3D PRINTING WITH STEEL - Makenica 3d printing services

What is Steel?

Steel is a mix of iron and carbon. The alloy of these two pure materials is made in variable proportions.

3D printed steel is a material obtained by overlapping fine layers of steel. It enables you to create parts for very technical applications that sometimes perform better than those manufactured by traditional methods.

 What are the advantages of Steel?

• Excellent strength
• Great heat resistance
• Great corrosion resistance
• High ductility
• Good accuracy of technical parts
• Parts can be made without requiring forging or machining
• High quality finish
• Work directly on site
• Available in a variety of polished and unpolished finishes
• Less Speed
• Good for Small-Volume Production 
• Good for Mass Customization 
• Allows Remote Production 

 How does steel 3D print?

• With Steel 3D Printing in India, the printed part is created by merging together layers of steel powder.
• Once the layer of steel powder is spread across the base of “build box”, the print head hovers back and forth over the layer, and deposits binding agent at specific locations, as directed by a computer and the design file
• After this is completed, it is dried with powerful overhead heaters and a new layer of powder is spread
• Thus, the part is printed layer by layer from bottom to up by 3D Printing companies.
• Then the build box is placed in a curing oven and the printed part is sintered.
• The extra powder which is not bound and is not part of the model is removed.
• The model is infused with bronze, which replaces the binding agent.
• The printed part is now solid metal; it is finally tumbled and polished to produce a smooth finish by 3D Printing companies.

What are the applications of Steel?

• Used in DMLS 3D printing service
• 3D Binder Jetting printing
• Used in DMD printing
• Used for Strat conception
• Used for decorative models, trophies, board game pieces or jewelry
• Used in Automotive industry
• Used in Medical industry
• Used in Military
• Used in Aeronautics industry

What is Stainless Steel 316L?

316L, also known as 1.4404 is a low-carbon alloy of stainless steel. It is highly corrosion-resistant material and offers excellent strength. This produces prints via Select Laser Melting (SLM) and has high ductility and good thermal properties.

It can be used for food-safe applications, machine components and production tools through 3D Printing service.

Objects printed in 316L stainless steel are made from fine metallic powder mainly composed of iron (66-70%), enriched with chrome (16-18%), nickel (11-14%), and molybdenum (2-3%).

 What are the advantages of Steel 316L for 3D Printing in India?

• Strong resistance against corrosion
• High ductility
• Used in medical field for –
• surgical assistance
• endoscopic surgery
• orthopedics
• Used in aerospace industry for producing mechanical parts
• Used in automobile industry for corrosion-resistant parts
• Used for making watches and jewelry

Main types of metal 3D printing in India

The four main types of metal online 3D printing India are:

• Metal Powder Bed Fusion 3D printing service(SLS, SLM, DMP)
• Directed Energy Deposition (DED)
• Metal filament extrusion (FFF, FDM)
• Material Jetting and Binder Jetting

There are also some resin-based metal 3D printers, and metal sheet lamination 3D printers to 3D Print online, but they are harder to come by.

It is not uncommon to see different acronyms and names for similar technologies of 3D Printing in Bangalore. Each brand markets their own, proprietary methods. Some metal 3D printing companies even use a mix of different technologies.

3D Printer selection

• Extrusion-based metal 3D printer selection (FFF, FDM)

Extrusion consists of heating the material (filament) and pushing it through a nozzle. In metal 3D printing online, the filament is generally made up of metal particles mixed into a binding agent.

After the part is 3D printed through 3D Printing service in India, the result is a raw object or part; it must go through several post-processing steps- such as debinding and sintering- to attain its final form.

• Metal powder bed fusion 3D printer selection (SLS, SLM, DMP, and more)

At the moment, the most commonly used metal additive manufacturing technology is powder bed fusion 3D printing service. Simply put, the 3D printer creates objects out of a bed of powdered metal by using a powerful laser.

• Metal material jetting and binder jetting 3D printers

Material jetting 3D printers are equipped with various inkjet printheads (somewhat similar to 2D printing) that jet material onto a surface. The material then hardens, and another layer of “metal ink” is jetted on top.

• Binder jetting 3D Printing in India is a similar process, but it is a binding agent that is jetted atop a layer of powder.
• DED: Directed Energy Deposition metal additive manufacturing systems

Directed Energy Deposition (DED) is comparable to filament extrusion. The metal material is pushed through a special nozzle, like with FFF/FDM, but a powerful laser beam solidifies the material at its deposition point.

Alternative metal 3D printers and special mentions

• Hybrid metal manufacturing systems

Some manufacturers of 3D Printing companies are specialized in hybrid metal manufacturing systems to 3D Print online. They combine both subtractive and additive manufacturing methods, often with robotic arms that are able to move on more than three axes.

