3d metal printers

Combining Extensive Experience of Integrating Vision Systems into Laser Equipment

3D Fusion Technology

Each 3D FUSION metal printing system is designed for the rapid transition of metal printed parts from prototype to production based on a common family of geometric shapes and application specific metal type. The process starts with a comprehensive review of 3D CAD files and part specifications optimizing the XYZ build-plate dimensions for minimum powder usage. Based on the part specification, the company selects the best-fit building block technologies from it BTS library of patents, licenses, proprietary metal IP and next-generation hardware representing the fastest path to MRL 10 manufacturing production readiness.

Desktop Metal printing specialist acknowledge that current generation metal printing systems manufacture metal printed parts with wide unit-to-unit variations with very few companies announcing MRL6 capabilities. Each of the company’s BTS building block technologies incrementally eliminate the system processing conditions that contribute to the wide fluctuations of metal printing parts from the same machine and from machine-to-machine.

Advantages:

  • Produce metal parts with complex geometries and internal structures
  • Dramatically reduce product development and lead times
  • Reduce molding and tooling costs
  • Direct Drive Motion System—the laser head moves with the highest possible acceleration and smoothness, reducing stress and vibration on the carriage frame and lowering maintenance requirements.
  • Optimized for specified powders, resulting in best performance and part consistency
  • Extremely high laser positioning accuracy
  • Integrated, sealed digital encoder
  • Coaxial vision system and other sensors allow real-time monitoring of operation, if desired
  • Optical or mechanical Z axis capability
  • Double productivity option: each system can equipped with dual laser heads; each head can be configured for independent operation or Master/Slave operation

Bulk-To-Shape Transformational Technology (BTS)

Bulk-To-Shape Transformational Technologies represent a continuously expanding family of patents, licenses, inventions and proprietary IP combined to accelerate advanced 3D metal AM systems.

The company will provide information at its own discretion upon required request.

Direct Drive Motion System Technology

Unlimited Build Plate Technology

Direct Drive Motion System (DDMS) technology is an automated platform that transports the multi-kilowatt laser across the build-plate expanding metal printing application sizes out to 1.5m x 3.0m. A low-friction magnetic based motion system, the laser levitates across the power bed orthogonal to the build plate significantly reducing wide unit-to-unit metal printed part variations associated with the use of a Galvo scan head. With advanced fully-sealed encoders, laser placement accuracies are within 5μm.

Powder Delivery, Distribution, and Recovery Technology

Our simplified gravity based nano-powder dispense and recovery system not only reduces the size of our system on your production floor, but also eliminates closed-loop system, used by alternate suppliers, where inert gas is wasted as the transportation vehicle as well as unnecessary maintenance time cleaning the lines especially when changing metals for the next application.

LaserComb™ Technology

The company’s proprietary LaserComb™ Beam Shaping Technology reduces manufacturing times and reduces unit-to-unit variations.

The company will provide information at its own discretion upon required request.

Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL)

(MRL)-Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) is a measure system developed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) to assess the maturity of their supplier’s manufacturing readiness. Manufacturers use this measurement system to determine the production readiness stage of new product development. The measurement system uses a scale from MRL1 to MRL10. As reported by many industry experts, today’s metal printing systems produce metal printed prototype parts ranging from MRL4-MRL6 for applications evaluated by the FDA with respect to passenger and patient safety. Metal printed parts are ready to move into production once manufacturing statistical data meets the requirements of MRL10.

Metal Processing Under Laser

A Closely Guarded Secret

LP Corporation’s greatest asset, with respect to 3D metal AM, is our R&D library of metal laser processing IP and data base of material property resources. Desktop Metal printing specialists acknowledge that current generation metal printing systems manufacture metal printed parts with wide unit-to-unit variations with very few companies announcing MRL6 capabilities. Each of the company’s BTS building block technologies incrementally eliminate the system processing conditions that contribute to the wide fluctuations of metal printing parts from the same machine and from machine-to-machine.

Tolerance Stabilizing Technology

Current suppliers use lasers that are best suited for subtractive material processing. These lasers exhibit a Gaussian shaped powder density profile affecting the uniform melting of the metal powders during the build cycle that directly impacts the ability to control density, the most common complaint with today’s standard systems. LP Corporation is the industry’s first 3D metal printing system manufacturer to incorporate an application of specially designed multi KW laser that is optimized for additive manufacturing systems providing a number of technical advantages including frequency scalability which provides the lowest beam spot during the most critical build layers ensuring a superior finish and exceptionally tight-tolerances.

3D Printing Software

Our Vision System implements pattern matching which allows precision alignment of the laser pattern for selective 3D Laser Printing for the purpose of mold and tool repair. Vision Systems allow capabilities in controlling porosity, allocating geometries, performing precision additive repair, detect and control build rate, conduct QC on the raw nano materials, inspect geometries, detect enclosures and particle coagulation, quality of powder deposition, and so on…

About Our Standard Vision System Software:

  • Built-in Coaxial Vision System is a camera-based monitoring system for tool repair and inline fused materials quality verification is offered as a separate line item.
  • Two monitors show the GUI of the Laser 3D Printing Software and the Vision System Software.
  • A vision server is an application which works with a video capture card to allow a user to create, or use, a training set from which the operator can search for a trained pattern.
  • All functions of LPC Vision Server can be operated remotely either by command line or a graphical user interface. The LPC Vision Server functions in conjunction with several “client” applications that allow third party software, such as Laser Photonics Fusion 3D, to remote control the Vision System,

Gas Recirculating Systems

Our Vacuum grade process chamber reduces gas consumption, and keeps feeding & receiving powder containers under a common atmospheric pressure and in an inert gas atmosphere. This design concept reduces potential water vapor and gas below artificial valves including the dew point temperature. Finally, our build chambers are designed for single and dual head configurations.

Galvo Scan Heads

The Galvo Scan Head was originally developed to draw patterns or images on walls for entertainment purposes and later adapted for fixed-position, laser-based subtractive material processing systems to deflect the laser beam across a larger surface area for the removal of metal. This technology is one of the greatest contributions to unit-to-unit variations with regards to metal AM.

Next-Generation Laser for Metal AM

LP Corporation uses a proprietary multi-kilowatt laser optimized for metal AM. The Flat-Top profile provides predictable uniform illumination across the powder bed with a scalable beam-spot, no hot-spots or peripheral fall-off. With the use of a multi-kilowatt laser, processing speeds are increased when compared to 400W/500W Gaussian profile lasers used in current-generation systems.

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