3D Printing Metal
How Metal 3D Printing Works?
3D metal printing is an advanced technology that allows you to create three-dimensional metal objects with great precision and detail. This technology uses several 3D printing techniques, including metal deposition printing (DM) and selective laser sintering (SLS). Metal 3D printing is used in many sectors of industry, such as the aerospace industry, the medical industry and the automotive industry.
Thanks to its ability to create metal objects with great precision and detail, Metal 3D printing allows you to produce custom parts and components with complex geometries and smooth surfaces, which would be difficult or impossible to produce using traditional manufacturing methods.
In general, 3D metal printing is an advanced technology that is revolutionizing the approach to the production of metal parts and components, allowing objects to be created with greater precision and detail and further improving the efficiency and sustainability of industrial production.
3D Metal Printing Techniques
Among the most widespread technologies for 3D metal printing, there is metal deposition printing (DM), this involves the fusion of metal powders through a thin laser beam, which creates a solid object layer by layer. The metal powder is spread onto a substrate and the laser beam melts the powder particles, creating the desired object. The DM process allows you to create objects in a wide range of metals, including steel, titanium and aluminium.
Another technique is selective laser sintering (SLS) which consists in the fusion of metal powders using a laser beam, which creates a solid object layer by layer. However, unlike the DM, the SLS process does not require the use of a substrate, as the metal powder is melted directly into a solid object. The SLS process allows you to create objects in a wide range of metals, including steel, titanium and nickel.
There is also additional technology still in development, based on the extrusion of special filaments for metal 3D printing, which are made using a combination of plastic polymers mixed appropriately with steel metal powders, titanium, aluminum, copper and nickel. and others.
Once printed, 3D metal objects can be sintered by exposure to an activating agent, such as heat, which causes the fusion of the metal particles and the complete evaporation of the plastic polymers without changing the shape of the object. In this way, 3D metal objects can be designed to adapt to different environmental conditions or to perform specific tasks.
However, FDM 3D printing of metal presents some technical challenges, including the difficulty of melting and depositing filaments containing metal powders with good adhesion between the various layers.
Furthermore, FDM 3D printing of metal requires very high printing temperatures, which may be difficult to control and may cause deformation or distortion of the object.
Despite the technical challenges, FDM 3D metal printing has the potential to revolutionize the approach to manufacturing metal parts and components, allowing you to create objects with greater flexibility and functionality.
However, at the moment, FDM 3D metal printing is still a developing technology and is not yet widespread in the industry.
What can be printed with 3D metal printing?
Metal 3D printing is used in the aerospace industry to produce lightweight, strong aircraft parts, in the automotive industry for the production of customized spare parts for vehicles and in the medical industry for the production of customized prosthetics and anatomical models for surgical planning.
In general, 3D metal printing allows you to produce complex parts that would be difficult or impossible to make with traditional manufacturing methods. For example, 3D metal printing allows you to create parts with complex geometries and even smooth surfaces, which can be used in many different applications.
Furthermore, 3D metal printing allows you to create personalized and unique objects, that meet the specific needs of the customer. Thanks to its flexibility and ability to create parts with greater precision and detail, 3D metal printing is revolutionizing the approach to the production of metal parts and components, helping to further improve the efficiency and sustainability of industrial production.
Metal 3D Printing is Low Cost?
Metal 3D printing can be expensive compared to traditional 3D printing, but there are some particular techniques and materials that can help reduce costs. For example, 3D printing of metal using metal deposition technology (DM) or selective laser sintering (SLS) can be more expensive than FDM 3D printing (Fused Deposition Modeling).
However, There are some hybrid techniques that can reduce the costs of metal 3D printing. For example FDM Metal 3D printing, which builds the three-dimensional object by extruding a special filament composed of metal powders mixed with plastic polymers, it is decidedly cheaper than metal deposition technology (DM) and selective laser sintering (SLS).
However, the cost of the filaments themselves and the necessary post-processing process should not be overlooked, which consists in the thermal fusion of the metal powders still present between the plastic polymers that give shape to the 3D object which can thus take on a full metallic consistency.
Optimizing printing parameters can also reduce production costs. Furthermore, Using low-cost 3D printers or sharing machines among multiple users can further reduce costs.
In general, 3D printing metal can be expensive compared to other 3D printing technologies. However, It is important to consider the total cost of the manufacturing process, which also includes 3D model design, preparing the print file, post-processing of the object and maintenance of the 3D printer.