Crack metal 3D printing "card neck" puzzle

Pour a small amount of stainless steel powder from the glass bottle onto the whiteboard, then place the microscope on the powder, and a spherical particle will appear on the screen. "The powders seen by the naked eye are actually round, so that 3D printing will not only be 'stuck', but also very smooth. These powders are metals that need to be melted above 1600 °C. This technology is the highest in the industry. Grade." On July 27, Yang Xiong, a senior engineer of Guangdong Zhengde Material Surface Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhengde Company), demonstrated the metal powder printing materials developed and produced by the company.

●The powder is spherical and prints more smoothly

At the 14th China (Zhongshan) Equipment Manufacturing Expo held on the same day, Zhengde Company exhibited a series of 3D printed metal powders such as “tungsten powder” and “stainless steel”.

Yang Xiong introduced that at present, domestic 3D printing consumables are mainly plastics and resins, followed by ordinary mold steels, etc. Now slowly develop powders that can print some refractory metals. “We can supply refractory metal powders such as tungsten and nickel, which are widely used and new products are sold well in the market.”

Yang Xiong picked up a hard mold and told the reporter that the mold was printed directly from the metal powder layer by layer through a 3D printing device. A lot of flow channels are printed on the mold for water cooling. The traditional method is not to use these channels, and can only be printed in 3D. This mold is mainly used for injection molding. The injection molding needs to be cooled, and the water flows from the printed flow path, so that the entire mold can be uniformly cooled.

It is understood that there are few companies that can produce refractory metal printing powder in China. Zhengde Company adopts plasma spheroidization technology, which uses plasma heating to make the original irregular powder in the equipment. After heating, the surface melts first, so that the powder has the same tension as the water droplets, and then quickly cools down to become spherical.

"With this technology, you can print all the shapes you need. If the powder is irregular and does not move, the printing will be easy to get stuck." Yang Xiong said that because they have a research team to solve the "neck of the industry" "problem.

●Production, study and research cooperation to solve technical problems

Zhengde Company is a high-tech enterprise established with the support of South China University of Technology, Zhongshan Institute of Industrial Technology and Zhongshan Torch Vocational and Technical College, which integrates scientific research and development, technical services and production and operation, and is guided by industrial technology development and technology promotion services. .

Yang Xiong has three identities, namely, Zhengde Company, Zhongshan Zhengde New Materials Technology Research Institute, and Technical Director and Senior Engineer of Zhongshan Materials Surface Engineering and Thin Film Technology Innovation R&D Center of South China University of Technology.

“We have many graduate students and doctoral students here. It is an industry-university research platform established by South China University of Technology in Zhongshan.” Yang Xiong introduced that many experts have long been engaged in the research and development of magnetic materials and functional films, material surface engineering and technology, and actively Promote industry-university-research work between universities and enterprises.

At the beginning of the establishment of Zhengde Company, it is based on the national large-scale equipment manufacturing industry, additive manufacturing industry and marine engineering market, and develops high-performance wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings with high application prospects, high-end decorative coatings, functional films of new semiconductor devices, etc. Advanced material surface technology and additive manufacturing special powder materials and equipment to promote the rapid upgrading of traditional industries.

In terms of 3D printing of metal consumables, the company has built a number of high-quality production lines such as powder processing lines for the production of special powders for additive manufacturing. Production of special high-performance metal alloy powder and cermet powder by plasma spheroidizing system, including titanium powder, titanium alloy, stainless steel, refractory metal (tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, etc.), aluminum alloy, etc., which will have more performance in the future. Meta-based, customized composite extension. Its spherical metal alloy powder series has been widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, mechanical parts and other fields.