Korean research team reports progress in metal 3D printing

A research team led by Dr. Sang-woo Song, Dr. Chan-kyu Kim and Dr. Kang-myung Seo at the Department of Joining Technology of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, has developed a fundamental technology for controlling the volume of molten metal in metal 3D printing using welding techniques.

The technology enables metal to be printed freely and continuously in 3D space, which is cheaper and faster compared to conventional metal 3D printing.

However, additive manufacturing of metals using welding techniques has had its limitations, as it can only be done layer by layer. To overcome these limitations, the research team conducted a computer analysis and developed a technology that enables metal additive manufacturing in any position.

“We added 3D free-form additive manufacturing to the continuous additive manufacturing process, which was considered impossible in the existing metal additive manufacturing process,” said Sang-woo Song, principal researcher at KIMS, who is in charge of the research. He continued, “Like the existing 3D printing technology using polymers, it is possible to easily manufacture complex structures using existing metal welding materials, suggesting a new paradigm for the manufacturing industry.”

The new technology could give a boost to the manufacturing industry by promoting technological superiority in metal additive manufacturing and the production of high-end machines and parts.

The research was supported by the Korea Institute of Materials Science under the project “Development of Multi-metallic Layer Materials for Multi-purpose Micro Modular Reactor,” and the results were published in the journal Advanced Science. The research team continues its work to advance additive manufacturing of high-value machinery and parts in the nuclear power plant and defense industries.

Find out more about Korea Institute of Materials Science at kims.re.kr.