On March 11, 2020, Aerosint, Belgium developed a new metal 3D printer with a double powder spreading device that can spread two different metal powders simultaneously in SLM laser powder bed melting equipment. Therefore, two-component metal 3D printed parts can be manufactured.
In fact, Aerosint announced this technology a few years ago, but it was not successfully used in metal 3D printing.
Aerosint powder spreading device
Aerosint's powder spreading device is similar to other equipment, and it also deposits metal powder onto the printing platform. The difference is that the powder spreading device has two drums, which can spread different metal powders. Deposit the corresponding metal powder at the position corresponding to the design drawing.
Aerosint's co-founder and managing director said: "We can print with two powders at the same time to create a two-powder part. In the future we can expand it to more powders. The technology is suitable for standard 3D printing powders, including: metal , Ceramics and polymers. "
Application and Challenge
The Aerosint team believes that this two-component metal 3D printing function will subvert a series of applications such as heat exchangers, wear-resistant cutting tools and even rocket nozzles.
Aerosint MD added: "The potential application of this technology is very wide, and there are many other applications yet to be discovered. At present, it has attracted the interest of industry. Compared with a year ago, 3D printing of multiple materials has gradually been recognized.
Of course, this technology also faces many challenges, such as powder recycling after printing. The current solution relies on different material density and magnetic properties for separation, but it is still the most ideal solution to avoid completely mixing the powder.
Currently, the team has considered adding a third cheap, reusable material to the mixture to act as a filler. By using fillers, users can deposit only the necessary amount of expensive powder into the powder bed, thereby saving the cost of material separation.
In recent years, multi-material 3D printing is a research direction that has received much attention in the field of additive manufacturing.
Researchers at Harvard University have developed a new multi-material 3D printing method in which a print head with multiple channels can deliver up to eight different materials through a single nozzle.
Elsewhere in Zurich, scientists have developed a novel 3D printing method that can produce multi-metal microstructures with a resolution of 250 nanometers at a rate of 10 voxels per second.
However, what makes Aerosint unique is the multi-material printing of multiple forms of metal, ceramic and plastic powder, creating more possible combinations.