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How to implement metal 3D printing for your business?

Introduction

Metal 3D Printing: How does it work?

There are several 3D printing technologies on the market to create metal parts using additive manufacturing. When starting a 3D printing project using metal materials, you will have to make your choice between all of these technologies and materials depending on the project that you are working on. Each metal 3D printing material has its own mechanical properties.

We can notice two big categories: Powder bed technologies and Laser Metal Deposition technologies. They are the most used and you can totally manufacture parts printed with these two different processes.

The powder bed technologies uses, as their name tell us, a powder bed: the powdered metal is fused to create the parts additively. Metal deposition technologies are adding layers of materials. But let’s see more in details how these techniques are working, and how you could make the most of them.

But first of all, we are going to explain to you the benefits of this technology, how it is actually used in various industries and why you should pay attention to this manufacturing technique and try it! This additive manufacturing technology is a great method to manufacture finished parts.

What are the advantages of metal additive manufacturing?

Metal 3D printing has all the traditional benefits of the additive manufacturing technology, allowing:

To work on complex designs

3D printing is a great way to elaborate complex designs. By using a 3D modeling software, you will be able to design any kind of projects. When designing your project for metal printing, you will have to pay attention to the design guidelines of the material you choose, in order to create a printable and viable part.

Mass-customization

Additive manufacturing is the best solution if you need to manufacture custom-made objects. Indeed, this method will be quite cost-efficient for these projects, as you just have to modify your 3D design and print it using, for example, a 3D printing service such as Sculpteo.

Topology optimization

Using a 3D modeling software offers many advantages. You have a total control on the object that will be manufactured. It is the perfect method to optimize directly the design of your project, by modifying the shape or adding structures such as lattices. 3D printing allows to optimize your part by reducing weight, or work on the resistance of the part.

Short runs at a lower cost

Additive manufacturing is a really convenient and cost effective technique to manufacture short runs. Indeed, it can totally be a cost efficient method for your project, depending on the technology, on the 3D printing material Have you ever thought about applying these 3D printing benefits to your metal projects? You should certainly think about it.

Metal 3D printing technologies

There are a lot of different 3D printing technologies and 3D printing materials actually available on the market. Metal 3D printing is developing really fast, and new technologies, 3D printers and 3D printing materials are unveiled quite regularly. This metal manufacturing process is really promising, giving life to outstanding projects. But metal 3D printing includes different technologies, and it can be a little bit difficult to understand exactly what they are all about.

To start implementing any Additive Manufacturing technologies you need to understand how they work. Then, you can pick which one will suit your production requirements best. In this chapter, we will focus on 4 metal 3D printing technologies, so make sure you stay with us till the end!

DMLS

Direct Metal Laser Sintering technology uses a metal 3D printer to produce your parts layer by layer with metal powder. The temperature needed to fuse the metal powder is between 1510°C to 1600°C. This process is highly beneficial for functional prototyping and low-volume production.

SLM

Selective Laser Melting differs from DMLS by the power of the laser. When it comes to SLM technologies, the powder metal is fully melted and therefore the cooling process is longer. This technology is better suited for pure metals such as Titanium.

Binder Jetting

This 3D printing method fuses the metal powder by applying a binding agent, layer after layer. Then, each layer is lightly cured in order to solidify the material. With Binder Jetting, when the 3D printing job is done, the whole build box is moved into a curing oven.

Lost-Wax Casting

Lost-Wax Casting combines both traditional ways to manufacture and 3D printing. First, a 3D model is 3D printed with wax. Thanks to Additive Manufacturing technologies, the model will be the perfect master model. Then, a mold is produced with that model and the wax is pushed out through a tree-like structure and replaced with metal. Lost-Wax Casting is especially interesting for the production of small objects in many quantities, such as jewelry. To learn more discover our design guidelines for Lost-Wax Casting 3D printing.

FDM

Fused Deposition Modeling, or FDM, is also usable for metal additive manufacturing. For example, some new metal materials such as Ultrafuse® 316L are manufactured using metal filaments.

Metal 3D printing materials

Aluminum AlSiMg0.6

Aluminum parts are produced with Selective Laser Melting technology. This metal is a composite of aluminum (90%), silicone (7%) and magnesium (0.6%). It has good mechanical properties and can be exposed to high voltages. The advantages of Aluminium is durability and lightweight.

Stainless Steel 316L

This material is used for DMLS 3D printing. It is a mix of iron (66-70%), chrome (16-18%), nickel (11-14%) and molybdenum (2-3%). Its outstanding properties are strong resistance against corrosion, high ductility, and smoothness. Thanks to that, Stainless Steel 316L is widely used in the medical, automotive and aerospace industry.

Titanium 6Al-4V

Titanium parts are also manufactured through the DMLS process. It is composed of titanium (88-90%), aluminum (5.5-6.5%) and vanadium (3.5-4.5%). This 3D printing metal has an excellent melting point (1660°C), low toxicity, great mechanical properties and is lightweight. Titanium is the true 3D printing material for tough jobs.

Steel/ Bronze 420SS/BR

If you decide to use this 3D printing metal, you need to know that it’s fine stainless steel (60%), manufactured through Binder Jetting technology, and later enriched with bronze (40%) to achieve additional strength and resistance. Steel/ Bronze 420SS/BR has fairly good mechanical properties, however, it can not withstand as much stress as parts produced through the DMLS process. It is recommended for more decorative objects.

