SHCY has developed the first “coaxial wire-feed laser metal 3D printer” with practical value in China, which will provide more efficient and lower-cost solutions for the manufacture and remanufacturing of various key components.
Laser cladding 3D printing is a promising new technology, which has the advantages of material saving, energy saving, and forming without being limited by the complexity of parts. In recent years, it has received widespread attention from the industry.SHCY is focusing on laser cladding 3D printing technology. After nearly two years of independent research and development, a coaxial wire-feed laser metal 3D printer has recently come out.
It is understood that this 3D printer uses a laser cladding head to convert a high-power solid laser into a coaxial ring laser and focus on the workpiece; the wire is sent coaxially from the center of the ring laser into the molten pool for Melt deposition. The equipment has a maximum laser power of 3,000 watts, a wire diameter of 1.0 to 1.6 mm, and a printing speed of 5 to 30 g / min when using 316L stainless steel.
Han Han, a postdoctoral fellow at the SHCY, said that using metal wires instead of metal powders has many advantages. Wires are cheaper, more efficient, and easier to store without contaminating the surrounding area.
The device has successfully printed a ring sample with a diameter of 60 mm and a height of 250 mm. It is a stack of 600 layers with a surface roughness of only 15 microns. After testing and evaluation, this coaxial wire-feed laser metal 3D printer has reached the international advanced level.
Using metal wire instead of metal powder has many advantages. The metal wire is cheaper, has a higher utilization rate, is easier to store, and does not pollute the surrounding area. Take titanium alloy as an example, the price of metal wire is 300 yuan/kg, which is only one-tenth of the price per kilogram of metal powder; the utilization rate of printing materials with metal wire can reach 100%, while metal powder generally does not exceed 30 %. The difference between these two costs is about 30 times. Moreover, titanium alloy is a strategic-grade precious metal material, and the substantial increase in its utilization rate is of great significance to the construction of national defense.
According to the plan, the 3D printing research and development platform of SHCY will have the ability to repair and remanufacture key components within this year; within the next two years, the industrial application of coaxial wire-feed laser 3D printing technology in the field of repair and remanufacturing will Provides a weapon for the development of domestic industrial manufacturing and remanufacturing industries.