Meet 3 of 2016’s Selective Laser Melting Innovators

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Steven Glover

Selective Laser Melting is an increasingly important segment of additive manufacturing.

Considered by many to be the first major manufacturing revolution of the 21st Century, additive manufacturing continues to disrupt tradition and introduces new ways to shape our world. The following are a few of this year’s biggest innovators in the realm of selective laser melting:

IPG Photonics

Recently ranked on Forbes Fast Tech Top 25, IPG Photonics is making waves with their High Power CW Fiber Lasers for Selective Laser Melting and Laser Metal Deposition applications.

They use High Power CW Fiber Lasers to develop “fully dense metallic parts with improved mechanical properties.” With regular recognition for their products, IPG Photonics is a company to watch when it comes to industry innovations.

Courtesy: IPG Photonics

LPW Technology

LPW Technology offers a variety of metal powders for use in additive manufacturing. The company aims to “support, develop, and challenge the fast-growing 3D metal printing industry.” LPW Technology recently partnered with TWI, Ltd. for the High Strength Aluminum Alloy Parts by Selective Laser Melting (Hi-StA-Part) Clean Sky project. The endeavor utilizes selective laser melting to “demonstrate the viability to produce aerospace grade aluminum parts” using direct manufacturing.

LPW focuses their research and development efforts around advancing the metal 3D Printing industry. Hi-StA-Part Clean Sky is just one of the many additive manufacturing projects LPW Technology is actively participating in.

Courtesy: SPI Lasers

SPI Lasers

SPI Lasers is one of the leading manufacturers of fiber lasers. They’ve also contributed to the rise of selective laser melting. The redPOWER CW Fiber Laser is used to build “complex titanium implants and components” in a matter of hours.

Fractionalizing the wait time expected in traditional manufacturing, their systems have a lower operating cost and work virtually any sort of metal. Plus, SPI Lasers does an excellent job of outlining additive manufacturing practices and applications to educate curious minds. Between education and application, SPI Lasers is setting a standard of innovation in not only selective laser melting, but in additive manufacturing overall.

Interested in learning more about these exciting innovations in selective laser melting? Be sure to register today for the Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM®) taking place February 21-22, in Houston, Texas. To learn more about LPW Technology, IPG Photonics, and SPI Lasers, visit them along with other LAM Sponsors & Vendors at LAM 2017.

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide. Visit us at www.lia.org for more information.

Selective Laser Melting, Powder Metallurgy & Additive Manufacturing

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Steven Glover

Additive Manufacturing processes like selective laser melting (SLM) and powder metallurgy are on the rise – and they continue to disrupt traditional manufacturing as we know it.

While the public eye continues to focus almost solely on 3D printing, these other laser additive manufacturing methods are quite literally shaping our manufacturing future.

In the weeks that follow LIA’s 35^th International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO^®), Lasers Today shifts its focus to innovative and critical additive manufacturing processes in preparation for our Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM^®). Our next LAM, which takes place February 21-22, in Houston, Texas, will cover all facets of additive manufacturing, including 3D printing, selective laser melting (SLM), powder metallurgy, and more.

A recent Fortune article, which discusses the urgency of 3D metal printing and additive manufacturing processes and the challenges faced by the rise of these methods, echoes the importance of laser applications in these areas succinctly. While 3D printing is a big part of the present and future of additive manufacturing, it is equally important to acknowledge other applications that are disrupting the marketplace and defining its future.

SLM and Powder Metallurgy Are Making Waves in the Industry

In its September issue, EuroPhotonics published an article discussing the changing landscape of Laser Materials Processing. Illustrating a shift from a handful of manufacturing operations to the rapid increase of additive methods, the change is happening worldwide. The piece discusses several additive processes outside of 3D printing. The use of selective laser melting (SLM) in rapid prototyping, for example, allows early versions or low volume creations to be created without the use of complicated, often time-consuming tooling.

This feature is just one of the many additive manufacturing processes described. Find the full article here.

The use of powder metallurgy to create high-quality parts only continues to rise. LPW Technology shared a blog post discussing the quality control process of determining if unexpected results are the doing of a machine, or the powders themselves. As manufacturing experts know, a machine’s output can be disrupted by even the slightest error or change. This power metallurgy article provides a unique, first-hand perspective on some of the challenges, and the subsequent solutions associated with additive manufacturing practices.

Read the full post here.

Interested in learning about these laser applications and more at LAM in February? Review the Lasers Today LAM 2016 recap and visit www.lia.org/conferences/lam to register today.

LAM 2015: Real World View of the Future in AM & 3D Printing

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Steven Glover

Orlando, FL (April 1, 2015) – Held in Orlando for the first time in its seven-year history, LIA’s Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM^®) drew nearly 200 attendees, about half of them first-time participants who got a real-world view of the profit potential and pitfalls of industrial 3D printing.

Featuring speakers from BMW, Siemens, GE Global Research and the Fraunhofer institutes, LAM 2015 showcased how researchers, powder suppliers, laser manufacturers, job shops and national initiatives are cooperating to advance applications in various industries. From unique job shop successes to visions of printing human tissue, attendees were treated to a broad range of expert knowledge March 4-5 — including state-of-the-art strategies to eliminate cracking, clad large parts and build high-value components.

Continue reading →

Rethinking Manufacturing: Additive Manufacturing as the New Design Paradigm

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Steven Glover

By Frederick Claus

Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) with metal has significantly advanced the fields of aerospace, medical and industrial manufacturing with complex geometries and expedited production by eliminating the cost and long lead times for traditional molds and tooling.

Inherent limitations of metal working processes – such as investment casting, machining or die casting – center on complexity. Each process is incapable of building one unit with many interlacing features and/or cannot produce without excessive labor and adjoining details, all of which are completely dependent on “line-of-sight” features. Shapes are left simple or, at best, weighted by additives, bulky overhanging walls and attachment fittings. By contrast, shapes produced using the additive manufacturing process termed Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) or Selective Laser Melting (SLM) incorporate the highest level of complex features without requiring line-of-sight features or attachment post-processing. Additive manufacturing offers freedom of design, and therefore a paradigm shift away from “designing for manufacturing” into manufacturing for design. Continue reading →

Novel Multi-Beam Processing System for Laser Additive Manufacturing

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Steven Glover

By Rahul Patwa, Hans Herfurth and Jyoti Mazumder

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes (also commonly referred to as 3D printing) allows the layer-by-layer build-up of parts rather than through molding or subtractive techniques such as machining. The idea that AM machines can print 3D objects much the same way that inkjet printer creates 2D images on paper is being described as “the next industrial revolution”¹. Currently there are a number of AM processes that use a variety of materials (plastic, metal, ceramics) in different forms (powders, liquids, wire or sheets) with different heating sources. Continue reading →

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