RP Technology in Europe
Germany Electro Optical Systems (EOS) Bayerisches Laserzentrum (BLZ) Cubital DTM Fockele and Schwarze
Processes EOS STEREOS Laser Sintering BLZ Laser Sintering Laser Ablation Lamination Cubital SGC DTM HS SLS Fockele and Schwarze Electrostatic recoating
EOS STEREOS Three models: 250, 400, and 600 Use HeCd, argon and solid-state lasers Build at layers of as low as 0.05 mm Non-dipping recoat system: Laser Sintering Powders are joined by a variety of mechanisms Used for plastics, metal and foundry sand
BLZ Laser Sintering Working with EOS to improve their laser sintering process Laser Ablation Laser is used to remove material at up to 1cubic meter/ min in melting mode Lamination Layers built one at a time then bolted together
Cubital SGC Uses UV light to selectively cure thin layers of liquid monomer Electro statically charged glass plate is used as a masking device
DTM HS SLS High Speed Selective Laser Sintering Creates3-dimensional objects directly from 3- D CAD files using a CO2 laser to fuse powder materials Multi-material capabilities
Fockele and Schwarze experimenting with a 2 W Nd:YAG solid- state laser This laser has a number of potential advantages over the existing Ar ion laser Electrostatic Recoating electrostatic blade moves above the surface of the bath and attracts the photopolymer up to the blade and spreads it over a layer without any necessity for "deep dip."
Sweden Arcam Electron Beam Melting (EBM) Electron beams are projected at powdered metal at half the speed of light Part is built up layer by layer in a vacuum Excess metal powder is recycled Parts can be tested immediately in actual physical conditions.
Belgium KU-Leuven Production Engineering Selective Metalpowder Sintering (SMS) A 500W CW Nd:YAG laser fuses deposited, compacted powdered metal layers as small as 0.1mm. Fe-Cu or Stainless Steel-Cu powders Sintering is performed in an inert gas environment to prevent oxidation of metal powders
European RP technology seems to want to evolve to a refinement of RP technology into production technology for precision parts.
References