Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology european powder

metallurgy association

INTRODUCTION
TO ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING
TECHNOLOGY
A guide for Designers and Engineers

Renishaw, Altair and Materialise

www.epma.com/am 2nd Edition

 Additive Manufacturing

european powder
metallurgy association

European Additive
Manufacturing Group
What is the European Additive Manufacturing Group?
The European Additive Manufacturing Group (EuroAM) launched in May 2013 is open
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

to companies and organisation across the entire powder metallurgy supply chain who
are, or become, EPMA Members.
Its objectives are fourfold:
To increase the awareness of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, with a
special focus on metal powder based products.
To enable the benefits of joint action, for example through research programmes,
workshops, benchmarking and exchange of knowledge.
To improve the understanding of the benefits of metal based AM technology by end
users, designers, mechanical engineers, metallurgists and students.
To assist in the development of International standards for the AM Sector.

EuroAM Chairs: Ralf Carlstrm, Hgans AB - Digital Metal, Claus Aumund-Kopp, Fraunhofer IFAM, Adeline Riou, Aubert & Duval,
Olivier Coube, EPMA and Keith Murray, Sandvik Osprey

Join the EuroAM at www.epma.com/membership

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 Additive Manufacturing

CONTENTS

Additive Manufacturing
1. INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 Vocabulary 3
1.2 Positioning of AM versus other PM technologies 4
1.3 The benefits of AM technology 4
1.4 The limits of AM technology 6
1.5 Market perspectives 6
2. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES 8
2.1 The basics of laser melting with metal powders 8
2.2 Overview of metal additive manufacturing processes 9
2.2.1 Laser beam melting 10
2.2.2 Electron beam melting 12
2.2.3 3D printing 13
2.2.4 Direct Energy Deposition (or Laser metal deposition) 14

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

2.3 Main process steps 16
2.4 HIP post processing 18
2.5 Non-destructive testing of AM parts 20
3. METAL POWDERS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 22
3.1 Introduction 22
3.2 Powder manufacturing processes 22
3.2.1 The gas atomization process 23
3.2.2 The VIM gas atomization process 23
3.2.3 Other atomization 24
3.3 Metal powder characteristics for additive manufacturing 24
3.3.1 Chemical composition 25
3.3.2 Particle Size distribution 25
3.3.3 Powder morphology 27
3.3.4 Other physical properties 27
3.3.5 Other powder characteristics 28
3.4 Alloys and material properties 28
3.4.1 Introduction 28
3.4.2 Specific defects in materials obtained with additive manufacturing process 29
3.4.3 How to optimize process parameters to improve material properties? 30
3.5 Powder handling and safety 32
4. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR LASER BEAM MELTING 34
4.1 Basic design rules 34
4.1.1 Holes and internal channels 34
4.1.2 Minimum wall thicknesses 35
4.1.3 Maximum length to height ratio 35
4.1.4 Minimum struts diameters and lattice structures 36
4.2 Part orientation 37
4.2.1 Overhangs 37
4.2.2 Support structures 38
4.2.3 Surface roughness 39
4.2.4 Residual stresses and warping 40
4.3 Design optimisation for AM technology 40
4.3.1 Introduction 40
4.3.2 Topology optimisation 41
5. CASE STUDIES 42
5.1 Aerospace 42
5.2 Energy 45
5.3 Medical 47
5.4 Industry 48
5.5 Automotive and car racing 50
5.6 Consumer 51

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 Additive Manufacturing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

EPMA would also like to thank the following organizations and companies for supplying images and content that have been
used throughout this brochure:
3DSystems Euro-K Poly-shape
Addup Exmet AB Progold S.p.A.
AIMEN FHNW Realizer GmbH
Airbus Defense & Space Fraunhofer IFAM Renishaw plc
Airbus Helicopters Fraunhofer IGCV Rennteam Uni Stuttgart
Airbus Operations Fraunhofer ILT RHP Technology
Alphaform Fusia Roland Berger
Altair GE Avio Rosswag Engineering
AP Works GEONX RSC Engineering
APS technologies GF Machining Solutions RUAG
Arcam Hgans AB Digital Metal Salcomp
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

ArianeGroup IIT Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Sandvik Osprey

Atos IK4-Lortek Sculpteo
Aubert & Duval InMotion Automotive Siemens Industrial Turbo Machinery AB
Autodesk Instrumentaria SLM Solutions GmbH
BeAM IPC Spartacus3D
BEGO Medical IREPA Laser Swerea IVF AB
BMW Koenigsegg Automotive AB Thales Alenia Space
Bodycote Liebherr Aerospace The Mercury Center
Catec Magnesium Elektron Trelleborg Sealing Profiles AB
Centro Stirling Materialise Trumpf
Citim GmbH MBFZ Toolcraft GmbH TU Dresden
Concept Laser GmbH Mimedis AG Uni Stuttgart
Cookson Gold Metalysis Ltd University of Sheffield
Croft Additive Manufacturing MTC VBN Components
CTIF MTU Aeroengines Volum-e
Dassault Aviation Nanoval VTT
DeskTop Metal Novax DMA Within
EOS GmbH Nurmi Cylinders Oy Wohlers Associates
ENGIE Lab Laborelec Politecnico di Torino Zodiac Aerospace

Special thanks to:

Claus Aumund-Kopp Adeline Riou

for their editorial input and to the EuroAM group members for their support.

Cover photos: Courtesy of Renishaw, Altair, Materialise, Aubert & Duval

Copyright European Powder Metallurgy Association 2015, 1st Edition. Revised and Reprinted 2016. 2nd Edition 2017,
2nd Edition (Revised and Reprinted) 2017.

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 Additive Manufacturing

1. INTRODUCTION

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, rapid prototyping or free-form fabrication, is the process of joining
materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing
methodologies such as machining.

The use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) with metal powders is a new and growing industry sector with many of its leading
companies based in Europe. It became a suitable process to produce complex metal net shape parts, and not only prototypes,
as before.

Additive manufacturing now enables both a design and industrial revolution, in various industrial sectors such as aerospace,
energy, automotive, medical, tooling and consumer goods.

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Fine metal part designed by Bathsheba Grossman Gas turbine demonstrator (diameter 250 mm and length 600
(Courtesy of Hgans AB - Digital Metal) mm), by assembling parts made by Selective Laser Melting with
Al-,Ti- and Ni-base powders for integration of functions, reduced
number of parts, weight saving and increase of performance
(Courtesy of Fusia)

1.1 Vocabulary
According to the ASTM standard F2792-10, additive manufacturing is the "process of joining materials to make objects from 3D
model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies, such as traditional machining.
Additive manufacturing technologies for metals are numerous, hence the development of a wide variety of terms and
acronyms, as can be seen in the graph below. But today additive manufacturing is the most common term in industry markets
while 3D printing is more used in the consumer market.

3D Printing

Rapid Prototyping Additive Manufacturing (AM)

Rapid Manufacturing Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM)

Laser Beam Melting (LBM) Free-form Fabrication (FFF)

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) Solid Free-form Fabrication (SFF)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)
Electron Beam melting (EBM) Laser Metal Deposition (LMD)
Powder bed fusion Laser Cladding
Direct Energy Deposition (DED)
Direct Metal Deposition (DMD)
Powderfed fusion

The vocabulary of Additive Manufacturing. In red, most common of standardised vocabulary

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 Additive Manufacturing

1.2 Positioning of AM vs. other PM technologies

Additive manufacturing is complementing other powder metallurgy (PM) technologies.
Like Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), AM is more suitable for the production of small or medium series of parts.
While HIP process is generally used for the manufacturing of massive near net shape parts of several hundred kilograms, the
AM process is more suitable for smaller parts of a few kilos and it offers an improved capacity to produce complex metal parts
thanks to a greater design freedom.
Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) and press & sintering technologies also offer the possibility to produce net shape parts but they
are recommended for large series of small parts.

Part
weight
& size
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HIP

Additive Press & Sintering

manufacturing
MIM
No. of parts

Positioning of various PM technologies according to part weight or size and production series

1.3 The benefits of AM technology

Metal additive manufacturing technologies offer many key benefits:
Increased design freedom versus conventional casting and machining.
Light weight structures, made possible either by the use of lattice design or by designing parts where material is only where
it needs to be, without other constraints.
New functions such as complex internal channels or several parts built in one.
Net shape process meaning less raw material consumption, up to 25 times less versus machining, important in the case of
expensive or difficult to machine alloys. The net shape capability helps creating complex parts in one step only thus reducing
the number of assembly operations such as welding, brazing.
No tools needed, unlike other conventional metallurgy processes which require molds and metal forming or removal tools.
Short production cycle time: complex parts can be produced layer by layer in a few hours in additive machines. The total
cycle time including post processing usually amounts to a few days or weeks and it is usually much shorter than conventional
metallurgy processes which often require production cycles of several months.
The process is recommended for the production of parts in small series.

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 Additive Manufacturing

Hydraulic prototype with complex internal channels, Prototype of 316L vacuum permeator for ITER
(Source: EU project COMPOLIGHT) made by LBM, impossible to produce by conventional
processes. (Courtesy of IK4-Lortek)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Ti6Al4V support to satellite antenna made by Ti6Al4V implant (acetabular cup) with high specific
EBM with a lightweight design made by topology surface design for improved osseointegration.
optimization. (Courtesy of Poly-Shape) (Courtesy of ARCAM)

Powder bed technologies enables part customization and increased design complexity at no cost, compared with
conventional manufacturing (Courtesy of Fraunhofer)

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 Additive Manufacturing

1.4 The limits of AM technology

To take full advantage of AM technologies, it is important to be aware of some limitations:
Part size: In the case of powder bed technology, the part size is limited to powder bed size, such as 250x250x250 mm for
standard powder bed systems. However, part sizes can be greater with direct energy deposition (or laser metal deposition)
processes. But, due to the low thickness of powder layers, it can be very slow and costly building high parts or massive parts.
Production series: the AM processes are generally suitable for unitary or small series and is not relevant for mass production.
But progresses are made to increase machine productivity and thus the production of larger series. For small sized parts,
series up to 25000 parts/year are already possible.
Part design: in the case of powder bed technology, removable support structures are needed when the overhang angle is
below 45. Other design considerations to be taken into account can be seen in Chapter 4 about design guidelines.
Material choice: though many alloys are available, non weldable metals cannot be processed by additive manufacturing and
difficult-to-weld alloys require specific approaches.
Material properties: parts made by additive manufacturing tend to show anisotropy in the Z axis (construction direction).
Besides, though densities of 99.9% can be reached, there can be some residual internal porosities. Mechanical properties are
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

usually superior to cast parts but in general inferior to wrought parts.

1.5 Market perspectives

The use of additive manufacturing technology is developing in many industries:
Aerospace
Energy
Medical, in particular in surgical implants and dental applications
Tooling in particular for plastics processing
Automotive and transportation
Consumer goods
Etc

Manufacturing readiness level in various industry sectors (Courtesy of Roland Berger)

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AM technology is no longer used only for prototyping but now also for metal part production, hence the strong growth
since 2012 of AM systems sales for the production of metal parts (see graph below).

