The Aluminium 6061 Material is co-developed with its partner Ford Motor Company
The ExOne Company, the global leader in industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, announced that aluminium 6061 is now a Customer-Qualified material in collaboration with Ford Motor Company.
A new patent-pending process to binder jet 3D print and sinter the material delivers rapid and repeatable results: 99% density and material properties comparable to die casting. Additional collaborative and individual patents are expected to be filed by Ford and ExOne as a result of the ongoing project, as detailed in today’s simultaneous announcement.
Rick Lucas, ExOne Chief Technology Officer and VP, New Markets said, “There has been scepticism for years that binder jet 3D printing and sintering of aluminium was even possible. Manufacturers in other technology areas have struggled to deliver a commercially viable solution in this area for more than a decade. But at ExOne, we take pride in collaborating with our customers to solve the toughest challenges. We believe this innovation will help deliver lighter products and sustainability benefits that will have a sweeping impact across a wide range of products.”
With the newly added aluminium 6061, ExOne has now qualified 23 metal, ceramic and sand materials for use on its industrial binder jetting printers. With the addition of aluminium 6061, that now includes 12 single-alloy metals. Titanium is now fast-tracked for qualification in partnership with a global medical device company.
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Because ExOne technology can 3D print almost any powder, the company has a tiered material qualification system to signify the varying levels of material property results that parts 3D printed with its technology will deliver. These levels help manufacturing customers understand whether ExOne binder jetting technology could meet their specific application needs:
Third-Party Qualified: The material has passed rigorous ExOne tests over multiple builds and has verified material property data from an independent third party. These materials meet MPIF, AMS, or other material standards.
Customer-Qualified: These materials have been qualified by ExOne customers with their own standards and are being successfully printed today for their own applications. However, they have not yet earned ExOne’s highest level of qualification for general market readiness. ExOne routinely partners with manufacturers to develop materials for specific applications.
R&D Materials: These materials have been deemed printable by ExOne and our customers after preliminary analysis. R&D work for these materials is ongoing and involves engineering work with the materials, as well as our printers and processes, to ensure successful printing.
ExOne’s qualification of aluminium 6061 in collaboration with Ford is the result of a new patent-pending process for binder jet 3D printing and sintering. The achievement is highlighted even further by the fact it is being accomplished without excessive levels of liquid-phase sintering that leads to melting and distortion; this would prohibit many of the capabilities that bring manufactures to 3D printing in the first place, such as unique geometries.
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