The use of metal AM is ramping up, and so, as a result, is the demand for metal powders. However, the variety of materials available remains relatively small. This is due, among other things, to the exacting requirements for the powders used, and the method of production. In addition, the production of smaller quantities of powder can be uneconomical. In a project funded by the AiF, the IWM at Germany’s RWTH Aachen University and Fraunhofer IFAM have developed a sustainable ‘powder kit’ for the individual and robust production of metal powder mixtures with subsequent alloying during PBF-LB processing. The partners share their progress.
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Additive Manufacturing processes offer a high degree of design freedom. The Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M), in particular, has established itself for series applications of complex-shaped parts in numerous industries. In this article, Prof Dr-Ing Christian Seidel considers the next major step in PBF-LB, which could offer designers unknown potential: the production of sensor-integrated AM parts. Methods and solutions for the manufacturing of sensor-integrated AM parts are presented and industry-relevant case studies showcased, illustrating the potential offered by sensor-integrated ‘smart parts.’
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While most people associate the advantages of AM with small- to medium-sized, complex parts, wire-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) makes it possible to achieve geometric complexity on a huge scale. Although the adoption rate for wire-based DED does not come close to that of the more widely known metal AM processes, this unique technology has advanced dramatically over recent years, and promises major advantages in a volatile global manufacturing landscape. Dr Filomeno Martina, CEO and co-founder of WAAM3D, explains more.
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In the Summer 2020 issue of Metal AM magazine, Joseph Kowen presented a snapshot of the Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion industry. The conclusion was that the full potential of the technology was, as yet, unrealised, and that PBF-EB had considerably more promise than the level of commercial activity seemed to suggest. Two years later, Kowen returns to the topic to offer an update on the progress of the PBF-EB field over the intervening period. He assesses the growing level of activity to provide an updated estimate on where the technology, and its commercialisation, is headed. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 3, Autumn 2022]
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As product developers become more and more aware of the possibilities of metal Additive Manufacturing and the design freedom it offers, metal Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) has established itself for series applications in numerous industries. One novel capability of PBF-LB/M which has yet to be fully explored is the production of multi-material metal parts, which would offer huge new potential for designers in many industries. Prof Dr-Ing Christian Seidel looks at methods and solutions for the AM of parts consisting of two arbitrarily distributed metal alloys and presents use cases with the potential for series production by multi-material PBF-LB/M in the near future. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 2, Summer 2022]
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It is too easy to look at metal Additive Manufacturing technologies as neatly fitting into a small number of convenient process categories. The risk, in doing so, is that the best solution could be overlooked. One AM process that does not fit into such neat boxes is Xerox’s Liquid Metal Jetting. Whilst it falls, broadly, under the ISO/ASTM 52900:2015 category of Material Jetting, it is unique among metal AM processes. Here, Bender Kutub considers where it fits into the drive for supply chain resilience, and explores its market potential. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 2, Summer 2022]
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X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) has long been a powerful tool in metallurgy, but its unsuitability for parts with large grain sizes has made its use for the analysis of metal additively manufactured parts a challenge. In this article, Dr Scott Speakman, Malvern Panalytical, reports on a study in which specimens of soft magnetic Fe-Si steel were made by PBF-LB using a variety of raster and annealing strategies to produce specimens with large grain sizes. The X-ray diffraction data collected illustrates the tell-tale signs of poor crystallite sampling statistics. Speakman presents some strategies for recovering data fidelity with conventionally available options. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 2, Summer 2022]
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In the men’s track cycling team pursuit qualifying at the 2020 Olympics, broadcast live to a global audience, a handlebar part produced by metal Additive Manufacturing failed with catastrophic consequences for the rider, Australia’s Alex Porter. Six months later, a forensic analysis of the incident was published as a 170-page report. The good news is that the company that made the AM part, along with the technology itself, were cleared of blame. So: what went wrong, and what lessons can be learned? Robin Weston digs into the details. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 2, Summer 2022]
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Is it possible to actively monitor the huge volumes of data from a Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine to identify, through machine learning (ML), build errors as they happen? To answer this question, Renishaw and Altair played a unique game of hide and seek. In this innovative experiment, an error was deliberately hidden in a build for an artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution to find. The hope? True ‘on the fly’ quality assurance for Additive Manufacturing processes for accelerated product development, and dramatically reduced post-production quality checks. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 1, Spring 2022]
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Every so often, something comes along that gets the whole Additive Manufacturing industry talking. Over the past two years, few companies have generated as much intrigue as Seurat Technologies, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory spin-out named for the French pointillist, bringing with it a technology roadmap that promises to evolve metal AM to the crucial point of out-competing conventional manufacturing methods. In this Metal AM exclusive, James DeMuth, Seurat CEO, offers the deepest look yet into the technology behind his company’s promise. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 1, Spring 2022]
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A technical session in the programme of the virtual Euro PM2021 conference, organised by the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) and held October 18-22, 2021, focused on issues related to the processing of nickel-base alloys and refractory metals by Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing. Dr David Whittaker reviews four papers that address microstructure control, lattice optimisation and chemical post-processing parameters for IN718, and the AM of molybdenum. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 1, Spring 2022]
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While Additive Manufacturing uses some powder characterisation methods similar to those used in conventional metal powder technologies, it is necessary to define additional properties critical for repeatable, reliable AM. ASTM International’s Dr Alexander Liu, Head of Additive Manufacturing Programs – Asia Region, Singapore, and Dr Rafi Khalid, Sr Lead, Additive Manufacturing Programs Development, Singapore, outline the key metal powder characteristics for AM and their significance, as well as discuss the industrial test methods and standards AM part makers rely on to maintain consistent quality. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 8 No. 1, Spring 2022]
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