On June 30, 2020, EOS Germany, a global leader in industrial metal 3D printing, recently released eight new metal powders and processes that can be used in its M 290, M 300-4, and M 400-4 3D printing systems. Expanded its variety of additive manufacturing materials, newly released materials include 1 PREMIUM and 7 CORE products.
In 2019, EOS launched a material and process technology maturity classification system, featuring material technical readiness (TRLs). The purpose of the TRL system is to assist manufacturers to successfully cross over to mass production of additive manufacturing and provide a standardized, data-supported indicator.
Eanna Metal Materials Product Manager Hanna Pirkkalainen explained: "According to specific application requirements, customers can choose between CORE materials (TRL 3 and 5) and PREMIUM materials (TRL 7-9), the former mainly focuses on the early market of new materials Access, the latter pays special attention to the quality of repeatable parts in mass production."
Advanced materials
The new TRL 7 material for M 290 is ToolSteel 1.2709. It is described as an ultra-high strength maraging steel, suitable for high stress forming applications. This steel has excellent fatigue resistance and improved polishability, and its performance can be fine-tuned by heat treatment after 3D printing. It is recommended for plastic injection molding, extrusion tools, hot pressing tools, die casting tools and other fields.
Pipe mold, the material is EOS ToolSteel 1.2709, printed with EOS M 290 system
Core material
The M 290 system also received three new CORE products-AlSi10Mg, Ti64 Grade 5 and Ti64 Grade 23. AlSi10Mg's new 60-micron process is classified as TRL 3, which has faster printing efficiency, better formability, and new heat treatment capabilities to improve ductility, and is recommended for applications that have critical requirements for cost-effectiveness.
Heat exchanger with bionic structure, material is EOS AlSi10Mg, used in M 290 system
Isar Aerospace Technology, exhaust, using EOS Titanium Grade 5 and Ti64 Grade 23 materials for EOS M 290 and EOS M 400-4 systems (source EOS)
Two new 80-micron processes of titanium alloy (also applicable to the M 400-4 system) are optimized to quickly produce parts with similar Ti-64 forging performance. Both alloys have low density, high strength and excellent corrosion resistance, so they are suitable for aerospace and automotive parts.
Finally, the M 300-4 system has obtained the 40-micron process (TRL 3) of nickel alloy IN718 and the 50-micron process (TRL 3) of maraging steel MS1. Inconel is a precipitation-hardening nickel-chromium alloy with high tensile strength and excellent fatigue and creep resistance at temperatures up to 700°C. It is commonly used in high-stress, high-temperature applications, such as gas turbine engine components. MS1 material also has excellent mechanical properties, the hardness can reach more than 50HRC, used in injection molds.
Liebherr bracket, using EOS nickel alloy IN718, for EOS M 300-4 system
Tool plug-in, using EOS maraging steel MS1, for EOS M 300-4 system
Gas turbine engine components require high tensile strength and creep resistance
New powders are constantly being adopted by metal additive manufacturing, which has spawned a series of new technology applications. Just in June 2020, metal additive manufacturing expert Amaero announced that its high-performance 3D printed aluminum alloy Amaero HOT Al has entered the fourth stage and reached the final stage of international patent approval. The material has a high scandium content and can be heat treated and age hardened after printing.
Protolabs has introduced a new cobalt-chromium superalloy for its metal laser sintering process. The digital prototype company believes that this heat-resistant, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant material will subvert many industries including oil and gas.