the particles, and it avoids the need for a fully sintered part bed to prevent powder from dispersing during the build. This lack of sintering allows for easier powder removal. Jeol also has introduced a new, unique powder-dispersal-prevention system.
Freemelt, meanwhile, is focused on a laboratory-scale sys- tem with its entire recoater mechanism located outside of the vacuum chamber, for longer life. The fully open-sourced machine allows for the typical lab tweaking. And, the pro- beam Group recently launched an EB-PBF machine as well, in addition to an electron-beam directed energy deposition (EB- DED) system. Many of these enhancements/systems could dramatically improve throughput and allow for geometries that previously proved challenging with EB-PBF technology.
Laser Powder-Bed Developments
A second area of advancement is in low-cost laser powder- bed fusion (L-PBF) systems. Several companies—OneClick Metal, Kurtz Ersa and Xact Metal, for example—now offer machines for $100,000 or less. This could allow the adoption of L-PBF by a wider array of companies that don’t need larger parts. And, some of the parts produced by these machines pro- vide similar properties to the big-brother systems but at a lower price point.
Mark Barfoot (mbarfoot@ewi.org), as director of additive manufacturing (AM) programs for EWI, oversees AM initiatives and helps develop new AM technology opportunities. He also directs the Additive Manufacturing Consortium, a national consortium of industry, government, academic and non-profit research organizations operated by EWI; manages EWI’s interest in ASTM International’s AM Center of Excellence, focused on AM standards development, projects, education and training; and remains an active member of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group after having served as president of the group.
While these lower-cost systems typically have a smaller build size and a slower build rate, as most of them use a gantry system to move the laser vs. a galvo-based system, the new Xact Metal machine launched last fall at Formnext is a galvo- based setup with a $90,000 base price. And, to keep pricing down on its machines, Kurtz Ersa uses laser diodes as the ener- gy source on its system.
We’ve also seen suppliers develop new multi-laser L-PBF systems. Among the newer models: the Additive Industries MetalFab-600 system (10 lasers) and the SLM NXG XII 600 sys- tem (12 lasers). SLM claims that its system provides a 20X faster build than a single-laser setup. Pegged for building larger parts, these multi-laser machines also provide the ability to build smaller parts more quickly and could hold the key to improving price point and volume.
Emerging Technologies
• Cold spray AM, while in existence for a few years, recently has begun to be more widely installed across the United States. Cold spray gives the ability to print quickly and with materials that other systems have difficulty producing; it also allows the application of dissimilar materials. Spee3d leads the AM charge with this technology, but other cold spray systems pre- viously focused on cladding now have moved into the AM space, including those from VRC and Titomic.
Shown are multiple, simultaneous weld pools developed on the Wayland Additive Calibur3 metal-AM system featuring NeuBeam technology that avoids the need for a fully sintered part bed to prevent powder from dispersing during the build.
10 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SPRING 2022
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