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HP launches Metal Jet 3D printing technology for mass production-The 20th China(Guangzhou) Int’l Forging Industry Exhibition
9/14/2018 锻造展- Forging Industry exhibition - Forging expo |
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Desktop Metal might have set the ball rolling back in 2017, but it seems HP is getting very serious about 3D metal printing at industrial volumes and automotive-grade production quality. The technology is called HP Metal Jet, it''s 50 times faster and significantly cheaper than existing methods, and pilot programs are already underway. GKN Powder Metallurgy has already gone into production with HP Metal Jet. Similar to the Desktop Metal production system, HP''s Metal Jet printers use layers of fine metal powder, sprayed in precise patterns with binding agents by a print head that passes over from side to side. A second vertical head spreads the next layer of powder in between passes, so the binder head can operate in both directions.
The print bed is cured, to evaporate any liquids and turn the binder solution into something that acts like a hot-melt adhesive. Next up is a de-caking process to remove excess metal powder, which can be re-used in a low-waste process, after which the final part is sintered – brought up to just below its melting point - in a furnace, a process which decomposes the binding agent and fuses the metal particles together into a single, extremely dense and solid part.
From there, the part can be polished, machined or otherwise finished for final use. Like all 3D printing processes, this one allows the creation of extremely complex parts, at short notice and without requiring any re-tooling. Initially, HP Metal Jet will only print in stainless steel, with other metals under investigation for suitability.
In terms of resolution, a Metal Jet voxel (the 3D equivalent of a pixel) will be around 21 microns in length and width, representing a 1200dpi 2D printing process, and somewhere between 50-100 microns in height, because that''s the layer thickness accuracy HP can achieve. For reference, a human hair is generally about 50 microns wide, so we''re still talking a high degree of accuracy here.
Each Metal Jet production machine will cost less than US$400,000, and will give you a maximum build volume of 430 x 320 x 200 mm (16.9 x 12.6 x 7.9 inches).
锻造展-第二十届广州国际锻造工业展览会
-The 20th China(Guangzhou) Int’l Forging Industry Exhibition
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