· The cooperation project successfully improved the technology and cost performance of industrial-grade 3D printing amorphous metal parts
· The new 3D printed parts are isotropic and can maintain extremely high strength regardless of the construction direction used
· High-stress components used in medical equipment, aerospace and mechanical engineering industries may benefit greatly
Two German technology giants-Heraeus and TRUMPF-have joined forces to jointly carry out 3D printing research on amorphous metals (also known as "metallic glass") with a view to improving the process and cost-effectiveness of amorphous metals Parts printing has become the standard production process in the workshop. Amorphous metals are twice as strong as steel, but much lighter than steel, and have better elasticity. Amorphous metals are isotropic, which means that regardless of the construction direction used in 3D printing, the material properties are always the same. 3D printing can not only be used to manufacture extremely rugged components, but also provide engineers with greater design freedom. In the future, amorphous metal 3D printing may benefit many fields, such as high-stress components and lightweight components used in the aerospace and mechanical engineering industries. Due to their biocompatibility, such materials are also ideal for medical devices.
3D printing opens up new industrial applications for amorphous metals
"The application of 3D printing technology of amorphous metal parts in the industrial field is still in its infancy. This cooperation will help us speed up the printing process, improve the surface quality of parts, and ultimately help customers reduce costs. We will enhance this technology in more The applicability in the application also opens up some new applications. "Jürgen Wachter, head of Heraeus AMLOY, explained.
"Amorphous metals have application potential in many industries, such as one of the most important industries of additive manufacturing technology (ie 3D printing)-medical equipment. Therefore, we believe this cooperation will be TRUMPF Group ’s industrial 3D printing solution The plan is a great opportunity to further develop this key market, "said Klaus Parey, general manager of the additive manufacturing business department of TRUMPF.
TRUMPF's latest TruPrint 2000 3D printing device is ideal for printing Heraeus amorphous metal materials.
Amorphous metal is a metal material formed by rapid cooling of liquid metal. 3D printing equipment can use this material to manufacture complex large-sized parts-which is impossible to achieve by other production processes. Therefore, 3D printing technology will open up new industrial applications for amorphous metals. In addition, with the help of 3D printing, amorphous metals can also exert their great potential in lightweight design. On the premise of meeting the functional requirements, the 3D printed parts do not have any redundant structure, so the amount of material and the weight of the parts are kept to a minimum. Amorphous metal itself is very light, so the combination of 3D printing and amorphous metal can meet the lightweight requirements of various applications. 3D printing technology can make the production of amorphous metal parts more convenient, and the application fields are more extensive. With this technology, users can directly manufacture complete components without having to produce individual parts and then assemble them into finished products.
Optimized materials + dedicated 3D printing equipment = mass production of high-quality parts
In this cooperation, Heraeus Amorphous Metals has fully utilized its expertise in the production and processing of amorphous metals, as well as TRUMPF Group's extensive experience in additive manufacturing. Heraeus Amorphous Metals has optimized its amorphous alloys for 3D printing and customized suitable materials for TRUMPF TruPrint equipment. The latest TruPrint 2000 released by TRUMPF is the best choice for printing amorphous metals. The equipment is equipped with a powder preparation station, which can unpack printing parts and powder processing in an inert protective gas, and unused powder will be recovered. This design is critical for amorphous metals because such materials can react rapidly with oxygen. At the same time, TruPrint 2000 is equipped with two TRUMPF 300W fiber lasers, which can be deployed in the entire forming chamber of the printer at the same time, which greatly reduces the processing time of individual components. With a spot diameter of only 55 microns, users can produce amorphous metal parts with extremely high surface quality in small batches or large batches. The molten pool monitoring function can automatically monitor and analyze the quality of the molten pool during processing, so as to detect process deviations as early as possible.
Customers can order amorphous metal parts or print by themselves
Customers with TRUMPF 3D printing equipment can now use the printer to process zirconium alloys provided by Heraeus Amorphous Metals, or order 3D printed amorphous metal parts directly from Heraeus Amorphous Metals. In the future, Heraeus Amorphous Metals and TRUMPF also hope to use copper and titanium alloys for 3D printing.
Amorphous metal expansion sleeve
Expansion sleeve is one of the components that can improve the performance of amorphous metal 3D printing. Due to the high elasticity of amorphous metals, casings produced with this material are more easily deformed than traditional casings. With the help of 3D printing technology, users can directly manufacture complete parts without having to produce parts one by one, and then assemble them into finished products, thus simplifying the production process.