Fraunhofer IFAM, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials in Dresden, has recently launched a new project called “Innovative sinterable nickel-based superalloy paste for augmentation through the new MoldJet® process “Functional metal parts made of materials”, referred to as “Superman” project.
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The superhuman aspect of the superman project
3D printingThere are many different technologies in the technology family, so what kind of additive manufacturing technology is the MoldJet® process? Which additive manufacturing technology is closest to it?
3D Science Valley once wrote in “Sintering Deformation, Limited Geometry…Indirect Metal3D printingThe shortcomings of the company are disappearing” shared the Binder Jetting Binder Jetting metal3D printingTechnology and almost all other metals3D printingCompared with the craftsmanship, they are all unique, because in3D printingA lot of heat will not be generated in the process.This makes high-speed printing possible and avoids metal3D printingResidual stress in the process. Binder Jetting3D printingTechnology transfers the thermal processing process to the sintering step, which makes it easier to manage thermal stress because the sintering temperature is lower than other types of metals3D printingThe complete melting temperature required in the process, and the heat can be applied more uniformly. However, this does not completely eliminate the challenges of temperature gradients and residual stress.
It can be said that indirect metal represented by Binder Jetting3D printingThe technology was born for the printing application market of mass economical metal parts.
However, indirect metal3D printingThe technology itself also contains different types of printing technology. Fraunhofer IFAM’s MoldJet 3D printingThe technology maximizes productivity through the combination of mold printing and metal fill printing.According to the market observation of 3D Science Valley, the application market for MoldJet is in3D printingAmong the big technology family, the closest one is Binder Jetting.3D printingtechnology.
The core of MoldJet and Binder Jetting is the material technology. From this logic, it is not difficult to understand why Fraunhofer IFAM developed an innovative sinterable nickel-based superalloy slurry. Since both MoldJet and Binder Jetting technologies face large-scale mass production applications, it is not difficult to understand why Fraunhofer IFAM nicknamed this development project “Superman” project.
What makes MoldJet special
Then MoldJet and Binder Jetting binder spray metal3D printingWhat is the difference in technology? In the view of 3D Science Valley, the MoldJet process has Jetting-material jetting in addition to the Binder Jetting process. The difference from Binder Jetting is that the MoldJet process also has a Mold printing process.
The two basic process steps of Fraunhofer IFAM’s MoldJet® process are printing a mold to make it a frame for the desired part geometry, and filling the mold with a metal paste. These two process steps alternate with each other.
First, it is a mold made of waxy polymer through an inkjet printing process. In this process, the polymer is heated in a container, and the material is applied drop by drop to the substrate through the print head. These droplets overlap and form a uniformly molded layer. In the next step, a roller can be used to smooth the mold layer and ensure a uniform layer height over the entire printing area.
Then the metal sauce is filled into the mold, and these metal pastes are composed of the metal powder of the desired alloy and the organic binder system. The slurry is fed evenly from the cartridge to the slot die to ensure even transfer to the mold. Then, the slot die head moves evenly on the substrate and continuously fills the cavity of the mold with the slurry.
These slurries are pressed into the cavity to overcome capillary forces and avoid areas without material. At the same time, it can ensure that the excess material is removed and collected behind the mold area.
After filling each layer of the mold, it is the step of drying and hardening. These three process steps-mold printing, mold filling and drying-are repeated layer by layer until the required part is produced. The layout of each individual mold layer can be adjusted flexibly and independently. In this way, it is possible to produce internal structures and channels as well as parts with a 90° overhang. However, according to the understanding of 3D Science Valley, the manufacturing process is not completely free and unlimited. For example, it is necessary to avoid completely closed internal passages, otherwise the mold material cannot be removed in the future.
The subsequent debinding and sintering process is similar to the post-treatment process corresponding to the Binder Jetting technology.
MoldJet’s full power
The advantage of Fraunhofer IFAM’s MoldJet® process is that Fraunhofer IFAM can provide the entire process chain consisting of metal paste development, print testing, geometry optimization and heat treatment (thermal debinding, sintering) to achieve low-cost manufacturing of dense functional parts.
MoldJet® is3D printingIt is known for its flexibility in component size and design. Therefore, if nickel-based alloy parts can be manufactured cost-effectively and efficiently, it will make it possible to combine economic and high-efficiency manufacturing with high value-added products.
Together with its partners Tritone Technologies and MIMplus Technologies, Fraunhofer IFAM focused on the development of nickel-based alloy pastes in the “Superman” project. The main motivation is to enable this complex material to achieve new designs that cannot be achieved by traditional processes.
The results of the project are related to a wide range of industrial sectors, especially aerospace, energy technology, electrical engineering, medical technology, automobiles, and other industrial branches, such as the chemical industry or oil and gas production.
“Superman” is part of Eureka Call (“The 13th German-Israel Joint R&D Project Proposal Collection”). In Germany, it is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy in accordance with the resolution of the German Bundestag.
Fraunhofer behind MoldJet more resources
In addition, according to market observations from the 3D Science Valley, Fraunhofer IFAM is also a member of the Fraunhofer futureAM project. Fraunhofer ILT, IWS, IWU, IAPT, IGD, and IFAM have six research institutes under Fraunhofer’s future AM. Together, the project has achieved technological leaps in system technology, material and process management, and continuous digitization, thereby improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of metal additive manufacturing in the entire process chain.
© Fraunhofer ILT Institute of FutureAM Future AM Project Summary
© ACAM Aachen Additive Manufacturing Center
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