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D e s i g n for Additive Manufacturing •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ••
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Blue industrial lasers make it easier to work with reflective metals in
additive manufacturing
Jean-Michel Pelaprat, Founder & Chief Marketing and Scientific Officer Mark Zediker, Founder & Chairman • NUBURU, Inc.
The blue laser is a relatively new entrant into the additive manufacturing arena, and, as such, work has just begun to determine the optimum process parameters. In 2017 the first high-power industrial blue laser reached the market. It rapidly demonstrated unmatched speed and quality for welding copper, aluminum, and many other industrially important materials. The same fundamental physical characteristics needed for welding reflective metals also suit additive manufacturing. Continuing technological advances allow the blue laser to quickly produce nearer net-to-shape parts at high material density in copper, steel, Inconel, and other industrially important metals. The blue laser’s advantage over incumbent in ared technology in both powder bed and laser metal deposition make additive manufacturing even more attractive for automotive, medical, aerospace, and other applications. Additive manufacturing for metals Additive manufacturing — 3D printing — started as a method to quickly produce prototype parts to check form, fit, and function. Many early 3D printers used photo resins to create a desired part. The technology matured to offer a handful of different fabrication styles for a wider range of materials. For additive manufacturing of metals, two approaches dominate: powder bed fusion (PBF), covering about 95% of applications, and laser metal deposition (LMD), generally for larger parts. Although alternative methods of energy deposition are available, lasers are the most flexible and straightforward mechanism. In PBF a layer of metal powder is spread uniformly over a build plate prior to applying the laser power. A laser spot traverses the working area, causing the powder to melt and fuse in areas where the part is
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to be created. A er the targeted areas of powder have been fused on a given layer, another layer of powder is spread over the part and the process repeats as the laser fuses new raw material to the previously fused material. The maximum dimension of parts produced by PBF is generally limited to about 50 or 60 cm. Larger metal parts can be produced with LMD. In LMD a laser beam is directed to a metal substrate, where it creates a melt pool. Metal powder entrained in a gas jet or a short length of wire feedstock is sent into the melt pool, fusing into it and incrementally adding to the part. LMD part size is limited only by the range of the in astructure — the delivery system that directs the laser and feedstock. There’s a clear threefold logic driving growth in additive manufacturing. It
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