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[Scientific and technological achievements] 3D printing-a new manufacturing technology in the 21st century
In recent years, 3D printing equipment and materials have been continuously updated and iterated, and the application of printing has become more and more extensive. Although 3D printing products have not been widely used in people's lives, the word 3D printing has become more and more popular. Understand and familiar. There are many kinds of 3D printing technologies in China and abroad, and the heat sources used are different, including laser beam, electron beam and ion beam. The materials used are different, including plastic, metal and even ceramic materials. The deposition methods are different, including powder feeding deposition, wire feeding deposition, selective deposition (powder bed type), etc. The following small series will give you a detailed introduction to the electron beam selective melting technology studied by the Institute of Additive Manufacturing Technology and Engineering of our institute for many years.
Before introducing the technology, I 'd like to give you the academic name of 3D printing.
3D printing has many other terms, such as the academic commonly used additive manufacturing (Additive Manufacturing) technology, the key word is a "add" word, refers to the way to increase the material layer by layer to manufacture 3D parts. Corresponding to additive manufacturing, there are traditional subtractive manufacturing and equivalent manufacturing technologies: subtractive manufacturing requires loading blanks, and then using tools to remove unnecessary materials.
Why is 3D printing concerned?
Because it has the characteristics of traditional manufacturing methods do not have.
First, 3D printing can make parts with very complex shapes, allowing design freedom. In the past, complex structures that were limited by manufacturing technology and could not be used can be easily realized by 3D printing technology.
Second, 3D printing does not require tools and molds, and is a short-process, highly flexible, and material-saving manufacturing technology. The replacement cycle of modern commodities is accelerating, and the personalized needs of products are constantly emerging. 3D printing technology can be said to be born for fast process and personalization, which is in line with the trend of social development.
Therefore, 3D printing is known as the manufacturing technology of the 21st century, which is a powerful supplement to the existing manufacturing technology and will certainly change the current manufacturing pattern.
At present, selective laser melting technology is a 3D printing technology widely used at home and abroad, and the additive used in our institute is the electron beam selective melting technology developed for more than ten years.
Selective Electron Beam Melting (Electron Beam Selective Melting, EBSM) is an additive manufacturing technology for metal parts developed in the mid -1990 s. Its process principle is to accelerate electrons to about half of the speed of light and bombard powder materials to melt them. The electron beam scans the thin layer of material powder that has been spread on the surface of the forming area, and melts and deposits the thin layer of powder located in the cross-sectional area of the part. The forming accuracy of EBSM is high, and parts with porous or inner channel structure can be produced.
The main difference between selective laser melting (Selective Laser Melting,SLM) and EBSM technology lies in the different heat sources used. SLM uses laser to melt metal powder, while EBSM uses electron beam to melt metal powder. The interaction mechanism between different heat sources and powder materials is different, resulting in different manufacturing effects, the main differences are as follows:
Due to the use of electron beam as an energy source, our EBSM technology has the following characteristics and advantages:
Greater power density, higher material-electron beam energy absorption rate; electron gun power can reach 3000 watts.
Stronger penetration ability, higher forming density; Print solid density up to 99.9%.
Higher powder bed temperature, lower forming thermal stress and residual stress; maximum preheating temperature 1100 ℃.
Faster manufacturing speed; 3 times the capacity of other types of metal 3D printing.
A wider range of materials; titanium alloys, titanium-aluminum intermetallic compounds, nickel-based high-temperature alloys, copper alloys, high melting point metals, etc.
A diagram to understand the principle of EBSM technology
EBSM Technical Schematic
Such a strong technical advantage is really dazzling. The EBSM additive manufacturing company has accumulated many years of technology in terms of equipment and technology for additive manufacturing. At present, it has developed EBSM additive manufacturing equipment with independent intellectual property rights, breaking the international monopoly. This is a well-deserved world-leading technology.
Let's take a look at some application parts printed by EBSM additive manufacturing technology in our institute.
Medical Implants
knee joint acetabular cup mandible thoracic vertebra
Molding complex parts
Turbine disc compressor impeller six-way joint
lightweight grid structure
Lightweight structure mesh sphere
The editor will share with you the successful cases of EBSM technology used by additive manufacturing in the industrial and medical fields.
application of technology
Compressor impeller printed for Shanghai Steam Turbine Factory of Shanghai Electric Power Plant Equipment Co., Ltd.
There are two types of blades, cylindrical and twisted, and the use of traditional casting and forging processes cannot form particularly complex blade structures, requiring subsequent machining, which is difficult to manufacture and costly. The use of impact welding and other processes to manufacture the impeller will cause serious deformation of the rear cover plate of the impeller.
The use of EBSM technology circumvents the above difficulties. The test results of mechanical properties show that the tensile strength of the Ti6Al4V impeller body manufactured by EBSM reaches 996MPa ~ 1120MPa, which is higher than the general forging standard strength level and meets the requirements of industrial application.
Compressor impeller (Shanghai Turbine Factory)
Provide EBSM manufacturing solutions for personalized thoracic implants designed and manufactured in a hospital in Tianjin.
The so-called personalized implant refers to the implant tailored according to the patient's defect. Doctors can design implants with perfect appearance according to the three-dimensional CT scan data of thoracic vertebrae, and reduce the elastic modulus of metal implants through special grid design, so that they can match the original thoracic vertebrae in mechanical properties to achieve functional repair. This personalized medical treatment program for bone defect patients to reduce pain.
thoracic vertebral body
EBSM Metal 3D Printed Hip Cushion
In order to achieve the best therapeutic effect, a patient's hip replacement surgery in a hospital in Sichuan Province requires a personalized titanium alloy pad. Based on EBSM metal 3D printing technology, the Additive Manufacturing Institute completed the design and manufacture of personalized cushion block prosthesis within 72 hours and successfully delivered it to the hospital.
Titanium alloy pad for hip joint
Compared with the traditional manufacturing technology that has appeared in human society for hundreds of years, the 3D printing technology developed since the 1990 s is still very young and full of vitality. Today, 3D printing technology "30 years old", has emerged in the medical, aerospace, education, jewelry and other industries, thrive.
The 3D printing technology of our hospital has a leading advantage both at home and abroad. At present, a series of products such as QBEAM Lab200, QBEAM Med200 and QBEAM Aero350 have been formed. At the same time, the institute has a professional and efficient R & D team, led by Professor Lin Feng from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Tsinghua University. The team has more than 15 years of 3D printing R & D experience; more than 10 metal 3D printing authorized patents; more than 60% of R & D personnel ratio, all team members are unswervingly committed to providing world-class electron beam additive manufacturing solutions to more customers in the industry with international leading equipment, cutting-edge technology and high-quality products.
Technical docking and business negotiation
Contact: Ge Junyi
Contact number: 18622369384
Source | Institute of Additive Manufacturing Technology and Engineering
Editor | Wang Xiao
The final interpretation right of the above related technologies belongs to the Institute of Additive Manufacturing Technology and Engineering.
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