The ability to manufacture high precision, high quality components with freedom in terms of design and geometry, are just a some of the reasons behind the rapid growth of 3D printing. The additive manufacturing process also saves material and resources, by building a component layer by layer as opposed to having it machined from solid.
The new AL3D-Metal 200 3D printer encompasses all of these properties and is characterised by its safe, clean and economic powder handling concept. The cartridge based closed powder circuit enhances safe working practices as the operator doesn’t come into contact with the powder at any point throughout the entire printing process.
Specially developed for the precision mechanical, medical technology, dental and jewellery industries as well as R&D laboratories, the compact 3D printer offers optimum detail accuracy, precision and maximum safety in handling both the laser and the metal powder. A further characteristic of this system is the ability to produce layers of different material within the same component. This is achieved by stopping the print, changing the material cartridge and then re-starting the printing process.
The AL3D-Cartride is an intelligent plug and play cartridge based system which allows fast offline preparation of materials; the cartridge containing the metal powder is simply loaded and located within the system ready for use. At the end of the build process, the component and unused powder remain captive within the cartridge which can then be transferred to a separate unpacking station.
The cartridge is inserted and located within the AL3D-Cabin – the unpacking station – in the same way as the 3D printer, allowing the operator to retrieve the sintered component and capture the residual power is a safe, ergonomic and efficient manner.
A 200W continuous wave (CW), 1,070nm fibre laser is at the heart of the system which delivers a 50µm spot size. The system can be used with a variety of metals including: iron alloys, nickel-based alloys, cobalt-chrome alloys and precious metals. Two variants of the system, the AL3D-Metal 200-50 and AL3D-Metal 200-100 offer 50mm diameter x 50mm high and 100mm diameter x 60mm high build volumes respectively. The system also features a compact footprint of just 60cm x 60cm making it ideally suited to any working environment.
According to TLM Laser director Andy Toms: “This system is highly intuitive to use; you simply select a cartridge with the desired material, insert it into the printer, select the desired print file from the touchscreen interface and start the printing process”
This new 3D metal printing technology is available from Bromsgrove based TLM Laser, Alpha Laser’s UK and Ireland distributor, and is part of a comprehensive and growing range of laser based technologies and systems offered by the company.
TLM Laser www.tlm-laser.com
