Metal 3D Printing: Reliable Products Thanks to Intelligent Testing Technology
3D printers are also on the rise in the metals industry. However, as with conventionally manufactured metallic components, products from 3D systems must also be tested for their strength values. For this purpose, SLM Solutions uses a ZwickRoell testing system.
SLM Solutions is one of the world's leading suppliers of 3D metal printers that uses the selective laser melting (laser melting) manufacturing method. The SLM® process produces homogeneous metal parts with 3D laser technology using CAD data from metal powders. These can be prototypes, but also small batches with complex designs.
For example, the powder may be from aluminum, tool steel, stainless steel, nickel-base alloys, cobalt-chrome or titanium. For each of these materials, process parameters must be separately identified and qualified. These parameters include, for example, laser power, scanning speed and coating thickness. To complete a parameter qualification, a tensile test is performed to check whether the new parameters reach or exceed the required mechanical characteristic values. In the future, the company will use a ProLine (Fmax 100 kN) materials testing machine for testing the finished parts. "The robustness, high quality and ease of operation has won us over," states Daniel Brück, a satisfied customer from Material and Process Development at SLM.
ABOUT SLM: SLM Solutions Group AG, headquartered in Lübeck, is a leading supplier of metal-based additive manufacturing technology. Shares of the company are traded in the Prime Standard segment on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Since March 21, 2016, shares have been listed on the TecDax. The company focuses on the development, assembly and distribution of machines and integrated system solutions in the selective laser melting industry. Currently, SLM Solutions employs more than 310 employees in Germany, the United States, Singapore, Russia and China. Our products are used worldwide by customers in the aerospace industry as well as the energy, healthcare and automotive sectors.
