Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference - MAMC 2024

The landscape of LPBF process has evolved significantly during recent years, exceeding its origins in simple test production and prototyping towards manufacturing functional parts for real-world applications. Despite its potential, the current limitations in cost and efficiency of the process have held back the broader application of metal 3D printing. Various solutions have been proposed, yet some of these new approaches either increase maintenance costs or introduce unintended effects on the final quality of the parts.

In this talk, the recent developments of the advanced optical platforms at Switzerland Innovation Park will be presented. Modifying the laser wave front by advanced free form laser beam shaping based on liquid crystal on silicon, integration of multiple laser sources (continuous and ultra short pulsed),application of different wavelengths (e.g., blue light), advanced monitoring techniques, and finally innovative AI-based software aimed at analyzing, correcting, and optimizing LPBF laser toolpaths to enhance both quality and productivity are among the applied solutions.
These innovative solutions significantly enhance our control over the manufacturing process by enabling us to modify the temperature distribution during the LPBF process. The initial results indicate the improvement of productivity to tenfold per laser. This efficiency is evidenced by a reduced energy requirement to achieve densities greater than 99.9%, alongside a substantial reduction in spatter production.
This holds immense significance, not only in improving process efficiency but also in facilitating the printing of challenging materials like high-strength Aluminum-based alloys, Ni-based alloys, reflective materials such as gold and copper, as well as bulk metallic glasses.