No. of units/year

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Sales of AM systems for metal parts (Source Wohlers Report 2017)

In addition, the current market growth should have a positive impact on the cost competitiveness of AM technology. Indeed,
according to a DMRC survey in 2013 with interviews of 75 AM experts, it is expected that machine build speed should at least
quadruple by 2018.
Besides, increasing metal powder production capacity for additive manufacturing might reduce powder costs too.
However, machine utilization is expected to drop slightly due to multiple laser scanners and rising complexity. And the increase
in build rate can be limited by the parts geometry (e.g. wall thickness).

25%

Build speed 10 cm3/h 40 cm3/h 80 cm3/h

Machine costs EUR 500,000 EUR 700,000 EUR 800,000
Share of monitoring 5% 2% 0%
Machine utilization 86% 84% 81%
Steel Powder price EUR 89/kg EUR 70/kg EUR 30/kg
Post-processing effort 1.52 h/kg 1.05 h/kg 0.96 h/kg

Graph: Forecast of metal AM costs in euros/cm3 (Courtesy of Roland Berger)

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2. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES

2.1 The basics of laser melting with metal powders

During laser beam melting, the laser beam, with diameter such as 100 m, will locally melt the upper powder layer on the
powder bed. The laser will be partially absorbed by metal powder particles, creating a melt pool which solidifies rapidly. Laser
power typically varies from 200 W up to 1000 W.

Laser
scanning
direction
Laser beam Pre-placed
powder bed
Sintered (green state) Reflection
powder particles
(brown state) Laser sintering

Absorption
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Scattering

The interactions of laser with powder particles

Unsintered material
in previous layers

In selective laser melting, different scanning strategies are possible. The laser scanning patterns will influence porosity level,
microstructure, surface roughness and heat build-up in the finished the metal components. The stripe pattern is a band defined
by the scan vector width (ie stripe width), the hatching space between adjacent tracks and the scan direction as well as the
overlap with the neighbouring stripes.

Stripe pattern (Courtesy of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and Politecnico di Torino)

On each layer, several laser scanning configurations (or hatch patterns) are possible, as can be seen in the sketch below.

Scanning strategies (Courtesy of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and Politecnico di Torino)

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2.2 Overview of metal additive manufacturing processes

Metal Additive
Manufacturing

Powder bed Blown Powder Technology

Technology (DED or LMD)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

3D printing or inkjet printing
Laser Beam Melting Electron Beam Melting (Green parts bound by
(LBM) (EBM) binder and final solidification
by sintering)

Mapping of main metal powder additive manufacturing technologies

In beam-based powder bed systems (LBM or EBM), a powder layer is first applied on a building platform.
Then a laser or electron beam selectively melts the upper layer of powder.

After melting, the platform is lowered and the cycle is repeated until the part is fully built, embedded in the powder bed.

The powder bed manufacturing cycle (Courtesy of Fraunhofer)

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2.2.1 Laser Beam Melting (or Selective Laser Melting)

In the laser beam melting process, a powder layer is first applied on a building platform with a recoater (blade or roller) and a
laser beam selectively melts the layer of powder. Then the platform is lowered by 20 up to 100 m and a new powder layer is
applied. The laser beam melting operation is repeated. After a few thousand cycles (depending on height of the part), the built
part is removed from the powder bed.
Manufacturers
3D Systems (US)
Additive Industries (NL)
Addup (F)
Concept Laser (DE)
EOS (DE)
Farsoon (CN)
Matsuura (JP)
Realizer (DE)
Renishaw (UK)
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Sisma (I)
SLM Solutions (DE)
Sodick (J)
Trumpf (D)

Powder flow from supply tank to recoater

Powder flow from recoater to supply tank

The powder flow in a SLM 500HL powder bed machine (Courtesy SLM Solutions)

Complex CoCr Fuel Injection Swirler made by Inside a Laser Beam Melting Machine (Courtesy of Concept Laser GmbH)
Laser Beam Melting (Courtesy of EOS GmbH)

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 Additive Manufacturing

316L Surgical guide made by Laser Beam Tooling insert by Laser Beam Melting Ni 718 Combustion chamber made by
Melting (Courtesy of IK4-Lortek) (Courtesy of BMW) Laser Beam Melting (Courtesy of Concept
Laser GmBH)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

FormUp350 by Addup TruPrint3000 by Trumpf RenAM 500M by Renishaw

A new trend is to develop new systems with larger powder beds, as can be seen in the table below

MANUFACTURER Powder bed size: Small Powder bed size: Standard Powder bed size: Large
(Usually with a diameter of 100 mm) (Usually 250 x 250 x 250mm) (with 1 or 2 dimensions >500 mm)

3D Systems US& F X X X

Additive Industries NL X

Addup F X

Concept Laser GmbH DE X X X

EOS GmbH DE X X X

Realizer GmbH DE X X

Renishaw UK X

Sisma I X

SLM Solutions GmbH DE X X X

Trumpf D X X

Manufacturers of laser beam melting powder bed systems

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Examples of large powder bed systems

ProX400 by 3D Systems EOS M 400 by EOS GmbH X Line 2000R by Concept SLM500HL By SLM Solutions
Platform size: 500mm x Platform size: 400mm x Laser GmbH GmbH
500mm x 500mm 400mm x 400mm Platform size: 800mm x Platform size: 280mm x
400mm x 500mm 500mm x 320mm

Another trend is the development of integrated manufacturing lines for production of parts in series.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

AM factory of tomorrow (Courtesy of Concept Laser)

2.2.2 Electron Beam Melting

Electron Beam
Column
The EBM processis based on a high power electron beam that generates
Filament
the energy needed for high melting capacity and high productivity.The
electron beam is managed by electromagnetic coils providing extremely fast
and accurate beam control. The EBM process takes place in vacuum (with a
base pressure of 110-5mbar or better) and at high temperature, resulting
Astigmatism lens
in stress relieved components. For each layer in the build the electron beam
Focus lens heats the entire powder bed to an optimal ambient temperature, specific
for the material used. As a result, the parts produced with the EBM process
Deflection lens
are almost free from residual stresses and have a microstructure free from
Heat shield martensitic structures.
Vacuum
chamber Powder
hopper
Powder
hopper Manufacturers
Arcam (SE)
Electron Beam

Rake Powder

Build tank Start plate

Build
platform

The EBM process (Courtesy of Arcam)

Ti6Al4V acetabular cups with integrated Trabecular Low Pressure Turbine blade in -titanium aluminide
Structures for improved osseointegration (Courtesy of Arcam) (Courtesy of AvioAero)

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2.2.3 3D printing
The 3D printing process is an indirect process in two steps.
After applying a powder layer on the build platform, the powder is agglomerated thanks to a binder fed through the printer nozzle.
The operation is repeated until parts are produced, which shall be then removed carefully from the powder bed, as they are in
a 'green' stage.
The metal part solidication takes place in a second step, during a debinding and sintering operation, sometimes followed by an
infiltration step.
Manufacturers
Powder Feeder
DeskTop Metal (US)
Digital Metal (S)
Printer nozzle ExOne (US)
Binder
Prodways (F)
Roller

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Powder

Platform

Build part

The 3D printing technology is more productive than laser beam melting and requires no support structure. Besides it provides
a good surface quality by using one of several post processing techniques:
Peening/Blasting/Tumbling for average of Ra 3.0 m
Superfinishing for an average of Ra1.0 m down to < 1.0m
But the range of available materials is limited and mechanical properties achieved can be lower than with laser and electron
beam melting.

Parts in the powder bed after 3D printing Lightweight stainless screws made by 3D printing
(Courtesy of Hgans AB - Digital Metal) (Courtesy of Hgans AB - Digital Metal)

Metal DM Studio printer Green part after heating & Part sintering Support removal
extruding bound metal rod
(Courtesy DeskTop Metal)

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2.2.4 Direct energy deposition (or laser metal deposition)

With the direct energy deposition process, a nozzle mounted on a multi axis arm deposits melted material onto the
specified surface, where it solidifies.
This technology offers a higher productivity than selective laser melting and also the ability to produce larger parts, but the
freedom in design is much more limited: for instance, lattice structures and internal channels are not possible.

Manufacturers
BeAM (FR)
DMG Mori (DE)
Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies (UK)
INSSTEK (KR)
MAZAK (J)
Optomec (US)
Trumpf (DE)
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Characteristics LMD SLM

Limited and lower
Large materials
Materials experience in
diversity comparison to LMD

Limited by the Limited by the

Part dimensions process chamber
handling system (: 250mm, height: 160mm)

Part complexity Limited Nearly unlimited

Dimensional accuracy 0.1m 0.1 mm

Deposition rate 3 10 mm /s 3
1 3 mm3/s
3D-surface Flat surface
Build-up on On existing parts Flat preforms
Roughness Rz 60 100m 30 50m
Layer thickness 0.03 - 1mm 0.03 - 0.1mm

Comparison of LMD vs SLM (Courtesy of Fraunhofer)

Sketch of the Direct Energy Deposition CLAD process (Courtesy of BeAM)

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 Additive Manufacturing

Laser Metal Deposition process (Courtesy of BeAM) Ti6Al4V complex demonstrator made
by Laser Metal Deposition (Courtesy
of BeAM)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Direct Energy Deposition process for blade repair or building (Courtesy of
Fraunhofer ILT)

Benefits of Direct Energy Deposition process

New topological features possibilities
Repair of parts that up to now were impossible
Addition of functionalities on existing parts with either the same or a different material
No dimensional limits (apart from the machine size)
Excellent metallurgic quality at least as good as foundry
Control of the material deposited (gradients, multimaterials, monolithic ...)
Eco innovative process: less material loss, no tool process...

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2.3 Main process steps

The manufacturing of a metal part with additive manufacturing technologies starts with 3D modeling. Then data preparation
shall be organized for and includes the definition of part orientation, the positioning of support structures and the slicing of the
model. After part manufacturing, post processing operations are needed.

CAD-model

3D-CAD Modeling
3D-Modeling 3D Scan (Reverse Engineering)
Creation of STL-Data (Triangulation)

Slicing

Reparation of files , close holes or open surfaces

Data preparation
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Part orientation and support structures

Create slices from the model, Slicing

AM Machine

Manufacturing Generation of control data

on AM machine Production of the parts

Removal of powder, support structures and platform

Post process Heat treatment
Surface finish, polishing, etc.

