The arrival of the 12-laser SLM metal 3D printer may have a major impact on the metal processing industry. Due to the substantial increase in printing production efficiency, according to the current metal 3D printing service price, a million yuan-level part printing manufacturing order may be completed within a few days; the value output in a month can reach millions or even nearly a thousand Ten thousand yuan (different according to different parts design and materials used).
12 1000 watt lasers sinter metal powder materials simultaneously
At 11pm (Beijing time) on November 10, 2020, SLM Solutions, the leader in laser melting in the constituency, officially released the latest SLM equipment NXG XII 600.
This device is now accepting reservations. It is equipped with 12 1 kW lasers and a 600x600x600 mm molding chamber. NXG XII 600 is the fastest SLM technology metal 3D printing equipment on the market. It is 20 times faster than the SLM 280 single laser equipment. It also uses innovative technologies such as optical zoom to achieve the best production efficiency and stability. It is mainly used in the mass production of large-size parts, opening a new chapter for new applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.
The large metal parts printed by NXG XII 600 took less than 3 days
The use efficiency of the NXG XII 600 laser has been fundamentally optimized in the molding process to maximize the printing speed. In order to achieve mass production, a brand-new optical system has been redesigned, and based on a customized laser scanning system, a large area overlap is realized with the most suitable printing zone. All 12 sets of optical components can quickly define the spot size through the dual lens system of the "zoom and zoom function", enabling customers to select different spot sizes in the focal plane, making it a reality to increase the printing rate to 1000 cc/h and above. Ultimately, it achieves ultra-high parts output in a single print job, while reducing the cost of mass production.
In order to facilitate the integration of NXG XII 600 into the factory and supply chain, the solution includes several automation functions, such as automatic molding cylinder replacement, automatic printing on, and external preheating station and external powder removal station.
In order to achieve the unity of the characteristics of the parts on the entire platform, SLM Solutions adopts a newly optimized wind farm cabin design, coupled with mature SLM Solutions' patented sintered porous wind wall technology. Through the patented two-way powder spreading technology redesigned for wind farms, a more compact chamber layout and wind farm optimization are realized.
NXG XII 600 has a reliable thermal management design concept. While reducing the temperature drift, it can realize and ensure the seamless overlap of up to 12 laser prints for customers. In addition, the device also provides a brand-new user interface, which optimizes the workflow for operators and reduces training requirements.
The equipment has two different powder handling options:
Gravity-based powder loading;
Automatic transportation and loading based on powder vacuum.
Minimize downtime.
Device function overview
Forming size: 600x600x600 mm
12 lasers, each 1KW
optical zoom
Integrated print scanning zone, evenly distribute the print jobs of all 12 lasers
Automatic forming cylinder replacement
Auto print on
External preheating station
External powder removal station
Reduce production costs by reducing the cost of each part and the total manufacturing time
It is a very powerful metal 3D printer!
Ma Jian, general manager of the Asia-Pacific region of SLM Solutions in Germany, gave a speech at the Wuhu (Fanchang) Summit Forum on the Development of China's Additive Manufacturing Industry and the 2020 China Additive Manufacturing Industry Annual Conference: Technology", which analyzes the industrialization process of metal 3D printing.
Industrialization process of metal 3D printing:
The first stage: R&D and prototype trial production. Many domestic users understand more about additive manufacturing technology, understand what it is, and appropriately explore its potential to form a basic understanding. Foreign brands are sold to Chinese machines, and 30-40% of users are still at this stage. More focus on research and development, academic research and exploration of technical routes, while accumulating better technical reserves in the process.
Phase 2: More users are now in the transitional stage. For small-batch production, verification and demonstration are required, and many parts must be developed or pre-researched while entering production and verification preparations.
Stage 3: Improve the quality of equipment, while greatly improving production efficiency, and further fall into more industries. In terms of global distribution, especially in Europe, the United States, and Singapore and Japan in Asia, this aspect is relatively conservative. Basically 70% of users have entered the second stage, and even 30% of them, or 20% of the total, will gradually enter the third-stage process.