Tag Archives: SLM

Additive Manufacturing & Applications in China

Posted on by
Reply

With the Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM®) just around the corner, Lasers Today is taking a closer look at some of the topics presented at this year’s event.

LAM Applications in China: Rounding out the final session at LAM is “Progress and Medical Applications in Additive Manufacturing of Metal Parts by Selective Laser Melting” by Yongqiang Yang of South China University of Technology.

LAM 2017 brings researchers and industry leaders together to discuss advances in the world of additive manufacturing. Around the world, exciting innovations are coming to light, many of which will be discussed at this year’s event. One country that is seeing significant progress within its additive manufacturing initiatives is China.

Rounding out the final session at LAM is “Progress and Medical Applications in Additive Manufacturing of Metal Parts by Selective Laser Melting” by Yongqiang Yang of South China University of Technology. The use of additive manufacturing for medical purposes is a growing area of interest for many. While there are still significant challenges and obstacles ahead, the work performed at the South China University of Technology (SCUT), and across the nation, is notable to anyone involved with, or intrigued by, the possibilities presented by additive manufacturing within the medical field.

About Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is being used by researchers to 3D print medical implants. SLM is used both for coating and completely creating the implant parts. Materials used usually include platinum, nickel titanium, and in some prototypes, stainless steel. One of the biggest challenges faced by researchers and developers is the risk of infection and/or rejection of the implant within the body.

Courtesy: Open Biomedical Initiative

Additive Manufacturing in China

China’s history with additive manufacturing begins in the early 90’s, where a push for research on additive manufacturing processes, equipment, applications, as well as education began. Schools, such as SCUT, emphasize hands-on practice and application within their programs. For over two decades, universities and other higher education facilities have given students opportunities to “compete” in various design competitions, pushing innovation as part of the learning process.

In partnership with specific industries, especially the companies within them, various programs have given students the opportunity to pursue specialties and specific interests within additive manufacturing, providing relevant work experience. In doing so, additive manufacturing is now considered one of the biggest areas of market growth within China, in decades. In fact, the undergraduate programs have lead to an overall increase in the quality of programs in science, engineering, mathematics and more.

However, there is a call for more progress within the medical applications of additive manufacturing, particularly with implants and tissue engineering. The longevity of the prototypes created pose unwanted side effects, rejection, and infection risks that still stand to be solved.

A Successful Implant at South China University of Technology (SCUT)

When thinking of 3D printed implants, it is easy to assume that the applications are only for human benefit. However, this is not always the case. Last summer, SCUT in collaboration with Leader Animal Hospital and Guangzhou Yang Ming Technology Company outfitted an injured red-crowned crane with a new, 3D printed beak.

After a fight with other birds led to a severe beak injury the crane was unable to eat.. Guangzhou Yang Ming Technology Company, which specializes in designing molds for 3D printing, passed their mold design to SCUT, who printed the new beak out of titanium. Titanium has shown promise in other instances as a preferred material for implants for humans, due it its biocompatibility.

The procedure in which they attached the new beak was successful, allowing the bird to eat shortly after the process. The red-crowned crane received the first successful beak transplant in China, joining a growing list of successful 3D-printed implant procedures on birds.

These successful procedures increase the likeliness of 3D printed implants becoming a viable solution for more than just birds. Advancements within additive manufacturing, including selective laser sintering, are opening many doors for the future of the medical industry.

Be sure to catch the presentation at LAM 2017 as part of two exciting additive manufacturing application sessions. Check out the advance program for LAM here to plan your visit to this year’s event. LAM 2017 will take place February 21-22, 2017 in Houston, Texas. For more information, and to register, click here.

Don’t miss a single laser industry update! Visit Lasers Today and sign up to receive the latest in lasers delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

 

 

 

 

Selective Laser Melting, Powder Metallurgy & Additive Manufacturing

Posted on by
Reply

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 35th 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.

Digital Photonic Production – The Future of Laser Applications

Posted on by
Reply

By Reinhart Poprawe

One of the main challenges of modern manufacturing is the dilemma between scale and scope, i.e., the ability to produce high volumes at low prices, yet systematically integrating the increasing demand for individuality in the products. As a consequence, concepts for one piece flow at the cost of mass production are developed. Laser based manufacturing systematically resolves this dilemma and provides an extreme degree of flexibility and precision. In principle, parts can be designed totally independent of the manufacturing process, by focusing on the functionality of the part like static and dynamic stability or stiffness. In parallel, economic and ecologic demands such as light weight, deformation behavior by mesh structures and scaffolds or even other functionalities like conductivity can be integrated. Because the production chain leaps directly from the computer into the part and no tools are required, the process is also referred to as “Digital Photonic Production.” Examples of this process are Selective Laser Melting, Laser Metal Deposition and Ablation by ultrafast lasers.  Continue reading →

Rethinking Manufacturing: Additive Manufacturing as the New Design Paradigm

Posted on by
Reply

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 →

LAM 2015 Delivers Revolutionary Applications in Additive Manufacturing

Posted on by
Reply

BY GEOFF GIORDANO

With more new workshops than ever purporting to give a true perspective on 3D printing and additive manufacturing, the Laser Institute of America’s Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop has been ahead of the curve when it comes to realistic assessments of revolutionary industrial applications.

In its seventh year, LAM 2015 will again provide an intensive two-day immersion in the full spectrum of laser-based industrial additive applications — from traditional corrosion and wear protection and repair to the more hype-worthy powder-bed and powder-fed methods.

For the first time, LAM will not be held in the power-generation hub of Houston but in LIA’s hometown of Orlando, on Mar. 4-5 at the Embassy Suites Orlando – Lake Buena Vista South (Orlando, FL). LIA is a key part of the Florida High-Tech Corridor and the state’s photonics community, which includes the nearby College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida.

Continue reading →