Summary of process steps (Courtesy of Fraunhofer)

Creation of supports and file slicing with Magics software (Courtesy of Materialise)

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Laser beam melting operation (Courtesy of EOS) Dental parts on the platform after powder removal
(Courtesy of BEGO medical)

Post processing operations can include:

Machining

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EDM
Peening
Grinding
Polishing
Surface treatment
Heat treatment
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to eliminate residual porosities
Control

EBM (as-built)
800
EBM (HIPed)
DMLS (as-build + stress relief)
700
DMLS (as-build + stress relief + HIPed)
600
Stress amplitude (MPa)

500

400

300

200

100

0
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08
Number of cycle to failure Nf (cycles)

The effect of HIP post processing on fatigue resistance of parts made by SLM and EBM (Courtesy of MTC)

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2.4 HIP post processing

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPing) for densification of metal castings and additive manufactured parts occurs by application of
elevated temperatures up to 2000C and high gas pressures up to 200MPa whereby internal shrinkage porosity and defects
can be eliminated. Pore closure occurs initially by the collapse of the void due to plastic deformation which allows the pore
surfaces to come into close contact, the extended hold time at temperature and pressure then allows creep and diffusion
mechanisms to diffusion bond the pore surfaces resulting in closure of the void or defect and an increase in density. Pressure is
applied by a high purity inert gas so the surface of the AM component is not affected.
HIP can be customised to specific temperature, pressure and hold times depending on the material being processed to achieve
100% densification. Heat treatment post HIP is required for the majority of components to achieve full material properties.

The density of parts produced by metal powder based additive manufactured

(AM) is often very high, but there is always the risk of defects in the material
such as microporosity or cracks, depending on the machine used as well as
the type of powder. AM parts can contain a small amount of porosity for
instance due to:
Scanning calibration mismatch
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Key-hole beam-weld interaction

Gas (can be internal to individual powder particles)
Shrinkage as previous layers solidify
Micro-cracks.
Eliminating the microporosity that forms during building can significantly
improve fatigue life, impact toughness, creep strength and ductility. Besides,
HIP provides stress relief to remove as built residual stresses and HIP reduces
the extent of as built segregation due to recrystalisation and homogenisation
of the micro structure.

Schematic picture of a HIP vessel

Comparison of Fatigue Performance for Cast + HIP, Wrought and AM as Built and AM+ HIP (Courtesy of Mercury Centre,
University of Sheffield)

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 Additive Manufacturing

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Comparison of rotating beam fatigue performance of EBM Ti-6Al-4V (Courtesy of Arcam)

Comparison of fatigue performance of Alloy 718 (Courtesy of Bodycote)

Benefits of HIPing AM Components:

HIP enhances AM components in a similar way to that experienced by castings or MIM components
The majority of AM components will require heat treatment post HIP to realise full material properties
Elimination of the microporosity that forms during building can significantly improve fatigue life, impact toughness, creep
strength and ductility
HIP can decrease the scatter band in mechanical property values, i.e. increase consistency and minimum design strength
Improve Z-direction properties to be more consistent with X-Y
Fatigue properties on par with wrought material
Reduction in rejection rates and inspection costs
100% reduction in porosity possible
Improved machined surfaces and consistency in properties
Improved microstructure

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2.5 Non-destructive testing of AM parts

Surface Soundness
To check the presence of surface discontinuities in non-magnetic parts produced by additive manufacturing, the recommended
method is penetrant inspection. This inspection is carried out into six steps:
Surface preparation by a mechanical and/or a chemical treatment then by degreasing
Application by capillarity of a penetrant inside the discontinuities
Removing the penetrant in excess, most often by means of an air/water spay gun
Drying, often in an oven
Detecting by applying a product designed to reveal the penetrant by wicking effect
Inspection under UV-A light in the case of a fluorescent penetrant
A good surface preparation is essential for a good detection of discontinuities, as shown in the example below.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Porosities visualization with (C2) and without (C1) sand blasting (Courtesy of CTIF)

Internal Soundness
To detect internal discontinuities, both radiography and tomography by X-Ray inspection can be carried out. But radiography
can only be used for parts like thin plates.
Radiography (in two dimensions) is based on the differential absorption of X-rays by the material.
Any lack of material will lead to a weaker absorption and therefore, locally, to a higher level of grey level on the digital picture
or on the silver film according to the detector used.

X-ray Radiography (Courtesy of CTIF)

Radiography of small AlSi10Mg parts produced by the Additive Manufacturing with different laser parameters
(Courtesy of Zodiac Aerospace)

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 Additive Manufacturing

Tomography makes use of a large quantity of views obtained by rotating the object following different angles and height
positions. The different views allow to determine the absorption of each volume element called voxel to rebuild the object
in 3 dimensions. It is then possible to obtain several representations of the volume of the object, including visualisation in the
form of virtual slices that define the word tomography. This representation is the most conventional one and the most used
to determine the porosity level or to measure discontinuities. To examine all the volume, one only needs to scroll the 2D slices
on the screen.

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Example of traditional tomography inspection of AlSi10Mg parts (Courtesy of CTIF)

Traditional tomography systems 'Cone-Beam' sometimes have a too high spatial resolution for small porosities. In this case,
synchrotron radiation can be used, as a parallel beam allows to reach a resolution close to the one achieved with a micrograph.

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3. METAL POWDERS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

3.1 Introduction
Metal powder plays a very important role in the additive manufacturing processes. Indeed the quality of metal powder used will
have a major influence on mechanical properties but it can also influence:
The build-to-build consistency
The reproducibility between AM machines
The production of defect-free components
The manufacturing defects on surfaces
A very wide range of alloys are used on additive manufacturing machines thanks to the availability of metal powders:
Steels such : 316L, 17-4PH etc.
Nickel and cobalt base superalloys : 625, 718, CoCr F75 etc.
Titanium alloys : Ti6Al4V, CPTi etc.
Aluminium alloys: AlSi10Mg etc.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

But many other metals are also evaluated and developing:

Copper alloys
Magnesium alloys
Precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum
Refractory metals such as Mo alloys, W and WC
Metal Matrix Composites, etc.
3.2 Powder manufacturing processes
Metal powders for additive manufacturing are usually produced using the gas atomization process, where a molten metal stream
is atomized thanks to a high pressure neutral gas jet into small metal droplets thus forming metal powder particles after rapid
solidification.
Gas atomization is a physical method (as opposed to chemical or mechanical methods) to obtain metal powders, like water
atomization. But powders produced by gas atomization have a spherical shape, which is very beneficial for powder flowability
while powders produced by water atomization will have an irregular shape.
Gas atomization is the most common process for additive manufacturing because it ensures:
A spherical powder shape
A good powder density, thanks to the spherical shape and particle size distribution
A good reproducibility of particle size distribution
Besides a very wide range of alloys can be produced using the gas atomization process.

Metal powders for additive manufacturing (Courtesy of SLM Solutions)

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.2.1 The gas atomization process

The gas atomization process starts with molten metal pouring from a tundish through a nozzle.

The stream of molten metal is then hit by jets of neutral gas such as nitrogen or argon and atomized into very small droplets
which cool down and solidify when falling inside the atomization tower. Powders are then collected in a can.

The gas atomization process is the most common process to produce spherical metal powders for additive manufacturing. It is
used in particular for steels, aluminium alloys, precious metals, etc.

Molten metal

Atomization nozzle

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Neutral gas jets

Atomized metal powder

90%-22um 17-4PH
!

SEM picture of gas atomised 17-4PH powder <20 m

(Courtesy of Sandvik Osprey Ltd)
Powder collection

Sketch of the gas atomization process

3.2.2 The VIM gas atomization process

In the VIM gas atomization process, the melting takes place in a vacuum chamber. This process is recommended for superalloys
so as to avoid in particular oxygen pick-up when working with alloys with reactive elements such as Ti and Al.

Vacuum Chamber

Induction furnace

Tundish

Gas jets

Atomizing chamber

Atomized metal powder

SEM picture of VIM gas atomized Pearl Micro Ni718

powder (Courtesy of Aubert & Duval)

Powder collection

Sketch of the VIM gas atomization process (Courtesy

Aubert & Duval)

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.2.3 Other powder manufacturing processes

Some other powder manufacturing processes are used for specific alloys such as :
Plasma atomization and spheroidization consists of in-flight heating and melting thanks to a plasma torch of feed material
followed by cooling and solidification under controlled conditions. Depending on processes, the raw material can be particles
as well as bar or wire feedstock. Plasma atomization can be used in particular to spheroidise refractory metals such as Mo
alloys, W and WC.
Centrifugal atomization, also known as plasma rotating electrode process, consists in melting with a plasma torch the end of
a bar feedstock rotating at high speed and thus ejecting centrifugally the molten droplets of metal.
Powder blending and mechanical alloying, to produce Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs).

Ceramic
Metal matrix
reinforcement
powder
powder
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

SEM picture of gas atomized Elektron MAP+

magnesium powders (Courtesy of Magnesium Elektron)
Composite powder ready for additive
manufacturing

Innovative Metal Matrix Composite AlSiMg powder for additive

manufacturing , reinforced with micronsized SiC or nanosized
MgAl2O4. (Courtesy of IIT Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Politecnico di
Torino - DISAT)

3.3 Metal powder characteristics for additive manufacturing

Key metal powder characteristics for additive manufacturing can be sorted in four main categories:
Chemical composition
Powder size distribution (PSD)
Morphology
Physical properties
In all cases, there are several useful existing standards to determine methods for characterizing metal powders.
Additional points are important to consider when selecting metal powders for additive manufacturing processes:
Storage and aging of powders
Reusability of powder after additive manufacturing cycles
Health, safety and environmental issues

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.3.1 Chemical composition

Regarding chemical composition, alloy elements and chosen measurement techniques (ICP, Spectrometry, etc.) are very
important but it is also important to take into account:
Interstitials, such as Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon and Sulfur, to measure by combustion and fusion techniques
As well as trace elements and impurities
As they may affect significantly material properties depending on alloys
With the gas atomization process, all powder particles have the same chemical composition but finer particles tend to have a
higher oxygen content due to the higher specific surface.
The chemical composition will influence in particular:
Melting temperature
Mechanical properties
Weldability
Thermal properties (thermal conductivity, Heat capacity etc.)
Etc

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Last, the chemical composition can also evolve slightly after multiple uses in additive manufacturing machines.

3.3.2 Particle size distribution

Depending on additive manufacturing technology and equipment, two main types of particle size distributions are considered:
Powders usually below 50 microns for most powder bed systems. In this case, finer powder particles below 10 or 20
microns shall be avoided, as they are detrimental to the powder flowability
Powder between 50 and 100 to 150 m for EBM and LMD technologies
The Particle Size Distribution (PSD) is an index indicating what sizes of particles are present in what proportions i.e. the relative
particle amount as a percentage of volume where the total amount of particles is 100 %) in the sample particle group to be
measured.
The frequency distribution indicates in percentage the amounts of particles existing in respective particle size intervals whereas
cumulative distribution expresses the percentage of the amounts of particles of a specific particle size or below.
Alternatively, cumulative distribution expresses the percentage of the amounts of particles below a certain size.
A common approach to define the distribution width is to refer to three values on the x-axis (volume %):
The D10 i.e. the size where 10% of the population lies below D10
The D50, or median, ie the size where 50% of the population lies below D50
The D90, ie the size where 90% of the population lies below D90

Volume % Main distribution

Fine tail Coarse tail

10% 50% 90%

below below below
10m 30m 50m

Powder size
D10 D50 D90 in m
10 m 30 m 50 m

Example of D10, D50 and D90 on a PSD curve for a 10-50 microns powder

25
 Additive Manufacturing

Powder sampling is also an important point due to the powder segregation (applicable standard ASTM B215)
Usual methods and standards for particle size distribution measurement are:
ISO 4497 Metallic Powders, Determination of Particle Size by Dry Sieving (or ASTM B214 Test Method for Sieve Analysis of
Metal Powders)
ISO 13320 Particle Size Analysis Laser Diffraction Methods (or ASTM B822 Test Method for Particle Size Distribution of
Metal Powders and Related Compounds by Light Scattering)
It is important to note that the PSD results will be dependent of the chosen test methods, which can provide different results
in particular depending on powder morphologies.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Example of PSD curve by laser diffraction for In718 powders (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

The particle size distribution is a major point in additive manufacturing as it can influence many aspects such as:

Powder flowability and ability to spread evenly

Powder bed density
Energy input needed to melt the powder grains
Surface roughness
Etc.

