Metal 3D Printing: Process Validationfor High-Requirement ApplicationsGeorge Morar, Applications Engineer, Protolabs

WELCOME

DMLS is redefining 3D printing as

an end-use production method to

meet your needs for evolving

manufacturing technologies

NEEDS OF ENGINEERS ARE EVOLVING

50%of annual company revenues are derived from new productslaunched within the past three yearsSource: The product life cycle is in decline, Supply Chain Digital

60%of global manufacturers use data recorded from connecteddevices to analyze processes and identify optimization Source: BI Intelligence Internet of Things 2017 Report, IDC & SAP

$800Bin just three sectors alone, including healthcare, personalizationwill shift ~$800 billion, to the 15% of companies that get it rightSource: Boston Consulting Group 2017 Profiting from Personalization Report

WHO IS PROTOLABS?

We are the world’s fastest digital manufacturing source

for rapid prototyping and on-demand production.

CNC MACHINING: United States

LSR Molding

MIM and Thixomolding

2007 2014 2017

INJECTION MOLDING: United States

1999 2005

CNC Turning with live tooling

PolyJet

3D PRINTING (SL, SLS, DMLS): United States

INJECTION MOLDING: Europe

INJECTION MOLDING: Japan

Overmolding

Insert Molding

CNC MACHINING: Europe

CNC MACHINING: Japan

5-axis indexed milling

3D PRINTING: Europe

Multi Jet Fusion

IM

CNC

3DP

Sheet Metal

KEY

SHEET METAL

WE RESPONDED WITH EXPANDED CAPABILITES

ADDITIVE PARTNERSHIPS

INTRODUCING DMLS

FOR HIGH-REQUIREMENT

APPLICATIONS

Combination of in-house and outsourced

processes to deliver final parts

HOW DIRECT METAL LASTER SINTERING WORKS

WHO USES DMLS FOR

HIGH REQUIREMENT PROJECTS?

Nova-techThis 3D-printed component was designed to

work in a heat exchanger to support the

structure and promote flow mixing.

Material: Inconel

University of MinnesotaDesigned by the Liquid Propellant Rocketry

Design (LPRD) team at the University of

Minnesota. Working with Protolabs, the team

manufactured its second-generation engine with

internal cooling channels.

Material: Inconel

WHAT IS NEEDED FOR SUCCESS?

• Single Supplier: Metal 3D printing scale and secondary processes to support your

project from prototyping through end-use production.

• Design Expertise: Consultative quoting and design feedback from our applications

engineers with decades of 3D printing and manufacturing experience.

• Operational Excellence: A process engineering team dedicated to maintaining a

repeatable process at scale.

• High Reliability: Tight process controls to say what we can deliver, and then deliver

what we say.

A TURN-KEY METAL 3D PRINTING SOLUTION

HOW TO DESIGN FOR DMLS

• Material dependent

• Build parameters, normal or

high resolution

• Part orientation

• 200 to 400 µin Ra

• Select surfaces can be

machined or polished

SURFACE ROUGHNESS

SELF-SUPPORTING ANGLES

SELF-SUPPORTING ANGLES

• Example: Heat exchanger

with flanges

• Reduce material needed

for flange

• Can also use organic

shapes for even more

material savings

• Angle inlets and outlets

on pipe so they do not

need supports

REVISION 1

REVISION 2

HEAT EXCHANGER

REVISION 1

REVISION 2

COST SAVINGS

• Part volume reduced by 5%

• Support volume reduced by 75%

• Build time decreased by 20%

• Finishing time decreased by 75%

• Total cost reduced 35%

INTERNAL STRESS, WARPAGE

• As-built stresses radiate outward

and build up as additional layers

are added on top

• Larger cross-sections have

larger stresses

HIGH ← STRESS → LOW

INTERNAL FEATURES

• Internal features are features that can be

designed into parts to reduce part count and

reduce assembly time

• Must follow same design rules

• Supports cannot be removed, so they should

be designed in

• Take into consideration powder removal

BRIDGES

• Any flat down-facing surface

that is supported by two or

more features

• Minimum allowable

unsupported distance is small

(~0.080 in./2mm)

THIN WALLS

• <1mm (0.040 in.)