Stainless Steel 316

It’s important not to mistake this Stainless Steel 316 (Binder Jetting) with Stainless Steel 360L (DMLS). As those materials are used for different 3D printing technologies. This metal is more precise and better suited to produce small, high-quality objects. Stainless Steel 360 presents high resistance against corrosion and high temperature, which makes it a good candidate for manufacturing tooling, molds and to be used in the consumer goods industry.

Ultrafuse® 316L and Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH

New technologies and new materials are now entering the additive manufacturing market. Ultrafuse® 316L and Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH are two interesting affordable metal 3D printed using FDM.

Precious metals

For decorative purposes, there is also a selection of 3 precious metals: Sterling Silver, Brass and Bronze. They are all used for Lost-Wax Casting. They all will produce high-quality and complex geometries, which finds applications mostly in jewelry businesses. Sterling Silver and Brass also offers platings, which allows for more options when it comes to the looks of your projects.

Why should you choose metal 3D printing?

There are quite a few industries that benefit the most when it comes to 3D printing production. Which advantages of metal 3D printing are the most important for them and how did they implement innovative solutions? Let’s have a closer look!

Aerospace industry

In this field, the biggest problem is the weight of the parts. Either building an airplane or a rocket, the lightweight of parts is crucial. Why? Because even just lifting those vehicles from the ground requires an abnormous amount of energy and fuel to produce it. Therefore, the lighter the plane or rocket, the better.

Lightweight of 3D printed parts can be achieved in different ways. One is hollowing the parts which are often impossible to achieve with the traditional manufacturing process.

Another one is filling the parts with lattices, which keeps them strong, but lightweight.

Another quality which Additive Manufacturing gives is complex geometries that are essential in this industry and allow the engineers to develop absolutely new design solutions, such as 3D printed brackets by Airbus.

Last advantage, however, it really applies to any industry, is the ultimate personalization. Metal 3D printing allows you to design customized tools, jigs, and fixtures. Some parts have to be unique, dedicated just to fix a specific problem. This is where Additive Manufacturing wins over traditional production methods giving you the opportunity to design parts that were impossible before.

Automotive industry

The automotive industry also needs lightweight parts and new design solutions, but what’s also important here is fast production. Time is money. Additive Manufacturing is an asset to this industry on all production stages.

It can already improve the functional prototyping process by giving the engineering new prototypes in no time. It is also fast because when a new feature needs to be tested, all there has to be done is to add it to the 3D model and send it straight for production.

When the final part is developed, 3D printing is still very beneficial for the automotive industry. It provides the vehicles with very strong, resistant and fully functional car parts, such as breaks produced by Ford or 3D printed tires. Moreover, for all automotive parts, metal 3D printing technologies have the advantage to offer parts that excel in high temperatures.

Jewelry

3D printing in many industries, not only jewelry, offers less material waste which brings the production costs down. As it is producing the parts layer by layer, it only fusses the amount of material which is needed to produce the part. 3D printing is also great to produce molds, thanks to the perfect master model.

The jewelry industry is reaching a new level of complexity and detail thanks to Additive Manufacturing. It offers to the jewelry makers totally new design solutions and beauty, as well as fast production at the best quality. From bracelets and necklaces to handbags, Additive Manufacturing allows the 3D designers to reveal a new was of thinking about jewelry.

How to design for metal 3D printing?

Now that you know why should you consider metal 3D printing for your production, you know the technologies and materials, we should talk about how to implement Additive Manufacturing.

First of all, you need a 3D model. They can be downloaded from the internet, however, you probably need something custom made. Therefore you need to contact an online 3D printing service or learn 3D modeling. We explained what’s the difference between CAD and 3D modeling software and also we’ve got for you to check out the easiest 3D modeling software and Top 25 of free CAD software.

Once you have the model, it’s important to understand what is the best 3D printing file format, the importance of its resolution and which tools you can repair your model if such need occurs. We would advise you to use STL files as they are the most common.

Once your 3D file is ready, you have solutions to consider. You can invest in the best industrial metal 3D printer or use an online 3D printing service which will enable for you affordable metal 3D printing. The latter one is a comfortable and secure way without your company bankrupting by buying a metal 3D printer and paying an expert to run it.

Using an online 3D printing service is as simple as uploading your 3D file to a website and getting an instant quote. If you’re planning to produce whole batches, it might be beneficial for you to contact the sales department to discuss your production options.

Are you looking for a great metal 3D printing service?

Using a metal 3D printing service such as Sculpteo can totally help you to manufacture prototypes or finished products, that you won’t be able to create using a desktop metal 3D printer. Do you need bigger parts or devices perfectly printed using professional 3D printers? You can totally contact us or use our service directly!

There are more and more metal materials available on the market as this technology is becoming really useful for many industries. Sculpteo is offering various 3D printing technologies, and metal is one of them. Once your 3D model is uploaded on our online 3D printing service, you can choose the right metal material for your project.

From bronze to titanium, you can choose among our 3D printing metal materials. When choosing a metal material for your project, you will have the choice among a wide range of different 3D printing materials. You will have to see which material will match your expectations and totally fit the needs of your projects. Indeed, each metal technology and material has its own properties, but there is necessarily one metal printing technology out there, totally fitting your need!

We hope that this page helped you to understand what it metal 3D printing and what are the advantages and various applications of this technology. Are you ready to try a metal 3D printing service to manufacture your metal parts?