3D Printing in Metal. DMLS.

metal 3d printing.

 

3D Printing in metals gives product designers and creatives the ultimate material choice.

Metals are 3D Printed using the DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) process.  A very fine metal powder is melted with a laser to produce your design layer by layer. Once your design is complete any support structures are removed and any finishing completed. Unused powder is recycled for use on the next model.

3D Printing in Metals via DMLS is an Additive Manufacturing process which can work out more cost effective than traditional 'subtractive' processes. This is especially true with complex or intricate designs which would present a challenge to traditional manufacture.

We offer a full post build machining and turning service on our 3d printed metal parts to optimise parts to your design.

Our clients are using this technology to fabricate prototypes, short run manufacturing, and complex one off designs for science and engineering.

 

3D Printed Metals. Materials.

We currently 3D Print Metals in the following materials:

  • Titanium - TiAl16V4
  • Aluminium - Alsi10Mg (Default)
  • Aluminium - Scalmalloy®RP (AlMgSc) - On Request.
  • Stainless steel - 1.4404, 316L  (default)
  • Maraging steel  - 1.2709  (Alloy Tool Steel with Ni) 
  • Inconel - In718 (Nickel Alloy - High temp metal)
  • CobaltChrome - MP1 (conforms to the chemical composition UNS R31538 of high carbon CoCrMo alloy). On Request.
  • Gold - 3d printing in Gold 18 KK.
  • Silver -  Stirling Silver. Ag + Cu Alloy. 
  • Platinum - Pt + Ru Alloy
  • Copper - CuNi2SiCr with good thermal and electrical conductivity. Option for CuCP.
  • Coming Soon.....  Exciting new additive metals tech coming soon....

3D Printed Metals. Technical.

Our metal 3d printing service gives you an range of build envelopes including Large Format options:

  • 500 x 280 x 330mm - Aluminium, Tool Steel, Stainless Steel and Inconel IN718. 
  • 500 x 280 x 363mm - Aluminium, Tool Steel, Stainless Steel, and Inconel IN718. 
  • 400 x 400 x 360mm - Tool Steel, Aluminium and Stainless Steel.
  • 250 x 250 x 380mm - Copper CuNiSiCr
  • 350mm dia x 380mm - Titanium Ti6Al4V Gr.5
  • 80mm dia x 90mm tall - Gold, Silver, Platinum. 

 

  • 20 - 100 μm layer thickness depending on system and configuration.  

 

Accuracy.

The published accuracy of the DMLS process is +/- 0.05mm.  However this depends on the design of your part, it's build orientation and the material. We suggest a 'real life' accuracy estimate of +/- 0.2mm per 100mm.

Layer thickness is typically 40um for Steels and 50um for Aluminium but may vary depending on machine settings and application calibration.

Walls and Features.

Minimum wall thicknesses depends on material and design geometry but a minimum wall or feature detail of 0.5mm* is suggested.  As a general guide round holes and channels may be up to 10mm before they require support structures and changing the shape of internal channels can increase this.

Solid Builds.

Our metal additively manufactured parts are over 99% solid giving your  parts comparable properties to other manufacturing processes. Parts are hermetically sound making them suitable involving vacuum, gas or liquids. 

Vacuum leak test results are available, please call or email.

Surface Finish.

The standard surface finish for DMLS 3d printed metal parts is slightly textured. As an average guide the surface roughness may be around +/- 30 micron, possibly worse where supports have been removed and better on some faces. Additional finishing may be able to give a smoother finish.

Post Build Finishing.

Producing 3d printed parts in metals is much more of an industrial process compared to 3d printing in plastics. Metal parts are subject to a post build heat curing process to relieve internal stresses, wire cut from the build platform, have the metal support structures removed and then subject to final finishing.     

Threads are best added as a secondary, post build process.

Heat Treatment is available as an option as appropriate.

Machining and Turning. We offer a full post build machining service to optimise 3d printed metal parts.  

Build Times.

Due to the thermal properties of individual metals, parts 3d printing say in Aluminium will take a different amount of time to build and finish to parts 3d printed in Titanium.

Multiple copies of the same part on a tray will reduce the overall unit cost as will a lower part height. As a rough guide a full tray of parts may take several days to 3d print before post build finishing can start.

   * Minimum wall or feature detail for harder materials can be reduced to 0.4mm depending on design.

Quotes & Files.

In addition to the usual .stl file(s) please supply either a stp or igs file plus an engineering drawing (pdf). This extra information will allow us to include any specific finishing or post build machining that may be required.

Design Guide.

Designing for 3d printing in metals requires a different thought process for you to maximise the opportunities offered by the technology.  To help, we've published a design guide to give you a head start.

Click to download our pdf design guide.
 
3D Printing Metal - Design Guide

Examples Of Our Work.

3d-alchemy - Get a 3d printing quote

Find just the right material for your project with our Materials Wizard.

Materials Wizard

OUR Design Guide

for 3D Printing in metals. Download here.

3D Printing Metal - Design Guide

OUR CLIENTS SAY

What our customers say about our 3d printing service

"I have used 3D Alchemy on a number of occasions now to produce 'masters' for components for 1/24 scale models of vehicles. The service has always been fast, very efficient and friendly. I will continue to use them for all my future projects."

Steve, Scale Model Developer.

What our customers say about our 3d printing service

"Quick response to quotation request. Well packaged part, quick delivery. Very much appreciated as the part was used in a review meeting."

Philip, R&D Department.


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