Energy input and powder density as a function of mean particle size (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.3.3 Powder morphology

The recommended particle morphology for additive manufacturing is spherical shape because it is beneficial for powder
flowability and also to help forming uniform powder layers in powder bed systems.
The powder morphology can be observed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope).
Typical defects to be controlled and minimized are:
Irregular powder shapes such as elongated particles
Satellites which are small powder grains stuck on the surface of bigger grains
Hollow powder particles, with open or closed porosity
Porosity content can be evaluated either by SEM observation or by Helium Pycnometry. The presence of excessive amounts of
large pores or pores with entrapped gas can affect material properties.
Applicable standard: ASTM B923 Test Method for Metal Powder Skeletal Density by Helium or Nitrogen Pycnometry.

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

SEM picture of gas atomized stainless powder <20 microns
(Courtesy of Nanoval)

3.3.4 Other powder physical properties

Rheological properties are very important for metal powders used in additive manufacturing equipment, both for powder
handling from powder container to working area and in the case of powder bed systems to form uniform layers of powders.
Rheology is a complex matter but some standard test methods are available, though not always fully appropriate for the
particle sizes typical of additive manufacturing systems:
Density (apparent or tap)
Flow rate
Angle of repose
Etc
Applicable standards:
ISO 3923, Metallic powders Determination of apparent density or ASTM B212 Test Method for Apparent Density of
Free-Flowing Metal Powders Using the Hall Flowmeter Funnel
ISO 3953, Metallic powders Determination of tap density or ASTM B527 Test Method for Determination of Tap Density
of Metallic Powders and Compounds
ASTM B213 Test Methods for Flow Rate of Metal Powders Using the Hall Flowmeter Funnel
ISO 4324, Powders and granules Measurement of the angle of repose

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.3.5 Other powder characteristics

Powder storage, handling and aging . For almost all alloys, shielding gas,the control of hygrometry and temperature is
important and strongly recommended
Powder reusability, i.e. the definition of conditions of re-use of unused powders after additive manufacturing cycles (sieving of
agglomerates, control, number of re-use etc)
Health, safety and environmental issues
3.4 Alloys and material properties
3.4.1 Introduction
The material properties obtained with additive manufacturing processes are unique and specific of these technologies, due to
the small melting pool and rapid solidification.
Mechanical properties of parts produced by additive manufacturing are usually:
Superior to the properties obtained with investment casting process
Inferior or sometimes close to the conventional wrought part
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

1800
1.27091
1600 1.2083
Yield Strength [MPa]

1400 1.27091
1.45401
1200
Ti6A14V ELI
Ti6A14V1 Inconel 718 1.27091
1000 1.45401
TiA16Nb7
800 Ti6A14V1
CoCr 2.47231
600 1.4542 1.44041
CoCr 2.47231
400 AlSi10Mg 1 1.45401
Hastelloy X Inconel 625
200 AlSi12
AlSi7Mg AlSi10Mg1
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Hardness Vickers [HV] 1
Different machine manufacturer

Hardness and Yield strength for various materials produced by powder bed additive manufacturing technologies
(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

Key features of materials produced by additive manufacturing are:

The fine microstructure, due to the very rapid solidification process
A slight anisotropy in Z direction, which induces slightly lower mechanical properties due to the superposition of layers.
Anisotropy can be avoided in X and Y directions by using an adapted laser strategy
A few small residual porosities, in particular below the surface. However, densities of 99.9% are commonly reached with
additive manufacturing processes. To achieve full density, post processing by HIP can be done, like for parts made by
investment casting

Microstructure of material produced by laser beam melting

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 Additive Manufacturing

Heat Treatment Tensile testing

[1] Heat treatment procedure per According to ISO 6892:1998

AMS 5662
[2] Anneal at 870 C (1600 F) for 1 According to ISO 6892-1:2009
hour, \ rapid cooling
[3] Heat treatment procedure SAE According to ISO 6892-1:2009
AMS 2773
[4] Heat treatment procedure per 20C according to DIN 50125
AMS 5662
[5] No heat treatment Average values of horizontal and
vertical built samples

Yield strength for various Ni base materials by SLM and LMD (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

MPa x 10, HV
GPa Ti6A14V1), Ti6A14V, Ti6A14V, wrought %
EOSINT M280 PM + HIP DIN ISO 5832-3
140 14 500

120 12
400
100 10

8 300
80

60 6
200

40 4
100
20 2

0 0 0
Tensile strength Elastic Modulus 2) Elongation at break Hardness 3)
1) heat treated 2) No values for forged Ti6A14v 3) No values for Ti6A14v, PM+HIP

Mechanical properties for Ti6Al4V materials by SLM, SLM+HIP and wrought (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

3.4.2 Specific defects in materials obtained with additive manufacturing process

In case of incorrect process parameters, build strategy, part orientation or insufficient powder quality, some typical defects can
be observed:
Unmolten powder particles
Lacks of fusion
Pores
Cracks
Inclusions
Residual stresses
Poor surface roughness

Defects that can be found and shall be avoided in parts manufactured by SLM technology
(Courtesy of IK4 Lortek)

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.4.3 How to optimize process parameters to improve material properties?

To achieve high mechanical strength and adequate fatigue behaviour, it is important to produce high density parts with optimal
surface quality and to minimize defects, through the optimization of process parameters. In this way, a working window is
obtained with a define set of laser parameters where parts with high densities and low roughness are guaranteed.
In laser processes, the Energy density (E) is a key factor:
Sufficient energy density is needed to melt powder particles of the layer being processed and of the previous layer to assure
a correct joining between successive layers and avoid lacks of fusion and porosity.
Excessive energy can cause vaporization of the material creating defects and reducing material density.
The optimization of parameters shall be done both for the interior of the part and for the borders, where a good balance of
minimized defects in the sub-surface and low roughness is pursued.
To optimize parameters, it is a common practice to manufacture simple geometries like cubes maintaining constant the power
and varying the scanning speed in each cube, for a given layer thickness and hatch spacing. Thus, each cube is manufactured
with different energy density. Afterwards, the cubes are characterized where interior density, sub-surface density and roughness
are determined, so as to identify the right energy density window and corresponding parameters.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

E = energy density

P = power (W)

v = scanning speed (mm/s)

h = hatch spacing (mm)

t = layer thickness (mm)

Test cubes (Courtesy of IK4 Lortek)

Evolution of relative density of H13 with energy density and the obtained migrographs (Courtesy of IK4 Lortek)

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 Additive Manufacturing

The second example below with different laser parameters on a SLM machine for Ti6Al4V was achieved to optimize them
both for interior and borders.
Here, both interior and borders are practically free of defects when 40 J/mm3 energy density is surpassed.
In addition, not only the number of pores varies with energy density, but also the morphology of defects is different.
At low energy densities where the scanning speed is high, huge (> 100 m) and irregular defects are found in the samples due
to partial melting of the particles which induces a defective powder deposition.
At high energy densities with low scanning speeds, the pores are spherical and small (<100 m) due to gases trapped in the
melt pool.

100

99
Relative density (%)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

98

97

96
Interior
95 Border

94
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Energy density (J/mm2)

Relative density vs energy density applied in the optimization process for Ti6Al4V and the obtained micrographs for the interior of the
cubes on a SLM machine (Courtesy of IK4 Lortek)

The defect and material density analyses were completed with roughness measurements. The lowest roughness values
(~10-12 m) ensuring improved surface quality, are obtained at low energy densities (< 30 J/mm3). However, in these
conditions the sub-surface porosity is too high. Increasing slightly the energy density up to 30 J/mm3 the roughness is still low
and pores in the subsurface are reduced significantly.
At higher energy densities, although the number of pores is minimal near the surface, the roughness gets worse.
It can be concluded in this example that energy densities superior to 40 J/mm3 are necessary to obtain parts with 99.7%-99.9%
relative density, whereas an energy density of 30 J/mm3 is enough to have both improved surface quality and minimized defects
in borders.

18.5 J/mm3 22.2 J/mm3 27.8 J/mm3

41.7 J/mm3 55.6 J/mm3 83.3 J/mm3

Appearance of borders of the Ti6Al4V cubes for different energy densities (Courtesy of IK4 Lortek)

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 Additive Manufacturing

3.5 Powder Handling and Safety

With metal additive manufacturing process, health risks may come from the AM machine (including laser system), inert gases or
metal powder.

Unloading
#1 #2
1 2 #3 #4 #5
Platform
preparation

3 5 6
2 3
4 7
5 6
Powder New New
#6 #7 #8 #9 #10 sieving powder powder
station
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Exhaust air system

Filter
8
Health risks from Additive Manufacturing
1 Danger to eyes and body from AM machine laser system 5 Risk of metal toxicity via powder inhalation, eye or skin contact
2 Fire & explosion hazard from metal powders 6 Risk of serious eye irritation & damage from metal powders
3 Risk of chemical reactions from metal powders 7 Suffocation risk from oxygen displacement by inert gases
4 Danger of slipping e.g. due to scattered metal powders 8 Deposition of metal powders in filter systems and piping

AM system Ancillary system

Health risks in AM factories (non-exhaustive) (Courtesy of Roland Berger)

Regarding metal powders , they undergo various operations during the additive manufacturing process such as
Logistical operations (filling of powder into the machine, filling of powder from one container into another)
Preparative steps for processing
The build-up process itself
Post process steps such as sieving
The figure below shows an example of process steps for LBM-process including the powder path.

Example of process steps for the LBM-process, according to Lutter-Gnther et al. 2016. Process steps with increased risk for airborne
powder are marked with a star (*) (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IGCV)

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 Additive Manufacturing

Some of these steps may bring the powder into contact with the operators and ambient atmosphere.
The particle size distribution of the used powders may contain a fraction which is considered respirable dust or even so called
alveolar dust. Respirable dust can reach the lung through the respiratory system while the even more noxious alveolar dust
particles have an even smaller diameter and can reach the pulmonary alveoli.. Several alloys including most steel powders
contain alloying elements which are carcinogenic.
Besides, alloys like aluminum or titanium are reactive and could therefore lead to a risk of explosion.
In order to avoid these risks, the formation of airborne dust should be avoided wherever possible.
Therefore personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed during powder handling, and shall include at least:
Dust mask to avoid the inhalation of airborne powder
Protective clothing to avoid powder contamination on regular clothing
Protective gloves to avoid powder contamination on skin
Safety shoes with protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) combined with an electrostatically dissipating ground to
avoid possible ignition sparks

The photo below shows a machine operator wearing all the above

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

mentioned personal protective equipment. The operator is additionally
equipped with a dust exposition measurement probe in order to assess
the personal exposure.
As the amount of airborne powder is strongly dependent on the
additive manufacturing process applied, the used equipment, and the
surrounding facilities, a dust measurement may be advisable in order to
assess the amount of airborne powder within the production facility.
In some European countries this can be organized in cooperation with
the Employers Liability Insurance Association. In Germany the limits of
exposure can be found in TRGS 900. However dust exposure limits are
not defined on a European level, thus national exposure limits have to
be considered.
Work on health and safety issues of additive manufacturing processes is
currently carried out on multiple levels and at an international level within
the ISO TC261 and ASTMF42 Joint Adhoc group 'EH&S Considerations
for Additive Manufacturing'.

Machine operator wearing PPE rigged for person

specific dust contamination measurements

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 Additive Manufacturing

4. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR LASER BEAM MELTING

4.1 Basic design rules

These design guidelines are relevant only for laser beam melting (i.e selective laser melting) and not for EBM nor for LMD.
AM technologies offer unique possibilities regarding part design and possible geometries.
The example of platform below is useful to help evaluating the machine capability for many geometrical features such as:
Min. wall thickness
Min. hole diameter
Max. arch radius
Max. channel diameter/ channel length
Min. strut diameter
Min. gap distance
Reproducibility
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Geometrical accuracy
Surface roughness vs. overhang angle

Platform of various standard geometrical elements to evaluate machine

capability and parameters (Courtesy of Fraunhofer)

Simulation of Additive Manufacturing on a 3d printed part using Virfac software (Courtesy of GeonX and Poly-shape)

4.1.1 Holes and internal channels

Recommended minimum standard hole size is currently 0.4mm. Holes and channels with a diameter below 10 mm usually
do not require support structures. But for diameters above 10 mm, support structures are needed, which can be difficult to
remove in the case of non linear channels. To avoid support structures in this case, a possible option is to modify the channel
profile, as can be seen below with the example below of an elipse profile minimising overhang area.
Another approach can be to integrate functionally the supports so as to avoid removing them.

Round hole without support structure Round hole above 10 mm with support Elipse profile to avoid support structures
(Courtesy of Renishaw) structure (Courtesy of Renishaw) (Courtesy of Renishaw)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.1.2 Minimum wall thicknesses

Recommended minimum wall thickness is usually 0.2mm. But it can vary depending on machine, powder used and material.
If wall sections are too thin or not supported, then there is a chance of buckling in the surface as can be seen on the example
of a Ni718 manifold below.
The part is fully dense but due to the large part diameter of what the 200 micron thick wall section cannot support itself. In this
case, the wall section needs to be thickened to avoid buckling effect.

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Cubes with thin wall thicknesses Ni718 manifold showing buckling effect
(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM) due to too thin walls (Courtesy of Renishaw)

4.1.3 Maximum length-to-height ratio

The length-to-height ratio shall usually not exceed 8:1.
In the example of bike frame component below, the length-to-height ratio was too great. In a second iteration, a lattice
support structure was installed to avoid part distortion.
But if the part has a reasonable section or supporting geometry, then it is possible to build at a higher width-to-height as can be
seen in the example below.

Parts with high length-to-height ratio (Courtesy of Renishaw)

Bike frame component showing

buckling effect due to too high
length to height ratio.
(Courtesy of Renishaw)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.1.4 Minimum strut diameter and lattice structures

Minimum strut diameter is usually 0.15 mm. Thanks to this unique design possibility offered by powder bed AM technologies,
complex lattice structures can be achieved, impossible to produce by any other technologies.
Lattice structures offer the major advantage of reducing part weight without reducing part strength, which is very important in
industries such as aerospace and transportation.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Examples of lattice structures (Courtesy of Renishaw) Structure with 0.15 mm strut diameter
(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

Lightweight handle with internal lattice structure Lattice structure for mass reduction
(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM) (Courtesy of Airbus Helicopter and Poly-Shape)

Prototype of heat exchanger for electrical motor

with struts of 0.4 mm diameter for COMPOLIGHT project
(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.2 Part orientation

The orientation of parts in the powder bed is a key point of attention both
for quality and cost. Indeed, part orientation influences the build time, the
quantity of supports , the surface roughness and residual stresses.
Finding the best suitable part orientation helps achieving:
The shortest build time ie minimizing the number of layers and part height
The minimal amount of supports
An easy access to supports so that they can be easily removed
The best possible surface roughness and minimal staircase effect
The minimum level of residual stresses which can lead to part distortion Part orientation with AMT software (Courtesy of
Sculpteo)
4.2.1 Overhangs
An important rule when building part layer by layer is to avoid having a too low overhang angle because each new welding
seam must be supported at least partly by the previous welding seam in the previous layer. When the angle between the part
and the build platform is below 45, support structures are needed to avoid poor surface roughness as well as distortion and

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

warping leading to build failure as can be seen on the photo below.
The poor surface roughness is the result of building directly onto the loose powder instead of using the support structure
as a building scaffold. In this case the area melted at the focal point cools very quickly and the stress generated curls the
material upwards. Supports would act as an anchor to the build plate tying parts down to the plate in order to avoid upward
curl. Besides, the very poor surface consists of melted and partially melted/sintered powder because the laser penetrates the
powder bed and starts to agglomerate loose powder particles surrounding the focal point instead of dissipating the excessive
heat through the support structure.
The warping and curled area can also cause build failure if higher than the desired profile because it prevents spreading a new
layer of powder.

Overhang angle between build platform and part With overhang angle below 45, poor surface roughness and
part distortion can cause build failure
(Courtesy of Renishaw)

In case of angles of 90, a solution to avoid supports is to create a 45 chamfer (Courtesy of Renishaw)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.2.2 Supports
Support structures have several functions:
Support the part in case of overhangs
Strengthen and fix the part to the building platform
Conduct excess heat away
Prevent warping or complete build failure
Besides, optimised supports shall be easy to remove mechanically and have a minimal weight. The position and the orientation
of the part on the build platform have a significant impact on the need and nature of support structures, hence on the quality
of the built and the post-processing operations.
Below are some examples of different support structures on a simple part, based on different part positions and orientations. In
some cases, removing the supports can be impossible, even though it is the best option in terms of processing. Besides, many
designs of support structures are possible.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Different part positions and orientations and their influence on Supports for dental parts
the location and importance of support structures (Courtesy of Bego Medical)
(Courtesy of Spartacus 3D)

Design of supports with Magics software (Courtesy of Materialise)

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 Additive Manufacturing

The design of supports shall be optimized to achieve above functions and shall also to be easy to remove mechanically after the
laser beam melting operation.
In the impeller example below by Fraunhofer IFAM, two support designs have been evaluated:
Tree supports with many struts
Wall supports with one wall for each blade
In this example, the wall support proved better both for post processing and for improved stability during manufacture.

Tree support design Wall support design Distortion of tree supports

(Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM) (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM) (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

4.2.3 Surface roughness
With laser beam melting, achievable surface roughness (Rz) are usually between 25 and 40 m in as built state. Polishing helps
reaching much lower values as can be seen on the table below. But important to remember is that part design complexity may
affect its ability to be polished efficiently.

Achievable roughness average Rz in m

0,04
0,06
0,10
0,16
0,25
0,40
0,63

100
160
250
1,0
1,6
2,5
4,0
6,3
10
16
25
40
63

Turning
Milling
Polishing
SLM - as built
SLM - after shot - peening
SLM - after polishing

Average Range
Less Frequent Range

Polished aerospace fuel swirler Standard roughness of parts made by SLM versus machining
(Courtesy of EOS) (Courtesy of Hoischen Technisches Zeichnen and EOS)

Typical surface defects to be avoided are:

The staircase effect, which can be observed on curved surface and is more pronounced when the surface angle increases vs.
vertical axis
Poor down-skin surface roughness and decreased dimension accuracy, which is linked primarily to the fact that the heat
generated by the laser beam does not evacuate quickly on down-facing surfaces

Staircase effect (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IFAM) Poor down-skin surface roughness (Courtesy of Renishaw)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.2.4 Thermal stress and warping

Warping is due to thermal stresses caused by the rapid solidification.
Warping can lead to part distortion, bad junctions between supports and components or recoating problems.

Effect of stress on build part (Courtesy of Renishaw)

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Part distortion due to residual stresses Part distortion due to residual stresses leading to the separation
(Courtesy of Renishaw) of part from supports (Courtesy of Renishaw)

4.3 Design optimization for AM technology

4.3.1 Introduction
To take full advantage of AM design possibilities, it is important to redesign conventional parts.
Design optimisation can be done in several directions:
Reduce the total number of parts
Design for functionality
Design parts to be multifunctional
Lightweight
Topological optimisation
Design for ease of fabrication
The example below shows a redesign case study of a solar panel deployer for satellites aiming at reducing drastically the
number of parts and total weight.
The initial design manufactured by conventional technology is a mechanical assembly of 25 separate parts. The systemic
approach of DFAM led to a patented 3 parts solution which provides not only a reduction of part number but also of the
weight (5 times lighter) and size of the assembly.

Solar panel deployer for satellite made by SLM in 3 parts (right) vs 25 parts (left) with conventional manufacturing
(Courtesy Thales Alenia Space and Poly-Shape)

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 Additive Manufacturing

4.3.2 Topology optimisation

To take into account all AM design possibilities and limitations, the first step is to reduce the part into its basic functional
requirements (such as functional surfaces, load-case, etc.). This step allows the designer to only focus on the requirements and
prevents him from limiting his design, hence maximizing the possible improvements. This can be especially interesting when
dealing with assemblies (or even entire products).
From the functional requirements, the minimal volume of material is then placed in order to link the surfaces and to sustain the
load case (be it mechanical, thermal, coupled, etc). This second step is usually achieved by using topology optimisation tools
that suggest geometries able to sustain the loads while keeping the volume to a minimum.
The last step is to redesign the optimized volume in order to cope with the manufacturing constraints (such as angular
orientation, machine dimensions, machining allowances, etc).

The examples below show case studies of redesign based on topology optimisation.

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Satellite bracket redesigned for additive manufacturing with topology optimisation
(Courtesy of Airbus Defense & Space and Poly-Shape)

Satellite component redesigned by topology optimisation for additive manufacturing (Courtesy of RUAG and Altair)

Since Topology Optimization leads to noisy geometries, caused by tesselation, it is usually necessary to implement model
reconstruction and smoothing as can be seen in figures below. This step can be very time-consuming, especially if the load
cases that were used during the optimisation are very specific and do not take into account some steps of the product life cycle
(such as machining which can require high rigidity).

Satellite bracket redesigned for additive manufacturing with topology optimisation: left afer topology optimisation, middle after
smoothing and right after manufacturing (Courtesy of Poly-Shape)

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 Additive Manufacturing

5. CASE STUDIES

5.1 Aerospace
Bionic partition wall Fitting for the satellite
Industry sector: Aerospace Hipparcos
Material: Scalmalloy (AlMgSc) Industry sector: Aerospace
Part size: 2,1 x 1,4m Material: Aluminium (Scalmalloy)
Part weight: 35kg Part mass: 97g
Additive process used: Laser Beam Courtesy: Airbus Defence & Space
Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: Airbus Operations GmbH,
and CATEC
Autodesk,TheLiving, APWorks Melting
Beam Melting
Full-height partition wall (line-and retrofit solution) for Airbus New design of satellite fitting by topology optimization, which only
A320 aircraft with generative design and additive layer can be fabricated using AM processes to support baffles for the
manufacturing with Scalmalloyfor weight reduction. Besides Hipparcos satellite by ESA launched in 1989, as an alternative to the
the Bionic Partition is fully recyclable and follows the design-for- 209 g. original bracket manufactured by a complex milling operations
disassembly philosophy. It is easy repairable and thus reduces the from conventional AL7075-T5 aluminium alloy.
consumption of raw materials.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Benefits of AM technology
Benefits of AM technology Weight reduction
Weight reduction: 45% lighter (30Kg) Same mechanical behavior
Reduced fuel costs by approximately $1,500 /year & aircraft
Reduced CO2 footprint by ten tons/year & aircraft
Improved operational costing, better recyclability, easy
customization

Cardan cross for Prometheus Central

Ariane 5 Vulcain 2 Casing
Industry sector: Space Industry sector: Space
Material: Nickel base 718 Material: Nickel base 718
Part size: 23cm x 23cm x 10cm Part size: 39cm x 39cm x 35cm
Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: ArianeGroup and VOLUM-e Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: ArianeGroup and VOLUM-e

Beam Melting Beam Melting

Structural part localized in the exhaust lines of cryogenic engine This part is a casing of the turbomachineryof future demonstrator
Vulcain2 of Ariane5 first stage. 1st metallic ALM part by Prometheus (LOX-CH4 reusable rocket engine) developed by
ArianeGroupto fly, on November 2016 on Ariane5 Vulcain2 ArianeGroup under a CNES initiative. It was produced on an EOS
engine. M400 machine.
Benefits of AM technology Benefits of AM technology
Lead time reduction of ~ 20% Co-engineering between engineering and manufacturing team
Optimization of supply chain by replacement of casting in order to minimize support structures

Bracket Air mixer trump

Industry sector: Aerospace Industry sector: Aerospace
Material: TiAl6V4 Material: Nickel alloy C263
Part size: 225mm x 225mm x Part size: Length 700mm
120mm Additive process used: Laser beam melting
Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: Airbus and MBFZ Toolcraft and laser metal deposition
Beam Melting GmbH Part made within the framework of FALAFEL
Light weight bracket for cabin door French supported project by combining SLM
for the subpart and then building of the upper
Benefits of AM technology long pipe of the trump by LMD-CLAD
30% weight reduction process, including pressure pads and lugs.
Benefits of AM technology
Innovative AM process combination
giving an optimized and flexible
manufacturing process, without tooling Courtesy: Dassault Aviation
fixture. and IREPA LASER

Easier modifications of geometry without need for tooling

modification or design.
Shorter delivery time : only 3h46 for the LMD-CLAD pipe
manufacturing

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 Additive Manufacturing

Satellite bracket Antenna bracket

Industry sector: Space Industry sector: Space
Material: AlSi10Mg Material: Titanium
Additive process used: Laser Part diameter: 190mm x 230mm
Beam Melting x 290mm
Courtesy: RUAG and EOS GmbH Additive process used: Laser Beam
Cost effective, lighter and stiffer components for space Melting Courtesy: Thales Alenia Space and
3D Systems
applications, produced on EOS M 400, two parts in one job, with
1kW laser power in 41hours. Large antenna bracket for a geostationary telecommunications
satellite -printed on a 3D Systems ProXDMP 320 printer-which
Benefits of AM technology is 25% lighter, has a better stiffness-to-weight ratio and was
About 40% weight reduction compared to traditionally completed in half the time vs. traditional manufacturing process.
manufactured object
Advanced part properties (e.g. rigidity, frequency) Benefits of AM technology

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Improved functionality through topological design
Faster production or reduced manufacturing time

Main Gearbox Bracket Satellite bracket

Industry sector: Aerospace Industry sector: Space
Material: Ti6Al4V Material: Ti6Al4V
Part weight: 1.6kg Part size: 10cm x 12cm
Additive process used: Electron Additive process used: Laser Beam
Beam Melting Melting
Courtesy: Airbus Helicopters,
Fraunhofer IFAM and Technical Faster production of thermally highly
University Dresden stressed components , produced with Courtesy: Airbus Defense &
Two structural parts of a helicopter merged into one and EOS M 290. Space and EOS GmbH
redesigned by topology optimization, allowing for 40% weight Benefits of AM technology
reduction.
Robust: Temperature resistance meets high demand of
Benefits of AM technology permanent space missions
Highly complex geometry which can only be produced by Economic: Production costs reduced by more than 20%
additive manufacturing Light: Weight reduction of the retaining brackets is about 300g
Weight reduction

Jet Pump Sprocket

Industry sector: Aerospace Industry sector: Aerospace
Material: Stainless Steel 15-5PH Material: Zirconium-based
Part height: 259mm amorphous metal (Bulk Metallic
Part weight: 0.950kg Glass, BMG)
Additive process used: Laser Beam Part size: 4cm
Melting Additive process used: Laser Beam Courtesy: Exmet AB
Melting
The Jet pump is placed into air
conditioning pack of aircraft. It is used to Part built with Exmet proprietary process in an EOS system with
generate air flow inside the pack powder feedstock by Heraeus. Part as-built with bulk and support
Courtesy: Liebherr Aerospace structure parameters, i.e. no post-processing
and Fusia
Benefits of AM technology
Benefits of AM technology
Design freedom to reach optimized aeraulic air flow

One step manufacturing (all components in one single part) Less limitations on geometric complexity and material thickness
Weight reduction compare to conventional solution vs. traditional manufacturing processes (casting, metal-injection
Shorter development leadtime molding, other thermoplastic forming etc).

43
 Additive Manufacturing

Titanium Insert for Guide Vane

Satellite Sandwich Industry sector: Aerospace
Structures Material: Ti6Al4V equivalent
Industry sector: Aerospace Part weight: Mass = 15.3g and
density = 1.0938g/cm3 Courtesy: Metalysis Ltd
Material: TiAl6V4
Additive process used: Laser
Part weight: 500 grams
Beam Melting
Additive process used: Laser
Beam Melting Courtesy: Atos and Materialise Part mades by laser beam melting with patented Metalysis
powder with FFC Cambridge process based on electrolysis.
Each kilogram put into orbit costs around $20,000. Every gram
saved helps make space a more attainable frontier. With an Benefits of AM technology
optimized design by Materialise & Atos, the new inserts are just Generation of near net shapes
one-third of the initial weight of 1454 grams, with some improved Reduced buy to fly ratio and thus less environmental impact
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

properties added in. due to reduced energy consumption and waste generation
Benefits of AM technology
Weight reduction by using topology optimization & lattice design
Reduction of thermo-elastic stress issues during the curing process
of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers
Increased lifetime
Support to satellite antenna RSC Emission Rake
Industry sector: Aerospace Industry sector: Aerospace /
Material: Ti6Al4V Experimental research
Part height: 380mm Material: Inconel 718
Part weight: 3.3kg Part size: 270mm x 80mm x 180mm
Part weight: 2.0 kg Courtesy: RSC Engineering GmbH
Additive process used: Electron Beam
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
Melting
The water cooled emission rake is placed into the exhaust duct
Part made by EBM with optimized design of a high pressure combustion facility. It is used to sample hot
thanks to topology optimisation Courtesy: Poly-Shape exhaust gases using 6 sampling tubes and supplies the gas to an
analyzing system. It can sample gas at temperatures of 2100C and
Benefits of AM technology
Weight reduction: 55% a maximum pressure of 45 bar. The part was produced on a laser
cusing M2 machine by Concept Laser.
Benefits of AM technology
Manufacturing of all components and details in one single step
(fast manufacturing)
Additional design freedom (individual cooling geometries,
conical and helical sampling tubes,...)
Cost saving up to 60% compared to a conventional
manufactured rake for similar use

Repair of worn lips on a Borescope bosses for A320neo

labyrinth seal Geared TurbofanTM engine
Industry sector: Aerospace Industry sector: Aerospace
Material: Nickel alloy 718, Nickel Material: Nickel alloy 718
Part dimensions: 15.600 mm Courtesy: MTU Aero Engines
alloy 713, Waspaloy, Ti6242
Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: BeAM Boundary Box: 42mm x 72mm x 36mm
Metal Deposition Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
The bosses are made by selective laser melting (SLM) on an EOS
This engines part is turning at 30 000 RPM. After 10 000 hours of
machine. They form part of MTUs low-pressure turbine case and
flight, the different lips of the parts are worn and do not guarantee
allow the blading to be inspected at specified intervals for wear and
the efficiency of the seal. With the LMD process, it was possible to
damage using a borescope.
rebuild the different worn lips.
Benefits of AM technology
Benefits of AM technology
Series production of up to 2,000 parts per year.

