Video: Laser Powder Bed Fusion Platform Designed for Safety, Ease of Use

Much of the difficulty and much of the safety concern with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 3D printing relate to the challenges of dealing with metal powders. One Click Metal’s BoldSeries platform is engineered to be practical to use for labs, universities, and small to medium manufacturers with no prior experience with 3D printing; a key aspect of that practicality comes from the powder handling capabilities of this system.

The 3D printer and its associated depowdering/sieving station use powder cartridges to move and store the material, so that the user rarely if ever needs to handle loose powder. The 3D printer itself can be loaded with up to five cartridges, each holding up to 8 kg of powder, so that printing can be performed continuously even if powder needs to be loaded during the build. Material is delivered directly to the build plate from the active cartridge, and excess powder is captured in a separate cartridge, so that the build volume is only minimally contaminated by loose powder. The printer’s entire build module can be removed with a trolley when the print is complete, and placed into the depowdering and ultrasonic sieving machine. Excess powder processed through this system is again transferred into a cartridge for recycling or disposal.

The two units together cost about $200,000. The price point, compact footprint and ease of use of the machine have made it an attractive choice for universities, R&D labs, product development and some production applications, the company says.

One Click Metal originated as a spinout from laser technology specialist Trumpf. Turning center supplier Index is now a majority investor, and the video above was shot in the Index booth during IMTS – The International Technology Show. Index is finding applications for LPBF among the components of its machines; one example shown in the video is a slider trolley used in barfeeders. Redesigning the assembled component for 3D printing resulted in a design that can be manufactured at 77% lower cost, with reduced risk of part failure.