• Rule of thumb: Height-to-wall thickness 40:1

THIN WALLS

Examples showing self-supporting thin walls and methods to increase

height of thin walls

• Cylinder

• Tube

• Braced walls

CHANNELS AND HOLES• Channels and holes are self-

supporting features

• Great for conformal

cooling applications

• As the diameter increases,

deformation increases

• Common self-supporting shapes

are diamond or tear drop

15mm

(0.6 in.)12mm

(0.47 in.)

THREADS

• Threads can be printed,

but typically are not

functional as built

• Diameters can be resized

and chased with tap or die

OUR CAPABILITIES

METAL 3D PRINTING AT SCALE

38 metal 3D printing machines globally

Materials Available

• Titanium (Ti 6-4)

• Aluminum (Al10SiMg)

• Stainless Steel (17-4PH and 316L)

• Cobalt Chrome

• Inconel 718

Americas• Mlab—12 machines

• M2 (Single Laser)—7 machines

• M2 (Dual Laser)—6 machines

Europe• Mlab—2 machines

• M2—3 machines

• EOS M100/M280/M290—8 machines

DMLS DESIGN GUIDELINES

Resolutions

Layer thickness Min. feature size

Normal 30 microns 0.015 in.

(0.0012 in.) (0.38mm)

High 20 microns 0.006 in.

(0.0008 in.) 0.15mm)

Tolerances• ±0.003 in. plus 0.001 in./in.

(±0.076mm plus 0.001mm/mm)

Max. Part Size

Normal Res. 9.68 in. by 9.68 in. by 10.8 in.(246mm by 246mm by 274mm)

High Res. 3.5 in. by 3.5 in. by 2.9 in.(88mm by 88mm by 73mm)

(As printed, prior to post-processing or design review)

SECONDARY PROCESSES

POST-BUILD MACHINING

• Tighter tolerances on critical features, while still leveraging design freedom of

additive manufacturing

• Utilize customer-supplied drawing outlining the operations needed and the

expected tolerances (can achieve ±0.001 in.)

• Enhanced surface finish on critical surfaces (63 Ra µin)

Range of Technologies to Achieve Your Needs

• CNC milling (5-axis, 3+2)

• Lathe

• Wire EDM

• Drilling, reaming, tapping

HEAT TREATMENT

• Improve mechanical properties by relieving internal stresses that develop

during the sintering process

• All heat treatments are performed per ASTM 3301, unless otherwise noted

Heat Treatment Processes

• Standard stress relief

• Vacuum furnace

• HIP

• Stress relief

• Solution anneal

• Aging

• Other customer-specified heat treatments

QUALITY INSPECTIONS

• Dimensional validation of part geometry

• Inspection reports accompany each project for quoted inspection

Inspection Options

• Coordinate Measurement Machines (CMM)

• Handheld

• Gantry

• Optical scanning

• CT scanning

• X-ray

WE WANT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF YOUR PROJECTAdditional capabilities considered during

design review

• Specific post-process vendors

• Additional secondary processes

• Unique materials

• Specific machine type or size

• Modified processing

requirements

PROCESS ANDMACHINE VALIDATION

PROCESS AND MACHINE VALIDATION

• Parameter Development

• Targeted material properties

• Industry-leading surface finish quality

• Statistical Process Control

• Tensile strength

• Dimensional accuracy

• Density

• Test Coupons

• Mechanical properties tested per ASTM E8

• Density coupons tested per ASTM B311

MATERIALS AND POWDER ANALYSIS

• Material is purchased per its

ASTM standard

• Single lot tracking of material

• Powder is tested frequently to

ensure adherence to chemical

composition defined by the

respective ASTM document

• Particle size distribution is tested

for reference and tracking

ISO9001

AS9100 Rev D

ITAR

ISO13485*

QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS3D PRINTING - DMLS

*Eschenlohe, Germany facility

Q & A

HAVE A MODEL READY

TO BE QUOTED?

Upload your metal 3D printing design at

protolabs.com

THANK YOU

Stop by our booth #47 to pick

up a free 3D printing material

selector and get

your questions answered!

George Morar | Applications Engineer | 763-479-3680 | customerservice@protolabs.com