In recent years, metal 3D printing has become more and more widely used. This technology is still developing, but it can already play a lot of roles. Compared with traditional processes such as casting and forging, it also has certain advantages.
Below we will take you to see its advantages and disadvantages compared with traditional crafts such as casting and forging.
Advantage
Lightweight can be achieved
Due to the small molding limit, 3D printing can give full play to the role of generative design and topology optimization. In the design stage, algorithms can be used to reduce unnecessary parts of parts, so as to realize lightweight printing, and then manufacture them through 3D printing.
Can build complex shapes
Metal 3D printers create objects layer by layer. Taking the most common powder bed fusion as an example, lasers repeatedly melt and solidify metal powder bit by bit to create objects. Forming restrictions are relatively small, and complex structures such as lattices can be fabricated.
Therefore, some parts that cannot be removed from the mold and cannot be cut by a knife can be manufactured by 3D printing. In addition, the strength of metal 3D printing is already higher than that of casting, and with the continuous advancement of technology, its strength is approaching that of forging.
The number of parts is small and the work efficiency is high. The design freedom of the 3D printing process is high, and the design can be fully utilized. It can not only reduce unnecessary parts, but also integrate multiple parts into a whole to improve work efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
Short lead time
When the number of parts is relatively small, or only one piece is required, 3D printing not only has a short production time, but also has a lower unit price. Therefore, metal 3D printing is suitable for making prototypes or small batch production.
After reading the advantages, let’s look at its disadvantages.
Disadvantage
Average surface finish
The surface finish of metal 3D printing parts is rougher than that of traditional processes, and post-processing is required to achieve an ideal surface finish.
Not suitable for mass production
When the production scale reaches a certain amount, the economic benefits of metal 3D printing will decline, and it is currently not up to the task of mass production.
Not suitable for printing large size objects
Due to the existence of thermal stress, metal 3D printing is currently not suitable for printing large-sized objects, and it is prone to warping and other phenomena.
However, the new metal 3D printing represented by spray technology has overcome this difficulty, but the current popularity is not enough. In the future, metal 3D printing will also be able to manufacture large components.
Generally speaking, metal 3D printing is a good supplement to the current metal technology. With the continuous improvement of its technology, it is believed that the application will be more extensive in the future.
Hope the above content can help you!
