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News Release from: EOS Electro Optical Systems (UK) | Subject: Laser sintering at MACH 2008
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 29 January 2008
Laser sinter tool steel inserts
A martensite-hardening steel of high strength and toughness is suited to producing heavy-duty tooling inserts using laser sintering and is claimed to equal or better conventional tool steels.
EOS will be introducing its latest powders for laser-sintering in its EOSINT metal and plastics powder processing machines EOS will be launching several such materials at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool show in April
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Jul 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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* Metal powders - EOS MaragingSteel MS1 is a martensite-hardening steel of high strength and toughness, suited to producing heavy-duty tooling inserts.
EOS said it is at least on a par with, or even superior to, conventional tool steels.
Other applications include the production of high-performance parts for the aerospace industry.
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The material's composition corresponds to US classification 18 maraging 300, European 1.2709 and German X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5.
It is easily machinable after the building process, has a tensile strength of 1,950MPa and can be post-hardened to approximately 55 Rc by simple thermal age-hardening.
Vice president at EOS, Dr Michael Shellabear, commented: "MaragingSteel MS1 is one of the reasons that our metal technology is currently booming.
Sales of EOSINT M systems have increased over the last three years by an average of 43% annually".
He added: "There have been other drivers as well, for example our new titanium TiAl6V4.
Various manufacturers in the medical device industry are testing and qualifying the material.
It also has the significant advantage of helping to decrease weight in the aerospace industry, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions".
* Plastics powders - PrimePart DC is an impact resistant plastics material from EOS.
The natural coloured polyamide offers a fracture elongation of 50%, which is about double that of previously available materials.
It has a tensile strength of 48MPa and a Young's modulus of 1,550 Mpa.
Other mechanical properties are comparable to those of the proven PA 2200 polyamide.
"We are seeing a lot of interest from the automotive industry for applications that require good impact performance, such as interior parts", said Thomas Mattes, Vice President for plastics laser-sintering at EOS.
A further new powder is PrimePart ST, a flexible material with a 250% fracture elongation.
Parts laser-sintered from this material are fully dense, so gas-tight products can be produced directly.
Compared to other flexible laser-sintering materials available, PrimePart ST shows a four times higher tensile strength of 8MPa.
Moreover, said EOS to manufacturingtalk.com, it is the first flexible material in the world of layer manufacturing that does not require post-infiltration.
Potential applications are shoe soles, seals and hoses.
In future, EOS will offer a wider choice of polyamide colours.
PA 2202 black is a polyamide material containing black pigments, the resulting parts being coloured throughout their whole volume, which makes them resistant to scratches, abrasion and dirt.
The parts are thus well suited to mechanically stressed applications or dirty environments, such as under vehicle bonnets.
PA 2203 grey is a further alternative in light grey.
* Laser-sintering machines - the machines that make these parts will not be on show at MACH 2008, but details will be available of the latest introductions.
As regards metal powder processing, the latest model is the EOSINT M 270, which uses a 200W Yb fibre laser capable of being focussed to 100 micron diameter, allowing very fine detail resolution on the surface of the part.
It includes an innovative dual-focus feature that automatically switches between different laser spot sizes during laser-sintering to optimally combine detail accuracy and build speed.
EOSINT M 270 has been sold successfully in the UK market since its introduction, notably into the aerospace, motorsport, medical and academic sectors.
EOSINT P 730 is a plastics laser-sintering machine based on the EOSINT P 700, claimed to be the only twin-laser system on the market.
The new model is one of the largest available, with a build chamber diagonal of more than 1m.
The machine is up to 75% more productive than the P 700, depending on component geometry.
Another recent introduction is the entry-level FORMIGA P 100, capable of turn-around times of less than 24h.
The fine focus diameter of the laser enables wall thicknesses down to 0.4mm to be formed for manufacturing small, detailed plastics components, such as connectors.
Preparation and control of the building process is conveniently carried out off-line at the user's desk, said EOS.
EOS Eltectro Optical Systems at MACH 2008, NEC, Birmingham, UK, April 21-25, Hall 4, Stand 4680f.
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