Fast, Flexible Production

TMD: What is/e-Manufacturing?

Fendrick: Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing method for metals and plastics. The process begins with a CAD file of the product design, which defines each thin layer of a horizontal cross-sectioned model that is generated onto the work platform inside the machine. A first layer of plastic or metal powder is deposited at a thickness of 10µm to 40µm onto the work platform and then lasersintered by a focused laser beam. The work platform is lowered and the process is repeated additively, layer by layer, until a three-dimensional part is produced. In this manner, extremely complex geometries can be automatically created directly from CAD data in just a few hours.

EOS uses the term "e-Manufacturing" to describe the fast, flexible and costeffective production of products, patterns or tools, directly from electronic data by means of laser-sintering.

TMD: Is e-Manufacturing ready for the mainstream market?

Fendrick: Definitely. The customers seek us out at least as often as we find them. A survey of manufacturing trends that EOS conducted during Euromold and at the K 2007 show confirms the trend.

When EOS asked if e-Manufacturing was ready for the mass market, a full 70% of the interviewees answered "yes." 33% believed that individualized production with laser-sintering is already market-ready, while 37% predicted the establishment of the technology in the market within the next three years. The rest anticipated establishment of e-Manufacturing within five years, with only 4% seeing a lag of ten years. Key applications for EOS include dental and medical applications, aerospace applications as well as tooling.

TMD: How does e-Manufacturing enable mass customization?

Fendrick: The work platform of the laser-sintering equipment can accommodate more than one part at a time. In the case of cobalt chromium dental copings and bridges, for example, EOS has manufactured several hundred on the platform in one build process – software is available to nest the parts on the work plate for optimum productivity. Each of those copings is modeled from individual scans of different teeth, and is customized for use by one person. This same customizing technology is currently under exploration in other areas of medicine – customized tools for spinal surgery, for instance.

TMD: What are some challenges and obstacles that e-Manufacturing still faces?

Fendrick: Laser-sintering is just beginning to earn its place alongside traditional technologies. To widen its role, more materials for the process must be developed that offer the same characteristics as traditional manufacturing materials. A new plastic, PrimePart DC, is an impact-resistant polyamide with a tensile strength of 48MPa. It also has an outstanding elongation at break of 50% – that is about twice as high as those of previously available materials. For Direct Metal Laser-Sintering (DMLS), new EOS StainlessSteel PH1 offers high hardness, very good corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties, matching the traits of stainless steels currently in use in the medical and aerospace industries. It complements the existing EOS StainlessSteel GP1 material, which is a 17-4 stainless steel. In addition to these new materials, there are other materials available for this technology.

Plastics: A range of fine polyamides; aluminum, glass, or carbon fiber-filled polyamides; and a polystyrene suitable for use in plaster, shell, and vacuum casting applications.

Metals: maraging and stainless steels; cobalt chrome alloys; and titanium Ti64.

In addition to developing more materials, laser-sintering equipment designers and materials engineers will need to work hand-in-hand with customers to create the kinds of paper trails that the automotive, aerospace and medical fields require of materials and processes. Some of that effort is already underway; Rapid Quality Manufacturing, a company recently spun off from Morris Technologies, is working on a plan to meet ISO 13485 Medical Certification and AS9100 Aerospace Certification.

TMD: What advancements/developments have there been in the materials for e-Manufacturing that have enabled increased use in the medical markets?

Fendrick: EOS Cobalt Chrome alloys have proven useful for dental implants and other applications. The new material EOS stainless steel PH1, which can be precipitation-hardened and treated with other secondary processes, is a likely candidate for medical applications. EOS also supplies Titanium Ti64, a laser-sintered alloy similar to a prealloyed Ti6AlV4 alloy. Ti64 has excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance combined with low specific weight and high biocompatibility, making it ideal for medical applications.

TMD: Would you provide a look at what EOS delivers to customers in terms of materials, machinery, technology, etc?

Fendrick: We provide the materials mentioned above. Our laser-sintering line includes the EOSINT M 270 for metals and the EOSINT P 390, P 730, and the new Formiga P 100 for plastics. Hidden behind these offerings is a wealth of research with universities and with business partners to develop and prove out rapid manufacturing technology.

TMD: Where do you see e-Manufacturing in the next 5 years?

Fendrick: The most important development is that materials offerings will expand. Build speeds will increase, as well. These two advances together will widen the range of products that are economically feasible for e-Manufacturing. At present, EOS sells approximately a third of its equipment for rapid manufacturing applications. This figure will significantly increase in the next five years.

A final important factor contributing to the rapid evolution of e-Manufacturing will be growing designer familiarity with the technology. We will see the emergence of truly innovative, unrestrained designs that go beyond the limits imposed by designing for manufacturability. As novelty gives way to expertise, engineers will be able to take greater advantages of the opportunities which laser-sintering offers for creating complex geometries, mass customizing products, and reducing manufacturing costs and times.