In recent years, equipment for metal 3D printing through a binder jetting process has been favored by investors. From the investment market perspective, a large amount of investment funds have entered the field of adhesive jet 3D printing because of high speed, high volume and low cost. The rising stars, such as Desktop Metal, HP, 3DEO, Markforged, GE, etc. Representative companies.
GE announced in 2017 that it has entered the field of adhesive spray 3D printing technology and announced a prototype 3D printing device based on adhesive spray technology. Today, before GE officially commercializes its binder-jet metal 3D printing process, it needs to continue to verify the market feasibility of its technology through application with its partners. One of the technology partners.
Manufacturing efforts for Industry 4.0
The binder jet 3D printing equipment developed by GE is faster and cheaper than powder bed melting equipment (including selective laser melting and electron beam melting). One of the core technologies in GE's adhesive jet 3D printing equipment is a special adhesive. After the metal parts manufactured by the adhesive spraying system are printed, they will be processed through a heat treatment process.
Cummins plans to accelerate the use of 3D printing-additive manufacturing technology in its production process. The introduction of GE's binder injection additive manufacturing technology also marks Cummins' intention to implement Industry 4.0 technology more comprehensively to improve automation in its workflow , Cloud computing and other processes. Cummins plans to use the additive manufacturing process initially for small-volume parts and gradually explore how to integrate the technology into high-volume production.
According to Tim Millwood, Cummins' vice president of global manufacturing, by investing in GE Additive's metal 3D printing technology, Cummins has the potential to provide its customers with faster, lower cost products, better serve its customers and reduce environmental impact. influences.
As mentioned earlier, GE Additive's binder spray technology debuted in 2017, and compared to the more common laser-based 3D printing technology, binder spray can make printing 60 to 100 times faster.
As mentioned by 3D Science Valley in the book "3D Printing and Industrial Manufacturing", 3D printing is only a part of manufacturing, which will be fully integrated with other processes, seamlessly connected in the manufacturing process, and will be 3D printing Enter the main theme of industrialization of manufacturing. According to the market understanding of 3D Science Valley, GE Additive is currently expanding the technology, first forming a trial production line, and then integrating it into a complete factory solution. As a strategic partner, Cummins has early access to the technology. In terms of formal commercialization plans, GE's binder spray system is expected to be available in 2021.
Initially, Cummins 'adhesive spray system will be located at the GE Additive Laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cummins' team will work with GE Labs to take charge of this equipment. Official delivery will be completed later this year.
At present, Cummins also owns two GE Concept Laser M2 selective laser melting metal 3D printers. One is located at the Cummins Technology Center in Columbus, Indiana, and the other is installed at the R & D center in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Cummins is a company oriented to large-scale production, and the binder jet 3D printing technology can quickly produce metal parts in a short time, which significantly reduces the manufacturing cycle, especially in the rapid manufacturing of aluminum and iron parts, which can be carried out with the casting process. competition. This technology has application potential in manufacturing industries that require rapid manufacturing of castings.
Binder jet 3D printing technology is a combination of material spraying and sintering processes to produce full density metal parts. Lower cost equipment also means that the cost of parts is greatly reduced, and lower cost parts in large quantities are the key elements for production.
To eradicate the market observation of 3D Science Valley, there are also many challenges to be overcome with adhesive jet 3D printing technology. In addition to the advantages of adhesive material technology, manufacturing aspects include how to optimize the heat treatment process, strengthen the heat treatment strength, and optimize the distortion after shrinkage. Control and so on include a series of challenges from processing technology to software simulation.
The current indirect metal 3D printing technology includes a variety of different technologies. According to the market research of 3D Science Valley, a large category is the binder jetting technology represented by Desktop Metal, HP, Exone, 3DEO, Markforged, and GE. The other type is NanoParticle Jetting technology represented by Xjet, the third type is metal 3D printing technology using resin as an indirect body developed by Prodways and CEA Tech LITEN, and the fourth type is fused filament manufacturing technology.
From the perspective of the adhesive spraying technology market, several active adhesive spraying 3D printing equipment brands on the market currently have their own technical characteristics. For example, Desktop Metal's DM production system is said to be the fastest 3D printing system for mass production of high-resolution metal parts. In another company, the equipment of ExOne, a long-established enterprise of adhesive spray 3D printing equipment, can also be used for metal printing. ExOne's Exerial system enables customers to carry out industrial mass production through an indirect printing technology. Another veteran company, voxeljet-Germany, mainly uses adhesive spraying and technology to print materials such as sand, PMMA and ceramics.
From the perspective of manufacturing companies, we see that car manufacturers are setting off a wave of 3D printing technology. This includes GM's efforts to standardize 3D printing and apply 3D printing technology in all factories worldwide. Typical examples include GM's use of Autodesk's generative design software to optimize the design of interior components and plans to install these components in the vehicle in approximately one year. It also includes BMW's use of 3D printing technology to manufacture the cast sand core of the cylinder head in the process of manufacturing the brand new engine BMW S58. BMW's application of this technology is to meet the requirements of lightweight and thermal management performance. Allowing BMW engineers to achieve the minimum weight of the cylinder head, and also to produce complex cylinder head structures with integrated cooling channels to optimize their thermal management performance.
If the previous car manufacturers used 3D printing only in the field of prototypes and fixtures, then whether it is using selective laser melting SLM metal 3D printing technology, or using adhesive jet 3D printing technology to print metal, or using adhesives Jet sanding 3D printing technology combines the application of sand printing and casting technology. Automobile manufacturers are opening up a new track that combines 3D printing technology with industrial manufacturing 4.0.