5. Additive manufacturing
From rapid prototyping to serial production, we are at your service. All additive manufacturing processes feature layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional objects, but production techniques vary. Printing systems can be classified either by their energy source or the way the material is being joined, for example using laser or a binder. Below you find a brief description of the processes that we use. We always develop the right printing parameters so that your product gets the optimum properties.
Powder Bed Fusion (Laser and Electron Beam, EBM)
Ideal for design of complex geometries, Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) methods use either a laser or electron beam (EBM) to melt and fuse powder together. The melting process is repeated, layer by layer, until the last layer is melted and the parts are complete. Then they are removed from the build plate and post processed according to requirements. Powder Bed Fusion is suitable for a variety of materials and applications. Parts typically possess high strength, with a large range of post-processing methods available.
Binder Jetting
The Binder Jetting process uses two materials: a powder based material and a binder. The binder acts as an adhesive between powder layers. The binder is usually in liquid form and the build material in powder form. A print head moves horizontally and deposits alternating layers of the build material and the binding material. After each layer, the object being printed is lowered on its build platform. The resulting object is in a green state, so post-processing is required. The green body is cured in a furnace to remove the solvent from the binder and finally debound and sintered to near full density in a sintering furnace.