Repair of parts that were impossible to repair up to now
Certification for 5 repair cycles : lifetime extended from 10,000
Lower development production leadtimes and lower production
costs

to 60,000 hours
Material savings
Suitable for producing parts in materials that are difficult to
machine, as, for example, nickel alloys
For complex components that are extremely difficult, if not
impossible to manufacture using conventional methods
Tool-free manufacturing and less material consumption

44
 Additive Manufacturing

5.2 Energy
ForgeBrid Stator segment of axial
Industry sector: Energy compressor
Material: Nickel base 718 Industry sector: Oil & Gas
Part weight: 13,2kg Material: Nickel base 718
Additive process used: Laser Part size: 10cm x 5cm Courtesy: EOS GmbH
Beam Melting Additive process used: Laser
Courtesy: Rosswag Engineering, a
Division of Rosswag Ltd. Beam Melting
The ForgeBrid is a hybrid component, consisting of an open Thin and high stator blades are difficult to manufacture because of
die forged ring and an additively manufactured blade geometry vibration issues during milling process and the surface finishing is
on top of the ring. Both body parts are proceeded at very challenging and time intensive. Produced on EOS M 290 and
Rosswag and combine the advantages of forging and additive one step post processing with MMP Technology.
manufacturing technologies. Benefits of AM technology
Reduction of production complexity: only two steps

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Benefits of AM technology
Blades with inner channels (impossible to machine) Easy post processing with MMP
Improved cost efficiency thanks to hybrid process approach New designs with more and closer stator blades possible
Larger Segments reduce installation time and installation
complexity on axial compressor

Fuel burner Twister used in an air

Industry sector: Oil & Gas extraction pump
Material: Nickel base 718 Industry sector: Power generation
Part size: 3,5cm x 5cm Material: 316L
Additive process used: Laser Beam Part height: 185mm
Melting Part diameter: 95mm
Courtesy: EOS GmbH, Euro-K
Additive process used: Laser Beam
Develop and build multi-fuel burner with an optimized footprint and Courtesy: ENGIE Laborelec
Melting
functionality, produced on EOS M 290
Benefits of AM technology Twister component used in an air extraction pump of a combined
Use of gaseous/liquid fuels cycle gas turbine plant condenser to create a swirl in the water
Integral functionality use of fuels that are difficult to burn to be flow. After an internal qualification program, the twister was
successfully put into service in October 2016 and removed after
used
Reduction of combustion chamber by 20% 2000 hours in operation. Non-destructive evaluation did not reveal
Low unit costs despite small batch sizes any cracking or critical degradation.
Reduces nitrous oxide emissions Benefits of AM technology
Shorter leadtime and cheaper than conventional casting
Suitable for on-demand manufacturing of spare or obsolete
parts, with comparable costs vs. 5-axis CNC machining

Rotary steerable system Stirling regenerator

Industry sector: Oil & Gas Industry sector: Energy
Material: 17-4PH Material: 316L
Additive process used: Laser Beam Part size: 62mm , 43mm height
Melting Part weight: 400g
More durable and flexible oilfield Additive process used: Laser
drilling equipment made on Beam Melting
EOSINT M 280 machine. Courtesy: APS technologies and Courtesy: IK4-Lortek and Centro
EOS GmbH Stirling
Benefits of AM technology
Regenerator consisting in interior lattice structure to increase its
Drilling assembly with part number reduced from four separate
efficiency. This lattice structure allows minimizing pressure loss
components to one
derived from the path of the gaseous working fluid and increases
Optimized design increases drilling accuracy, and reduces post-
the heat transference.
processing and production costs
Shorter lead times and time-to-market Benefits of AM technology
Shorter leadtime
Lattice structures with controlled porosity leading to improved
heat transfer vs. conventional overlapping wire meshes, matrix
of laminates, metallic foams or perforated sheets

45
 Additive Manufacturing

Heat Exchanger Burner repair

Industry sector: Fuel cells and Industry sector: Energy
Hydrogen (FC&H) Material: Nickel alloy HX
Material: Nickel base 718 Additive process used: Laser
Part size: 80mm x 38mm x 19mm Beam Melting
Additive process used: Laser
Beam Melting Courtesy: Italian Institute of Technology
and Politecnico di Torino
Courtesy: EOS, Siemens Industrial
Heat exchanger designed within HELMETH FP7 Project, to operate Turbomachinery AB
at high temperature and under high pressure in a severely aggressive Customised EOSINT M 280 machine for precise, cost-effective,
ambient (with H2 and O2). Each side of the heat exchanger has and faster repair of worn burner tips of gas turbines exposed to
three channels and inside the channels longitudinal triangular fins extreme temperatures.
have been inserted in order to act as fins for the enhancement of
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

the heat transfer and in order to act as structural support for the Benefits of AM technology
plates. Each channel is sandwiched between two cold side channels Time required for the repair process of burner tips has fallen
and vice versa, except for the external ones. by more than 90%

Benefits of AM technology
Old burner versions can quickly be brought up to the latest
standards of technology
Slightly improved performances with a global HTC of
Potential cost reductions already seen at an early stage
50 [W/m2/C] than traditional gas-gas counter-flow heat
exchanger (10 and 40 [W/m2/C])

Vacuum permeator
Industry sector: Energy (fusion),
Science Industry
Material: Stainless steel (AISI 316L)
Part weight: 2kg
Part dimensions: 10cm x 10cm x
20cm
Additive process used: Laser Beam Courtesy: IK4-LORTEK
Melting
Part of a bigger system (designed and assembled by SENER) to
demonstrate the possibility of tritium recovery in fusion reactors. Its
manufacturing entailed various challenges: component dimensions,
geometric changes along its section, metallurgical, file handling.
Benefits of AM technology
Geometry impossible to produce by conventional
manufacturing process

46
 Additive Manufacturing

5.3 Medical
Patient specific mandibula Hip Implant
reconstruction plate Industry sector: Medical
Industry sector: Medical Material: Ti6Al4V
Material: CP Titanium Grade 2 Part size: 21cm x 15cm
Additive process used: Laser Additive process used: Laser
Beam Melting Courtesy: Mimedis AG, FHNW Beam Melting
Courtesy: Instrumentaria and EOS GmbH
Project started in 2007 with initial SLM processing of titanium
to produce patient specific implants followed by cell and animal Design and construct a precision-fitting, lightweight, yet stable
studies. First clinical trial achieved end of 2012 with titanium hip implant in a short period of time, manufactured with the
implants for cranio-maxillo-facial applications. EOSINTM280.
Benefits of AM technology Benefits of AM technology
Shorter leadtime and lower production cost vs. milling and Precise fit

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

drilling of plates and bone substitutes Short planning and production times for imminent operation
Improved geometrical complexity for individualized Minimum weight for high patient comfort
surgical solutions

Removable Partial Denture Hearing aid

(RPD) Framework Industry sector: Biomedical
Industry sector: Dental Material: Ti6Al4V ELI (grade 23)
Material: Cobalt Chrome (ASTM Part height: 15mm
F75) Part diameter: 95mm
Part dimensions: 60mm x 30mm x Additive process used: Laser Beam
Courtesy: Mercury Centre and
0.5mm, 15g School of Clinical Dentistry,
Melting
Part weight: 15g University of Sheffield Courtesy: 3D Systems
Benefits of AM technology
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
High accuracy
The part is a metal framework for a removable partial denture High biocompatibility
(RPD). When fully assembled, the RPD is a denture for a High mechanical resistance
partially edentulous dental patient. 3D data retrieved directly High flexibility of manufacturing
from the patients mouth.
Benefits of AM technology
The conventional manufacturing of cast frameworks involves a lot
of work and time
AM is faster and has a high volume output, more accurate and
parts have high strength

Cranial implant Cleanable Filter Disc

Industry sector: Medical Industry sector: Medical Instruments
Material: Titanium alloy Material: Stainless Steel 316L
Part size: 55mm
Part dimensions: 12cm x 8cm
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
Additive process used: Laser Beam
Courtesy: EOS GmbH, Alphaform Traditional methods of creating filters often
Melting and Novax DMA result in gaps between the securing steel ring
and the mesh, as well as the weft and warp
Development and manufacture of a customized and precision- strands of the woven wire. Known as bugtraps, Courtesy: Croft Additive
fit implant with high permeability for liquids and perfect heat these can quickly gather bacteria and dirt. By Manufacturing
dissipation on an EOSINT M 280 machine. using additive manufacturing, CAM removed these bugtraps from
Benefits of AM technology the design, meaning the filters can be cleaned much more easily,
Impant is stable yet permeable for liquids because of its porosity decreasing downtime for the customer, as well as the requirement for
replacement parts.
of 95%
lattice structures protect against heat and support in-growth of Benefits of AM technology
No recesses in part compared with conventional woven wire
bone tissue
mesh equivalent
Less contamination through particulate build up
Easier to clean to a high standard, decreasing customer
downtime and costs
Design size can be easily altered to suit customer needs, including
a change in aperture size, without the creation of new toolings

47
 Additive Manufacturing

5.4 Industry
Tooling insert for Hydraulic valve
injection moulding Industry sector: Hydraulic
Industry sector: Tooling Cylinders
Material: Maraging Steel Material: Aluminium
Additive process used: Laser Part weight: 600g
beam melting Additive process used: Laser Courtesy: Materialise,VTT and
Beam Melting Nurmi Cylinders Oy
Courtesy: Salcomp and EOS GmbH
Strong and light hydraulic valve with minimal risk of leakage. To
Optimized cooling system design for the production process of save time, VTT enhanced the topologically optimized valve in
plastic parts , manufactured with the EOS M 290. STL in Materialise 3-matic, positioned the part, created support
Benefits of AM technology structures in data preparation software Materialise Magics, and
Greater efficiency: production increased by approx. 56,000 sent the file directly to the SLM metal printing machine.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

units/month Benefits of AM technology

Cost-saving and sustainable: rejection rate reduced from 2% Weight reduction by 76% compared with the original part
to 1.4% (2.5kg)
Economic: annual cost savings of approx. 20.000,- Cost effective for bionic design produced in small series
Less risk of leakage since auxiliary drillings are no longer needed
Improved flow thanks to smooth transitions between the
internal channels

Rubber extrusion tool Propeller blade

Industry sector: Tooling Industry sector: Naval industry
Material: H13 tool steel Material: Copper base CuNiAl
Part size: 90mm Part size: 95cm x 60cm
Part weight: 453 gram Part weight: 20kg
Additive process used: Laser
Courtesy: Swerea IVF AB and Additive process used: Laser Metal
Beam Melting
Trelleborg Sealing Profiles AB Deposition
Traditional manufacturing of rubber extrusion tool involves Overhaul of ship propeller blade by laser
many operations like electro-discharge machining, high-precision metal deposition after a damage caused by
machining, threading, soldering and assembly. However, using net wires of the fishing vessel Courtesy: Technological
additive manufacturing, it was possible to print the tools integrated Center AIMEN / Coterena
with the internal air channels and threads. To achieve the required Benefits of AM technology
mirror blank surfaces, extrude honing was used with diamond-based Cost efficiency by repairing an expensive part instead of
suspension. This resulted in significantly shorter manufacturing time manufacturing a new one. This way between 60% and 80% of
and hence time to market. the part cost is saved
Benefits of AM technology Same performance and metallurgical properties of
conventional part
Reduced manufacturing time
Increased part functionality
Improved production flexibility

Pressure sensor house Tool insert for die casting

Industry sector: Industry Industry sector: Die-casting
Application Material: Stainless Steel 316L
Material: Stainless steel 316L Part weight: 150g
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
Part size: 50mm x 12mm x 12mm
Additive process used: Precision Connector blocks used in the Gripple wire
inkjet on powder bed joining system are manufactured using die-
Courtesy: Hgans AB - Digital casting, the internal cavities being formed Courtesy: The
Metal Mercury Centre
by mould tool inserts. To facilitate the rapid
Pressure sensor house printed with membrane, threads and internal evaluation of new design concepts, a series of tool inserts were
features for the electronics. manufactured using direct metal laser sintering, with up to 12 unique
designs produced in a single build. Post build finishing was then
Benefits of AM technology performed to produce the surface finish required for the die-casting
All machining operations joining and assembly where eliminated. process. This dramatically reduced the lead times associated with
Internal features that is hard to obtain with other technologies obtaining tool inserts compared to traditional machining.
Design for service
Benefits of AM technology
The ability to make each insert different allowed many more
designs to be evaluated.
Quick turnaround times dramatically shortened the
development programme

