Above: Concept Laser DMLM 3D Printer to be used in the research and development/Image Credit: GE NewsRoom
Concept Laser’s patented LaserCUSING® 3D printing technology is almost 2 decades old. It was patented in 1998 and the first industrial printer was presented to the world at the 2001 Euromould Trade Fair in Frankfurt, Germany.
According the Concept Laser, the technology was viewed rather sceptically as it was one of the first metal manufacturing 3D printing systems. However, over the years it has become a high performance systems and well known in the industrial circles.
General Electric (GE) acquired a 75% stake in Concept Laser in 2016 and since then the company has seen rapid growth to be at the forefront of the industry.
We take a look at the patented LaserCUSING® 3D printing technology to understand its working principle.
Concept Laser’s Patented LaserCUSING® 3D Printing Technology
Concept Laser’s patented LaserCUSING® 3D printing technology is a metal additive manufacturing technology used to produce mechanically strong and thermally resilient components. The name of the technology, ‘LaserCUSING®’, is coined by using the ‘C’ from Concept Laser and the word ‘FUSING’ which appropriately describes the technology as the fusing process to generate metal components layer by layer using three dimensional CAD model.
Working of LaserCUSING® 3D Printing Technology
Above: Operator working on Concept Lasers’s DMLM 3D printer running on its patented LaserCUSING® 3D printing technology/Image Credit: Concept Laser
LaserCUSING® is a metal 3D printing technology. It operates similar to the powder bed fusion technologies were material is in the form of a powder and laser is used to fuse the particles together.
In the LaserCUSING® process, one layer worth of fine metal powder is spread across the build platform. A laser system flashes high-energy fibre-laser beam which is redirected using a mirror redirection unit (scanner), onto the powder. This laser melts the powdered material. The adjacent particles merge together and they solidify to form a strong bond after cooling. Once the complete geometry of the layer is traced by the laser, the build platform moves down and a second layer of powder is spread on top of the first layer. This process continues till the entire part is printed.
In addition to the process patent, Concept Laser also has a patent for what it calls stochastic control. This is what makes the entire system unique. The stochastic control of the slice segments (also referred to as “islands”) are processed successively. This patented process ensures a significant reduction in stress when manufacturing very large components.
Above: Sample part 3D printed with LaserCUSING® technology for Polyshape/Image Credit: Concept-Laser
The LaserCUSING® layer construction process allows the fabrication of both mould inserts with close-contour cooling and direct components for the jewellery, medical, dental, automotive and aerospace sectors. This applies to both prototypes and batch parts.
The LaserCUSING® layer construction process allows the fabrication of both mould inserts with close-contour cooling and direct components for the jewellery, medical, dental, automotive and aerospace sectors. This applies to both prototypes and batch parts.
Additional Features of LaserCUSING® 3D Printing Technology
- The entire printing process is carried out in an inert atmosphere and so it does not heat the build chamber. This also eliminates the need to heat the material prior to the laser melting process. The process gases differ when printing with different materials. Some of them are as follows:
For Tool Steels & Mould Making applications – Nitrogen Gas is used
Titanium & Aluminium- Argon Gas is used
Selected Steels – Argon Gas is used
- The same laser can be used to etch or engrave patterns/text on the metal part being printed.
- Sometimes the critical parts are extruded more and a laser surface finishes the top layer for a smooth finish.
- Almost 99.5% material density is achieved
- The layer resolution ranges from as low as 15 microns to as high as 500 microns
Advantages of LaserCUSING® 3D Printing Technology
The LaserCUSING® process offers multiple advantages like those mentioned below:
Green technology – The LaserCUSING® process is a production process which produces almost no waste. Metal powder which has not been melted can be fully reused without any material being lost for further processes. Furthermore, the laser process is almost emission-free. Thanks to the high level of efficiency of the laser systems which are used at Concept Laser, the energy which is introduced is efficiently converted into working capacity.
Freedom of geometry – complex component geometries or component geometries which cannot be produced by conventional means can be produced without using any tools with the laser melting process. There are no limits on the fabrication of components with hollow or grid structures on the inside with this technology.
Near net shape – The production of components with a near-net-shape or ready-to-install geometry shortens the fabrication time and saves costs.
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