Some of the biggest actors on the hybrid metal AM system market are:

• Gefertec (Germany)
• DMG Mori (Germany)
• Matsuura (Japan)
• Sodick (United States)

• XXL-sized metal 3D printers for industrial production

For those that require very large metal parts through affordable 3D Printing services, there are several huge, industrial machines that offer gigantic build volumes for industrial production. To name a few:

• Sciaky EBAM 300
• Titomic TKF1000
• ADC Aeroswift
• ADIRA AddCreator
• Fabrisonic SonicLayer 4000
• ExOne X1 160PRO
• InssTek MX-600
• BeAM Modulo 400
• Optomec Lens CS 600
• Additive Industries MetalFAB1

• Metal 3D printers from China

There has recently been a lot of growth in the metal 3D printer market in Asia, and more specifically in China for a good 3D Printing quote. Some Chinese brands have been upping their game in that respect, providing industrial-grade metal 3D printing options for online 3D Printing services:

• Farsoon
• ZRapid Tech
• Shining 3D
• Wiiboox

However, we feel that they are not yet playing in the same league as the 3D printers from our main selection, mostly due to a lack of distribution networks, after-sales service and training, and other factors which tend to matter when considering them together as a whole.

• R&D metal 3D printers for labs

In certain cases, metal 3D printers are used for research purposes to develop and test new materials for 3D Printing services in India. There are a few machines that are specifically designed for this:

• Open Additive PANDA-6″
• Freemelt ONE
• Sharebot metalONE

Pros and cons of metal 3D additive manufacturing

Benefits of 3D printing online metal parts

• On-demand production: Metal additive manufacturing offers more flexibility and control over the production line.

• Complex designs made possible: With 3D printing service in Bangalore, it is possible to create highly detailed and intricate parts that would have to be broken down into several pieces with traditional methods.

• Waste reduction: Compared to CNC milling, for example, metal online 3D Printing India produces much less waste as it only consumes the material needed for a certain part. This is more true for extrusion-based methods than it is for powder-based methods, where it isn’t always possible to re-use 100% of unsintered or unbinded material.

• Lighter parts: Whereas metal parts are usually completely solid infill-wise with other methods, 3D printing service allows parts to be more or less hollow without undermining their strength and resistance.

• Cost-effectiveness: All the above benefits of metal 3D printing in India can inherently reduce costs per part, although high metal 3D printer prices do represent a significant entry barrier. Reaching a positive return on investment can take a while depending on your throughput.

Limits of metal 3D printing service

• Metal 3D printing prices: Metal AM systems are still quite expensive, as are metal powders and metal filaments. There are hidden costs, too (e.g., energy consumption, learning curve, etc.).

• Environmental constraints and safety precautions: Most metal 3D printers have a large footprint and require specific operating environments with controlled temperatures, hygrometry, and more.

• Post-processing: In many cases it is necessary for parts to be post-processed, whether it’s debinding and sintering or finishing touches for surface quality.

• Physical properties: It can be difficult to achieve the same physical properties that traditionally manufactured metal parts have. There are a number of factors (e.g. anisotropy) to take into account during the design process and file preparation before even trying to 3D print online a certain part.

Metal 3D printing materials

Which metals can you 3D print?

A growing number of metals and metal alloys can be 3D printed. These are the main ones:

• Aluminum
• Titanium
• Nickel, Inconel
• Copper
• Bronze
• Cobalt, Cobalt-Chrome
• Steels (tooling, maraging, stainless)
• Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum)

Which metal 3D printing material formats are available?

Metal 3D printing material can be found in various formats, catering to different metal 3D printing services in India. The most common are:

• Powder
• Wire
• Filament

It is also possible to find metal 3D printing resin as well as metal sheets for lamination-based 3D printers.

 Applications for metal AM systems

There are thousands of possibilities and use cases for metal 3D printing Bangalore in a wide range of industries. A few industries have been incrementally using metal AM:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Medical

Whether it’s for tooling, replacement parts, or final products, many businesses can benefit from metal 3D printing service in Bangalore.

However, metal additive manufacturing isn’t necessarily beneficial for every single metal part. Although some metal 3D printing systems have a relative capacity for serial production, it is generally cheaper to keep using traditional methods for simple parts.

For cases where complex geometries, rapid prototyping, and mass customization are required, metal AM is convenient and efficient.

Metal 3D printing FAQ

Is 3D printed metal strong?

Metal 3D printed parts can be as strong (or even stronger) as metal parts created with traditional manufacturing processes such as casting. The part’s strength will, however, depend on the metal AM method used and the conditions in which it is 3D printed.

When was 3D metal printing invented?

Metal 3D printing became possible in the 1990s with the development of Selective Laser Melting technology. However, 3D metal printing only started to gain traction and public interest from around 2010 onwards.

How does metal 3D printing work?

There are several ways to 3D print metal. Layers of metal filament can be deposited one after the other, producing a green part that must later go through debinding and sintering steps. It is also possible to fuse metal powder particles together with a laser, or with an inkjet printhead that deposits drops of binding material onto the powder.