On November 11, 2018, German industrial 3D printing system manufacturer EOS announced that it would introduce "revolutionary polymer additive manufacturing technology" in 2018. The company claims that the new technology, called LaserProFusion, is the only additive manufacturing technology that can replace injection molding: nearly a million diode lasers, array lasers, and instant sintering of powder materials in one shot, achieving similar photocuring DLP 3D printing technology.
We all know that compared with injection molding, 3D printing technology still has the disadvantages of slower manufacturing speed and poor surface accuracy. So how does EOS overcome these shortcomings with new technologies?
EOS's new LaserProFusion technology uses nearly a million diode lasers to melt materials and manufacture parts layer by layer instead of using a single CO2 laser to cover the entire build platform back and forth with traditional SLS technology), such as standard laser sintering processes. The company claims that this build process is very efficient and can be used as an injection molding alternative for many applications.
In fact, the difference between SLS and LaserProFusion technology, in the view of Antarctic Bear, is the difference between SLA and DLP technology in light curing technology.
The SLA printing process uses a single laser beam to scan the cured resin material back and forth; while DLP irradiates the entire cross section at once.
SLS technology uses a single CO2 laser to sinter the material back and forth; LaserProFusion technology sinters the entire section at once.
Simultaneous irradiation of multiple lasers
The entire cross section of the print job is sintered at the same time
The laser array can achieve a maximum total output of up to 5 kW. For each layer, only the diode laser that matches the part's CAD data is activated to print out accurate pixels. Regardless of the number of parts and their geometry, the new technology can significantly reduce exposure times.
In addition, EOS will introduce a material classification system called the Technical Readiness Level (TRL). TRL was developed by NASA to classify materials and processes based on technology maturity. EOS divides its material products into two categories: TRL 3 to 6 core products, while premium products fall into TRL 7 to 9 and are suitable for continuous manufacturing. The goal of the TRL classification system is to provide manufacturers with a proven additional series of application data bases.
Dr. Tobias Abeln, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of EOS commented, "With LaserProFusion technology, we have achieved a new level of productivity in the polymer industry for 3D printing for continuous manufacturing. It is a technology that can be substituted in many applications Injection molding, which enables toolless injection molding respectively. This will make industrial 3D printing attractive in a new market in the future. "
The principle of DLP technology can greatly improve the 3D printing speed of light curing resin. Carbon3D in the United States is a very good technical deepening and perfecting path. Through continuous exposure in the form of "continuous liquid surface printing technology" (CLIP), the speed of resin 3D printing is increased by 10 or 100 times, which has a disruptive effect. The valuation has reached the level of 1 billion U.S. dollars, and it is expected to allow 3D printing to scale production in the future;
The principle of LaserProFusion technology can greatly improve the 3D printing speed of sintered powder. If you refer to the technical ideas of CLIP and come up with a "continuous powder layer printing technology", which can increase the 3D printing speed of polymer materials, metals and other powder materials by 10 times or 100 times, it will have a more disruptive impact on the global industry. The application market involved may reach trillions of dollars.