AD&P; > March 2013 > ACCELERATE
Fast Things
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Here���s a look at some recent developments in the additive arena we saw last fall at EuroMold that can allow you to
create things much more expeditiously than you otherwise might. . .
Double beaming it. The SLM 500 HL is a selective laser
melting machine for additive manufacturing operations
that increases throughput though the use to what the
company describes as ���unique double beam technology.���
u Designers are familiar with
designing on paper. This Mcor
machine allows building designs
with paper���in color, no less.
That is, instead of using a single laser to melt the metal
powder, there are two ���ber lasers deployed, one 400 W
and the other 1,000 W. They can work at the same time,
independently or in parallel. This helps account for faster
part build. The scan speed is 15 m/sec. The build speed is
70 cm3/hr.
That���s because the build
material that is used
in its new IRIS system
for creating photorealistic 3D models
measuring as large as
9.39 �� 6.89 �� 5.9 in.
is paper. As in the
paper you can buy
by the ream at your
local of���ce supply store.
The build chamber measures 500 �� 280 �� 325 mm.
The SLM 500 HL is available from SLM Solutions GmbH
(slm-solutions.com).
And when you���re thinking about ���printing,��� your ���rst
notion is that of putting ink on paper, and that���s part of
the process involved in creating models with the IRIS
system.
That is, the company actually developed a special ink for
the system that permeates the paper and the sheets are
printed on both sides so that the colors on all surfaces
of the parts (the company claims IRIS ���prints in more
than one million hues simultaneously���) are true to the
as-designed model.
p The SLM 500 HL uses two ���ber lasers for its selective
laser melting process of part builds.
Clean sheet of paper���and then some. While some
people talk about making 3D printing widely available,
one company with technology that really facilitates
accessibility is Mcor Technologies (mcortechnologies.
com).
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The sheets of paper are glued together with a waterbased adhesive, and the shapes are cut into the paper as
required by the model (the positioning on the blade is 12
microns; the ���le formats for printing are STL, OBJ, and
VRML).
Dr. Conor MacCormack, co-founder and CEO, says that
this paper-based approach is ���20 to 30 times cheaper than
plastic.���
What���s more, the models can be disposed of in a recycling
bin.