Conquering the "card neck" core technology series report: breaking the "pain" of 3D printing powder

From plastics to metals, 3D printing is evolving in areas of higher commercial potential such as aerospace, electronics, and automobiles. However, China still faces problems such as the lack of specialized production and supply of metal powder materials, which has hindered the widespread application of this emerging technology in the mold industry.

In Ningbo, a company called Sinoma Rio is taking advantage of Ningbo's “Science and Technology Innovation 2025” major special opportunity to combine metal powder smelting preparation technology with laser technology to launch the impact on the world's top 3D metal printing powder preparation technology. .

"We have broken through the high-pressure water atomization and supersonic laminar gas atomization technology, and can produce metal powder with stable chemical composition, formability and fluidity. The overall technology has reached the international advanced level of similar products." Yesterday, the company added manufacturing The head of the center Tang Jianning told reporters. When these technologies are combined with 3D printing, they will solve the key common problems such as short life, high cost and low efficiency in the mold manufacturing field, which will bring about major changes in China's manufacturing industry.

According to reports, the metal 3D printing mold emphasizes the additive manufacturing thinking of "addition", lays a layer of metal powder, and then uses a laser to melt the layer pattern, and then lays a layer and then burns a layer, layer by layer. Compared with the traditional “subtraction” manufacturing model, this model is faster, less costly, and does not waste resources.

Due to the limitations of powder preparation technology, China's basic use of imported metal powder is not only costly, but also poorly matched in performance to existing laser equipment in China. In addition, the traditionally manufactured molds are unevenly cooled, which affects the quality of the parts and components.

In the next three to four years, the core team of Sinoma Rio will cooperate with high-efficiency institutes such as the Iron and Steel Research Institute and the China Academy of Engineering Physics to achieve metal powder and 3D printing from the distribution ratio of metal powder. The device laser is "perfectly matched". On this basis, the team will also establish a mold performance control and optimization system, and carry out a series of “post-treatment” on metal 3D printing molds to ensure that the molds have the same performance as traditional manufacturing molds.

“Ningbo is the base of mold production in China. This breakthrough in technology can enable Ningbo local mold companies to save a lot of manpower and material resources when manufacturing samples. From a higher level, the project will promote the development of China's mold industry and enhance China's high-end equipment manufacturing. The technical level has significant economic and social benefits,” said the relevant person in charge of the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau.