Dyndrite, together with additive manufacturing materials manufacturers Constellium, Elementum 3D and Sandvik, has announced the formation of the first industry-led “materials consortium” for 3D printing.
The growing demand for additively manufactured parts, particularly in metal, requires greater diversity and flexibility in the acquisition and customization of materials for specific applications. Given the advanced capabilities of 3D printers, sharing expertise and standardization is necessary to accelerate and expand market adoption.
“Materials are a key pillar of additive manufacturing,” said Harshil Goel, CEO, Dyndrite. “Unfortunately, maximizing the capabilities of a material, especially as it relates to the geometry being printed, is a black art within our industry. If additive is to become a mainstream manufacturing process, users require transparency and standardization. Public access to a set of trusted, democratized parameters shines a light on the path of adoption.”
“The business case for being an open architecture metal 3D solution provider is at its core about making our customers more successful,” said Garett Purdon, Vice President of Sales for the Americas at SLM Solutions. “It’s about creating choices for our customers and acknowledging that we can go further, together.”
The consortium, which includes leading LPBF material suppliers, aims to increase the accessibility of tested parameter sets and thus improve the public availability of commonly used material parameters and test data.
“Sandvik has manufactured metal powder for about 45 years and powder for Laser – Powder Bed Fusion specifically for more than 20 years, leveraging the widest range of alloy powders on the market. We look forward to working with Dyndrite, Constellium, and Elementum 3D to increase users’ access to the knowledge that unlocks the full potential of AM materials,” said Andrew Coleman, Head of Additive Manufacturing, Sandvik. “A rising tide lifts all boats, and we are excited to be a founding member of a group determined to help users, machine vendors, and material suppliers.”
“I’m excited to participate in the launch of the Dyndrite Materials Consortium. The Materials Consortium will make it easier for our customers to benefit from our high performance materials designed specifically for laser powder bed fusion, such as our Aheadd CP1 aluminum-iron-zirconium powders,” said Ravi Shahani, Chief Engineer, Constellium Additive Manufacturing. “This will help accelerate adoption of aluminum AM across multiple LPBF platforms to produce higher performance components at lower qualification cost and lower production cost. Customers will quickly achieve predictable, robust properties, precise geometries, better surface quality, simplified post-processing and optimized print cycle times.”
In addition, Dyndrite has unveiled new material and process development software for LPBF that allows users to fine-tune laser and material parameters to tackle print-difficult geometries such as overhangs or thin walls, or to increase print throughput.
“We applaud Dyndrite for their foresight in bringing materials suppliers together in support of the designers and manufacturers. This effort is designed to grow our industry by giving innovators a solid head start for realizing their innovations,” said Dr. Jeremy Iten, Chief Technology Officer, Elementum 3D. “For us, Dyndrite’s LPBF tools have allowed us to increase geometric capability and print quality while dramatically reducing the time it takes to prepare builds. Parameter sets developed using Dyndrite surpassed our previous capability for supportless low angle features, thus expanding the range of applications favoring additive manufacturing. Dyndrite is helping Elementum 3D deliver a more effective product to our customers.”
The consortium will work together to produce, test and make publicly available parameters for their materials. This approach, driven by the cooperation of leading material suppliers, demonstrates a shared commitment to the ongoing evolution of the 3D printing sector.
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