EXBuild Blog

Metal powder is the backbone of metal 3D printing. Though it’s difficult and dangerous to handle in its raw state, its unique features make it the preferred metal stock type. The vast majority of metal 3D printing technologies utilize metal powder. As a result, the major differences between types of metal printers relate to how they fuse the powder into metal parts. These methods vary greatly, ranging from using high energy lasers to fuse loose powder to extruding bound metal powder filament. In this article, we’ll take a look at the most heavily used types of metal 3D printing, how they work, and why they’re beneficial.

3D printing as an industry has drastically changed over the last 40 years. What started as a groundbreaking new technology with very few scalable applications has over time grown into the present day additive manufacturing landscape. Lost are the years of enormous, expensive, and dangerous machines of the 80s, which have since been replaced by powerful desktop printers, not much bigger than a standard office fax machine.

Have you ever 3D printed a part that had flat spots or faceted surfaces where smooth curves were supposed to be? Or maybe you’ve just seen a picture of a 3D print that looked like it belonged in some low-resolution CGI from the 90’s? You are not alone, and it’s not your 3D printer’s fault — the culprit is likely a lack of resolution in the STL file that was used to create the part!

Shukla Medical, a wholly owned subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer S.S. White Technologies, designs and manufactures universal orthopedic implant removal tools such as the Xtract-All® Spine Universal Spinal Implant Removal System (see cover image). Their products are used by surgeons worldwide to efficiently take out old implants before replacing them with new ones — all while preserving the patient’s bone. Most orthopedic implant removal tools are complicated and require a significant amount of time to operate, whereas Shukla Medical’s universal instruments are known for their simple, intuitive design.

This article highlights best practices when printing with Onyx ESD. For more information on material properties, see the Onyx ESD material information support article

Cashco is a global industrial control manufacturer specializing in control valves, regulators and vapor control devices for a wide variety of industries — from oil and gas to pharmaceutical. The company has been in business for over 100 years, with offices in both the United States and Germany. “If a facility has piping, they are a potential customer,” says Clint Rogers, President at Cashco. Cashco’s customers include the likes of Dow Chemical, Vopak, and Pfizer.

The Markforged Metal X additive manufacturing process combines metal injection molding (MIM) and fused filament fabrication (FFF) technologies together into Bound Powder Extrusion. BPE provides a simple, cost effective way to create metal parts. The process closely mirrors conventional 3D printing with two extra steps -- washing and sintering.

The ability to additively manufacture near net shape parts has long been a holy grail of manufacturing. As a result, Metal 3D printing (the technology that seems likely to deliver on that promise), has carried an immense amount of “hype.” The blind excitement for the process largely overshadow the actual benefits of metal 3D printing, which paint the picture of a unique fabrication method that can specifically add value to the manufacturing process in a few key ways.

Siemens Energy is the global energy business of the Siemens group and offers a comprehensive portfolio of technology as well as digital and traditional services for utilities, independent power producers, transmission system operators, the oil and gas industry, and other energy-intensive industries. In support of its energy operations, the company recently opened the Siemens Innovation Center in Orlando, Florida. It is the only one of its kind in the U.S. to offer a unique pairing of design with manufacturing, implementing robotics, rapid prototyping, scanning, digital tools and on-site metal additive manufacturing. The Siemens innovation center focuses on rapid problem solving supporting the company’s energy businesses.

Metal 3D printing is changing how we think about fabricating with metal, and as the technology becomes more and more prevalent on manufacturing floors, it’s important for businesses to gain application-centric intuition about the process. Just as machinists understand which components are best made on a waterjet vs. a 3-axis mill, it is essential to know which parts are a good fit for additive manufacturing and 3D printing applications.