48
 Additive Manufacturing

Tooling insert Conformal cooling

Industry sector: Tooling channel in mold/nozzle
Material: Maraging Steel etc.
Part size: 35cm x 20cm Industry sector: Moldmaking
Additive process used: Laser Material: Ti-6Al-4V
Beam Melting Part size: Outline : 80mm dia. x
Courtesy: Rosswag Engineering, a Division of 100mm H Courtesy: Metal Technology Co. Ltd.
Rosswag Ltd.
Channnel volume/length: Approx.
Inserts with conformal cooling channels to produce arm- 5000 mm3 / 1 meter L
rests for cars, built on EOSINT M 270 machine. Optimize the Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
cooling process to reduce the production cycle period, improve
Complicated cooling channel can be installed inside of parts by
component quality and increase maintenance intervals.
AM with 3D design data.
Benefits of AM technology

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Benefits of AM technology
Production plant maintenance extended from every 2 weeks
Higher reproducibility of complicated cooling channel network
to every 5-6
inside of parts with utilizing of 3D design data
Uniform cooling prevents deformation of the plastic end product
Freedom in 3D design for cooling channel network in
Costs are lowered through a 17% cut in cycle time
accordance with thermal loading in each location
Flexible shape/dimension/location of cross section in cooling
channel network design

Core and cavity molds for PVC Spider bracket

pressure reduction valve Industry sector: Building and
Industry sector: Mold and Die construction
Material: Stainless steel CX Corrax Material: Titanium
Part weight: 7kg Additive process used: Laser
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
Beam Melting
Project to demonstrate the possibilities of AM Courtesy: GF Machining
Solutions and IPC (Centre
for improved mold temperature management Technique Industriel de la Courtesy: Altair, Materialise and Renishaw.
applied to the core and cavity inserts used in Plasturgie et des Composites )
Prototype of spider bracket to connect the corners of
the injection process of a high-quality plastic
architectural glass panels, used in atriums and floor-to-ceiling wall
valve and taking into account injection pressure, cooling cycle and cooling
fluid speed. Besides, the previous insert was build out of four individual
glazing. New design with hybrid lattice structures created with
parts, while employing AM allowed building the core in one part or two Altairs lattice-based optimization software, Materialises Magics,
parts (conventional manufactured preform + AM). 3-matic and Build Processor software, and manufactured with
advanced settings of the Renishaw metal AM system.
Benefits of AM technology
Conformal cooling/heating channels enabling a variotherm mold Benefits of AM technology
temperature management (heat&cool) alongside the whole Unique, organic shape that is both light and strong.
mold surface Stability and improved thermal behavior thanks to the
Less sink marks on plastic parts produced lattice structures
O-ring flatness with good tolerances and reduced welding line
Cost efficiency by assembling the AM part on a conventional preform

Gear Wheels
Industry sector: Automotive, machine
tools, other
Material: Case hardening steel (AISI /
SAE 5115; 1.7131; 16MnCr5)
Part mass: 812g
Part volume: 103.000mm
Part dimensions: (LxBxH): 118mm x Courtesy: Fraunhofer IGCV
118mm x 30mm
Additive process used: Laser Beam Melting
New concept of gear drives designed for and produced by Laser
beam Melting with normal module 4,5 mm and 24 teeth. The
gear drive includes a biomimetic lightweight design and functional
integration such as a conformal cooling and an integrated cooling
lubricant supply. Project done with the support of German Research
Foundation (DFG)
Benefits of AM technology
Lightweight design
Active cooling of the gear allowing entirely new operating points
Pre-series production of gears for prototyping
Economical production of gears for special applications with a low
production volume

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 Additive Manufacturing

5.5 Automotive and car racing

Windscreen coil nozzle Titanium wishbone
Industry sector: Automotive Industry sector: Automotive
Material: 316L Material: Titanium
Part weight: 6,25 g Part weight: Should check
Additive process used: Digital Additive process used: Laser
Metal binder jetting technology Beam Melting
Courtesy: InMotion Automotive,
Courtesy: Koenigsegg Automotive AB
Materialise, Gerlach Delissen
and Hgans AB Digital Metal
This lightweight 3D-printed wishbone was created by Materialise
Special design combined with fine surface finish of internal and InMotion, a team of engineering students from the Technical
channelallowing the nozzle to be made in one piece. Exposed University of Eindhoven. It is part of an electric race car and holds
surface is hand polished to mirror glass finish. the wheel in place, coping with all the forces. Its created with
Materialise 3-matic software and printed by Materialise.
Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

Benefits of AM technology
Internal channel with fine surface finish Benefits of AM technology
Made in one step Fast creation
Lighter without compromising strength

Wheel suspension Cooling jacket with internal

Industry sector: Automotive helix structure
Material: AlSi10Mg Industry sector: Automotive
Part size 15cm x 10cm
Material: AlSi10Mg
Additive process used: Laser
Beam Melting Courtesy: EOS GmbH, Rennteam
Additive process used: Laser Beam
Uni Stuttgart Melting

Reliable, lightweight axle-pivot with high rigidity and topology-

optimized steering stub axle , manufactured with the Courtesy: Greenteam Uni
Stuttgart and EOS GmbH
EOSINT M 280.
Design and production of a function-integrated cooling
Benefits of AM technology water jacket, which dissipates the heat at the electric motor,
Optimized form and contouring for 35% weight reduction and manufactured with the EOS M 290.
20% increase in rigidity
Speed: significant reduction in development and production time Benefits of AM technology
Safety: reliable on the track 16% weight reduction improves performance
Increase in cooling performance by 37% compared to the
previous seasons car
Functional integration of cooling and transmission/wheel mounts

Prototype of heat F1 Roll Hoop

exchanger Industry sector: Motorsport, F1
Material: Ti6Al4V
Industry sector: Motor sport
Part weight: 2.6kg
Material: Al Si 10Mg
Part size: 370mm long
Additive process used: Laser Beam
Additive process used: Electron Courtesy: Dash-CAE (design),
Melting
Beam Melting The Mercury Centre (manufacture)
Courtesy: EOS and Within
The impact structure used to protect the driver in the event of roll
New design with self supporting integrated cooling fins on outside over incident is traditionally made by investment casting. In order
surfaces and turbulators inside cooling tubes to disrupt the flow of to meet stringent weight targets, material needs to be removed
the cooled fluid. Produced on an EOS M290 machine. from low stressed regions. AM has the advantage of being able to
produce these complex designs with a very short lead time. This
Benefits of AM technology
novel design was produced by Dash-CAE and manufactured at
Maximum heat transfer the University of Sheffields Mercury Centre. The part had to be
Compact and scalable design sectioned such that it could fit within the build envelope of the
AM process. These sections were then welded together and the
completed hoop integrated into a chassis for testing.
Benefits of AM technology
The short lead times enabled the F1 team to swiftly take a new
design concept through to manufacture and testing
Weight saving over castings due to more complex design

50
 Additive Manufacturing

High Performance Lightweight

Vibenite Gear Hob
Industry sector: Automotive
Material: Vibenite 280
Part dimensions: 132mm x 235mm
Part weight: 15.3kg
Additive process used: Metal Courtesy: VBN Components.
powder bed melting
VBN Components has developed the additive manufactured wear
resistant material Vibenite 60 and tested this in a number of gear
hobs at Volvo Powertrain, Sweden. In the tests, the hard and heat
resistant material performed very well resulting in twice the lifetime
and also the possibility for running with double feed in hobbing.
The possibility to build lightweight structures resulted in a weight

Promoting Powder Metallurgy Technology

reduction of 40% of these heavy tools, from 15kg to 9kg.
Benefits of AM technology
Improved material properties (hardness and cleanliness/purity)
Performance increase (double life time and double feed)

5.6 Consumer
3D printed dial for Platinum hollow charms
Montfort watches Industry sector: Jewellery
Industry sector: Watch Dial Material: 950 Platinum powder
Material: Stainless 316L alloy
Part diameter: 35mm Part dimensions: 31 parts of 2,8g
each (2,4 g after polishing)
Additive process used: Precision
Ink Jet Printing on Powder Bed Additive process used: Laser Beam
Courtesy: Hgans AB - Digital Metal
(Digital Metal) Melting Courtesy: Progold S.p.A.

The Dials are produced with tight tolerance requirements of OD, Platinum has always been difficult to use with casting. With
thickness, pin positioning and flatness. Surface finish: As blasted to SLM technique its possible to match its fashion effect with the
average Ra 3 m maximum freedom of shape, also preserving light weights to let it
Benefits of AM technology be it affordable.
Unique topographic design of the watch surface Benefits of AM technology
Dials with positioning pins are produced in one piece without Hollow parts costs less than full parts made by cheaper material
printing support Maximum customization for exclusive jewellery
Eco-friendly production process

Rygo sculpture Tiger-metal Rings

Industry sector: Fashion & Design Industry sector: Jewellery
Material: Stainless Steel 316L Material: Silver / Gold
Part size: 25mm x 25mm x Additive process used: Laser
30mm Beam Melting Courtesy: RHP Technology

Additive process used: Precision The Tiger Metals can be composed of two or more metals
inkjet on powder bed and characterised by a specific macrostructure. These can be
Courtesy: Hgans AB - Digital Metal
made from different compositions; most promiment material
combinations are: Ag-Ti (Silver-Titanium), Ag-Au (Silver-Gold)
Bathsheba Grossman is an artist recognized for her 3d printed
and Red Gold-White Gold- Yellow Gold. Additionally tiger metals
art and sculptures. Not many of her complex designs can be
are of relevance for watch cases and have potential to be used in
produced in any other way than additive manufacturing
consumer products.
Benefits of AM technology
High level of resolution and surface quality
Effective mass customization of designs
Possible to achieve very thin walls and sections

51
EPMA 2018 POWDER METALLURGY COMPONENT AWARDS
The EPMA is proud to present the prestigious EPMA 2018 Powder Metallurgy
Component Awards, which over the years, have done much to promote and
stimulate interest in PM technology. These awards are open to all EPMA members
who manufacture components made by PM processes.

The 2018 award competition will consist of the following component categories:

Additive Manufacturing
Hot Isostatic Pressing
Metal Injection Moulding
PM Structural (including Hard Materials and Diamond Tools parts)

More details to be announced on

1 November 2017
visit: epma.com/awards
 european powder
metallurgy association
Developing the Powder Metallurgy Future

International
Congress & Exhibition
14 - 18 October 2018
Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) Bilbao, Spain

www.europm2018.com
 pma
European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA)
2nd Floor
Talbot House
Shrewsbury
SY1 1LG
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)1743 248899

F: +44 (0)1743 362968
W: www.epma.com

Copyright European Powder Metallurgy Association 2015, 1st Edition. Revised and Reprinted 2016.
2nd Edition 2017, 2nd Edition (Revised and Reprinted) 2017.

www.epma.com