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A review of technological improvements in laser-based powder bed fusion of metal printers

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging process that has been extremely improved in terms of technology and application in recent years. In this technology review, new industrial improvements in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of metals are discussed. LPBF has the lowest build rate among all AM processes that produce metals such as electron beam powder bed fusion, direct energy deposition, binder jetting and sheet lamination. The findings of the current research show that the most innovations and future directions of LPBF printers are toward increasing the speed of the process by using interchangeable feedstock chamber, closed-loop control powder handling, automated powder sieving, multi-layer concurrent printing, 2-axis coating and multi powder hoppers. To increase the speed of the process, the new improvements for transferring time and using fast lasers are presented. Another innovation in the building of LPBF printers is enhancing part quality by improving lasers with the shorter beam diameter, multi-lasers, uniform inert gas flow, accurate positioning systems, using high vacuum systems and using sensors and automation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia

    AmirMahyar Khorasani & Ian Gibson

  2. Fraunhofer Centre for Complex System Engineering, Department of Design, Production & Management, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    AmirMahyar Khorasani, Ian Gibson, Jithin Kozhuthala Veetil & Amir Hossein Ghasemi

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  1. AmirMahyar Khorasani
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  2. Ian Gibson
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  3. Jithin Kozhuthala Veetil
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  4. Amir Hossein Ghasemi
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Correspondence to Amir Hossein Ghasemi.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 The latest Renishaw LPBF machine models and specifications [40]
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Fig. 5
figure 5

The latest LPBF Renishaw machines [40]

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Table 5 The latest Trumpf LPBF machine models and specifications [28]
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Fig. 6
figure 6

The latest Trumpf machines [28]

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Table 6 The latest EOS LPBF machine models and specifications [57]
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Fig. 7
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The latest LPBF EOS machines [57]

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Table 7 The latest SISMA LPBF machine models and specifications [35]
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Fig. 8
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The latest LPBF SISMA machines [35]

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Table 8 The latest GE LPBF machine models and specifications [45]
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Fig. 9
figure 9

The latest LPBF GE machines [45]

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Table 9 The latest 3D Systems LPBF machine models and specifications [25]
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Fig. 10
figure 10

The latest LPBF 3D Systems machine [25]

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Table 10 The latest 3D Micro Print LPBF machine models and specifications [52]
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Fig. 11
figure 11

The latest LPBF Micro Print machine [52]

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Table 11 The latest SLM Solutions LPBF machine models and specifications [31]
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Fig. 12
figure 12

The latest LPBF SLM Solutions machines [31]

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Table 12 The latest Coherent-OR Laser LPBF machine models and specifications [68]
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Fig. 13
figure 13

The latest LPBF OR machine [68]

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Table 13 The latest GF LPBF machine models and specifications [69]
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Fig. 14
figure 14

The latest GF LPBF machine [69]

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Table 14 The latest Additive Industries LPBF machine models and specifications [18]
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Fig. 15
figure 15

The latest LPBF Additive Industries machine [18]

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Fig. 16
figure 16

The price of the metal AM printers

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Table 15 List of powder producers
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Khorasani, A., Gibson, I., Veetil, J.K. et al. A review of technological improvements in laser-based powder bed fusion of metal printers. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 108, 191–209 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05361-3

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