Introducing direct metal printing is not to replace the traditional manufacturing but to create more opportunities for more complex or designs that are not possible to fabricate using traditional machining.
Depending on the process of traditional manufacturing, some parts may require advanced tools and machinery, incurring labour cost and expensive equipment. With direct metal printing, you can store the CAD design and send for printing on demand whenever needed. The entire process could reduce from several weeks to few days.
Direct metal printing may not be the most cost-effective manufacturing solutions, but it is one of the alternate solutions for low-volume production, complex metal parts, limited / unique part, or prototype with no minimum quantity.
Proof of Concept & New Design Possibilities
Additive manufacturing makes it possible to optimize design, rapid iterate and manufacture lightweight, topology-optimized design closer to the ideal design.
Once the 3D printed part is completed, you can proceed with functional testing and fit check. Designers can immediately iterate the design in no time and send for printing again without fabricating new molds or modify the tooling.
Direct metal printing allows you to design complex and lightweight parts with geometries and structures to improve performance. Complex parts such as tubes within tubes or design with internal hollow or overhangs that is impossible to fabricate using traditional manufacturing can be 3D printed with direct metal printing.
Selection of Metal Materials
With the advancement in direct metal printing, there are wide range of materials from aluminum, maraging steel, steel and various grade of titanium to nickel and cobalt chrome alloy.
Aluminum alloys are often used for light-weight, high strength applications in automotive, aerospace and machinery. Maraging steel alloys enable direct printing for conformal cooling channels in injection molding tools, enabling shorter cycle times and longer tool life.
Titanium alloys is a combination of high strength, low weight and excellent biocompatibility. When 3D printing is critical for final part quality and total cost of operation (TOC) that the highly reactive titanium powder is not exposed to oxygen. 3D Systems DMP Flex 350 3D printer’s unique vacuum chamber architecture keeps oxygen exposure under 25ppm during the entire print build. This ensures consistent part properties and nearly 100% powder usage.
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