by Kate McAlpine
April 18, 2022
https://www.futurity.org/3d-printing-he ... 2727132-2/
Introduction:
(Futurity) 3D printing intricate metal and plastic parts may get better thanks to new software that reduces harmful heat buildup in laser powder bed fusion printers.
Called SmartScan, the software demonstrated a 41% improvement in heat distribution and a 47% reduction in deformations in a recent study.
It’s also likely to speed the manufacturing process in two ways: by reducing the need for printers to slow down to help with cooling and by significantly reducing heat-caused defects that must be corrected after printing.
Laser powder bed fusion is a form of 3D printing used in aerospace, automotive, and biomedical industries to manufacture parts that are too intricate to make with conventional manufacturing. It uses a laser to fuse layers of powdered metal or plastic together. But the laser’s heat can build up in the delicate parts being printed, causing deformation and other defects.
“This problem gets even more serious for parts with really thin features,” says Chinedum Okwudire, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and corresponding author of the paper in Additive Manufacturing: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub