© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

T. Studnitzky

3D SCREEN PRINTING MASS PRODUCTION OF METALS AND CERAMICS

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

München

Holzkirchen

Freiburg

Efringen-Kirchen

FreisingStuttgart

PfinztalKarlsruheSaarbrücken

St. IngbertKaiserslautern

DarmstadtWürzburg

Erlangen

Nürnberg

Ilmenau

Schkopau

Teltow

Oberhausen

Duisburg

EuskirchenAachen

St. Augustin

Schmallenberg

Dortmund

PotsdamBerlin

Rostock

LübeckItzehoe

Braunschweig

Hannover

Bremen

Bremerhaven

Jena

Leipzig

Chemnitz

Dresden

CottbusMagdeburg

Halle

Fürth

München

Holzkirchen

Freiburg

Efringen-Kirchen

FreisingStuttgart

PfinztalKarlsruheSaarbrücken

St. IngbertKaiserslautern

DarmstadtWürzburg

Erlangen

Nürnberg

Ilmenau

Schkopau

Teltow

Oberhausen

Duisburg

EuskirchenAachen

St. Augustin

Schmallenberg

Dortmund

PotsdamBerlin

Rostock

LübeckItzehoe

Braunschweig

Hannover

Bremen

Bremerhaven

Jena

Leipzig

Chemnitz

Dresden

CottbusMagdeburg

Halle

Fürth

67 Fraunhofer institutes and

independent research units in

Germany

23.000 employees

12 institutes or branches in

Dresden

4 of these at the Fraunhofer Institute

Center Dresden

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Fraunhofer IFAM: Branch Lab Dresden

Director: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Kieback

Permanent staff 62

Student employees 28

Budget 6.8 Mio. €

Industry 32 %

Projects 56 %

Public funding 12 %

Investments 0.8 Mio. €

Area 2470 m2

(Budget 2014)

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Metal Additive Manufacturing @ Fraunhofer IFAM

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) [DD]

3D Metal Printing -Screen Printing approach(3DMP) [DD]

Laser Beam Melting (LBM) [HB]

3D Metal Printing -Binder Jetting approach(3DP) [HB]

3D Metal Printing -Binder Jetting approach(3DP) [HB]

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D with screen printing ?

Additive manufacturing process, patented 1993

2008 first 3D-Screen Printing facility, first machine in R&D worldwide

2014 working group „3D Metal Printing“ with six scientists and one

technician

2014 new groundbreaking machine specially designed for 3D screen

printing

10 mm

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Process scheme

Flooding, Printing & Hardening

Screen Partners:

PVF (Hall 6, Booth B39)

Koenen Solar (Hall 3, Booth 355)

Lift screen

Optional: screen change

Optional: Different material

Sintering

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D stencil printing – new option

Stencil instead of screen

No Moiré effect

Closed frames possible with holding grid

M-TeCK stencil -> Christian Koenen GmbH (Hall A3, Booth 355)

Possible higher layers and larger bridging

M-TeCK stencil Printed options Printed structures

Source: Christian Koenen GmbH

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Achievable geometrical details (screen printing)

Constant wall thickness (minimal 60 µm)

Maximal height of several cm

Constant cell size

Possible bending in the green state

Properties of print:

Wall thickness: 100 µm

Wall height: 1.5 mm

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Achievable geometrical details (screen printing)

Feature: Bridging up to 1 mm

Undercuts

Hollow structures and channels –without powder removal or supporting structures

Complex inner structures possible

Sieb 1

Sieb 2

Sieb 3

Sieb 1

Sieb 2

Sieb 3

20 mm

100 µm

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Achievable geometrical details (stencil printing)

Layer thickness > 300 – 500 µm

Bridging > 2-3 mm

Resolution in the range of the layer height

Much higher building rate compared to screen printing

M-TeCK stencil Printed structures

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D screen printing - materials

So far: Metals (based on Fe, Cu, Ti, W, La, Mo, Al, Ta, …)

Ceramics?

Materials Combinations?

Copper, steel and MoSi2 Gas atomized copper

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D screen printing – Ceramics

Cooperation with Fraunhofer IKTS

Water based slurry based on metal systems

Printed height: ~ 2 mm, 150 – 200 µm wall thickness

Excellent green strength, no warpage

70 mm

Al2O3

70 mm 6 mm

SiC Green part

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D screen printing – Multimaterial (adjacent structures)

Two screens with different design used

Two materials: Steel / Ceramic

Sreen change after 5 layers each

Printing of adjacent structures possible

10 mm

190 µm

Process scheme Printed structures Printed structures

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D screen printing – Multimaterial (sandwich structures)

Same screen – different materials

Two materials: Steel / Ceramic

Starting with pure ceramic slurry, adding metal slurry during printing

Ste

el

Cera

mic

Sintered graded structure

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Features of the 2nd generation printing machine at IFAM

Two printing tables

printing area 300 mm x 300 mm

Closed chamber

climate control

water free pastes possible

All printing parameters independently adjustable

UV hardening facility

Process control taken over from industrial production lines

first step towards industrial production machine

ASYS / EKRA -> Hall 3, booth 277

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D-Screen Printing – Applications

Electric components

Cooling Systems

µ-Reactor

Heat exchanger

Fuel cell

Filter

Implants

Sealings

Micromechanics

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Bipolor plate fuel cell

Integrated channels

Goal: Reduction of costs, size and weight

structure sizes < 100 µm

10 mm

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Example: Micro cooling systems

Design of optimized structures (COMSOL)

Different CAD models transferred onto one screen

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Example: Microparts

Special tube for electrical application in cooperation with industry

Complex part printed with five screens

~3500 parts printed at the same time on 1st generation lab machine

+700.000 parts per year possible on 1st generation lab machine

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

3D screen printing - concepts for mass production

2nd generation lab machine:

decoupling of printing and curing

1.500.000 parts / year

Possible production machine:

1 printing area / 5 substrate tables

7.000.000 parts / year

Possible production line:

4 printing areas / 12 substrate tables

simplified printing of complex parts

Table size 300 x 300 mm²

Table size 400 x 600 mm²

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Economical aspects

Technique Built rate Resolution Powder size Tools?

[cm3 / h] [µm] [µm]

3D-Screen Printing (Labmachine IFAM)

80 - 200 80 - 150 < 15 - < 50 Screen

3D-Stencil Printing (Labmachine IFAM)

200 - 600 200 - 500 < 50 Stencil

Screen / stencil Printing(10 table mass production)

>> 1000 100 < 15 - < 50 Screen / Stencil

SLM / EBM 50 - 100 300 > 45 --

FDM 50 400 -- --

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Economical aspects

Calculation (Screen Printing):

316 L

Printing area 200 x 300 mm

Screen usage 5000 prints (solar industry 10000 - 100000)

90 % good parts

Including:

Personnel costs

Depreciation

Heat treatment

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Study: µ-Heat exchanger

0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

Einfluss der Siebfläche auf die Kosten pro Bauteil (2x3 cm)

Koste

n/T

eil

[€/T

eil]

Siebgröße [m²]

Einschichtbetrieb, Ein-Tischanlage

Schichthöhe pro Lage: 15µm

Trocknungszeit pro Lage: 20sBauteilhöhe: 1mm

0

1.000.000

2.000.000

3.000.000

4.000.000

5.000.000

6.000.000

7.000.000

Teile

pro

Jahr

Technikumanlage am IFAM

~400.000 Bauteile pro Jahr

Lab machine IFAM

Parts / year

effektive printing area [m2]

Pa

rts

pe

r ye

ar

Co

sts

pe

r p

art

[€]

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Economical aspects

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Process chain: From powder to part

Partner R&D: Fraunhofer IFAM

3D-Printing machines : EKRA / ASYS

Screen / Stencil supplier: Koenen or PVF

Powder: Depending on material

Furnaces: Different, for e.g. MUT

If necessary: Part manufacturer, in negotitian

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Economical considerations - take home messages

2D screen printing is an established industrial process process control strategies can be transferred to 3D screen printing

Productivity scales inversely with part volume

Many different parts or part variations can be made on just one screen

Parts that require many screens should be avoided or broken up into simplified geometries otherwise tooling cost goes up, time for screen adjustment goes up

Printing directly onto sinter substrate possible easy handling of large numbers of small parts

Low wear of printing screens. Screens are inexpensive, several suppliers exist

Use of commercially available PIM powders recommended powder cost is known

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Design Tool Manufacturing Postprocessing

Beam assisted Additive Manufacturing of metal parts (SLM, EBM)

No cavitiesHigh freedom of designSupporting structures needed

Limited part numbersPoor surface qualityLimited materials variety

Removal supporting structuresSurface finishing neededAdditional heat treatment (SLM)

Little tooling cost Mass production possibleHigh materials varietyMedium surface quality

Finishing, if neededCavities / Channels possible3D-free form difficultMulticomponent parts

3D-Screen Printing

No tools needed

Quelle: FhG IFAM Quelle: Argen

Quelle: Siebdruckversand

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Metal Injection Moulding (MIM)

High tooling cost Mass production possibleHigh surface quality

Free outer contourInner contours limitedNo cavities

Typically no finishing needed

Quelle: EC Tech

Quelle: ArburgQuelle: Indo-MIM / Wittmann Battenfeld

Little tooling cost Mass production possibleHigh materials varietyMedium surface quality

Finishing, if neededCavities / Channels possible3D-free form difficultMulticomponent parts

Quelle: Siebdruckversand

Design Tool Manufacturing Postprocessing

3D-Screen Printing

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Where does 3D screen printing fit in?

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden

Summary

3D screen printing offers new possibilities in product design

Possible structure size 60 µm

Bridging possible without supporting structure

3D screen printing is suitable for mass production

Free choice of material

Metals, ceramics, glass

Material combinations possible

Multilayers

Sandwich structures (In printing direction)

Adjacent structures (Perpendicular to printing direction)

Graded structures

© Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden