6 consigli per ridurre i costi di fusione del letto di polvere laser

Quando si parla di produzione convenzionale, la regola generale è che più complesso è il pezzo, più alti sono i costi. Non è questo il caso delle tecnologie di produzione additiva, come ad esempio fusione laser a letto di polvere (LPBF).

Intricate designs with free-form surfaces, undercuts, or internal shapes aren’t the main price-driving factors. Instead, cost mostly comes from volume—the higher the price, the more metal powder is required in the design, directly impacting material costs.

Optimizing designs to minimize volume is essential to effectively lowering L-PBF costs. It’s also important to rethink the strategy for producing the part. Here are six ways to reduce costs.

1. Utilizzare l'ottimizzazione della topologia

Topology optimization uses algorithmic models to optimize the material layout within certain specifications. Those specifications can be related to symmetry, material properties, load conditions, etc.

In short, it’s an excellent technique to lower volumes and reduce the costs of metal additive manufacturing. Bound metal deposition, a specific technology used in certain metal 3D printers, has distinct cost implications due to its unique printing process and subsequent furnace processing.

La produzione additiva di metallo può diventare costosa quando sono necessari grandi volumi, quindi vale la pena utilizzare un software di ottimizzazione topologica quando si progettano parti in metallo.

2. Lattici di progettazione

A lattice is an interlaced structure of repeated patterns. Think of a honeycomb’s hexagons or a bridge’s crisscrossing beams. Within L-PBF, lattices are an excellent way to produce strong and lightweight parts. Lattices can be used instead of solid volume, resulting in significant cost savings. Designing lattices can be automated via CAD programs. It is relatively easy to print the structures through additive manufacturing – regardless of their complexity – as part of the printing process.

Un cubo solido e uno con reticoli

L'ottimizzazione topologica e i reticoli possono essere utilizzati insieme. Le ricerche dimostrano che le due tecniche sono particolarmente efficaci se combinate. Uno studio del 2019 ha dimostrato che l'uso dei reticoli e l'ottimizzazione della topologia hanno ridotto i costi del 54%. Anche il peso del pezzo e il tempo di produzione si sono dimezzati.

Volete altre informazioni sul design? Date un'occhiata a la guida alla progettazione di L-PBF.

3. Angoli del filetto

It’s usually good practice to fillet (round) all sharp edges in your design. One reason is that corners are where stress concentrations occur. Another reason is to reduce costs. Filleting outside edges results in slightly less metal powder and fewer metal particles used in the process. Filleting isn’t a massive cost reduction, but savings can increase over time. Plus, eliminating stress concentrations reduces the chance of part failure, which prevents unexpected cost overruns.

4. Understand the Different Metal Powder Types

Earlier in this guide, we mentioned how volume is one of the key drivers of price. Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) uses specific metal powders to produce high-quality prints, particularly in medical applications. That’s true, but the metal powder type also affects the price. Depending on the project, certain metals will need to be used due to the various mechanical properties offered by each kind. Furthermore, powder variants combine metal types or provide different levels of purity.

Scegliere il tipo di metallo più conveniente con tutte le proprietà meccaniche necessarie aiuta a ridurre i costi. I prezzi globali dei metalli fluttuano a causa delle condizioni economiche, ma ecco come si posizionano i principali tipi di metallo in termini di prezzi comparativi.

5. Ripensare la quantità

This isn’t a design tip but rather a strategic one. With additive manufacturing, producing smaller batches of units is significantly cheaper than conventional manufacturing. Metal printers, for instance, have specific operational costs, including the prices of powders and the overall expenses of running a metal 3D printing operation. That’s because additive manufacturing eliminates the need for utensili.

With the cost of tool design and tool production out of the equation, manufacturing costs per unit remain almost constant—as seen in the graph below. With the lower upfront costs and fast lead times, additive manufacturing has become especially popular for prototipazione, tooling, jigs, fixtures, and on-domanda end-use parts.

Questo grafico mostra anche che, per quanto la produzione convenzionale possa essere inizialmente costosa, il costo per unità diminuisce quando si producono più unità. I vostri numeri di produzione assicurano che la produzione additiva è sempre la tecnologia ideale. Tuttavia, questo grafico mostra che è essenziale sapere quando la curva dei costi potrebbe spostarsi nella direzione opposta. Quando ciò sta per accadere, è meglio essere preparati e ripensare al metodo di produzione ideale per il vostro progetto.

6. Ottenere prezzi quasi in tempo reale sulle iterazioni

Costs shouldn’t be a black box. When you’re experimenting with different materials, modified designs, and other factors, the last thing you want to do is wait around to see the impact on price. Fortunately, the days of sending a design and waiting for a manual quote are over. Atomic diffusion additive manufacturing, for instance, benefits greatly from real-time pricing updates, making it easier to produce cost-effective metal prototypes.

With MakerVerse, for example, you can upload a design and get an preventivo immediato. Prices are immediately updated when you change the different materials, finishes, and more options. If you change the design, it can easily be re-uploaded for a nuovo preventivo immediato.

I prossimi passi

Additive manufacturing technology is constantly evolving. Selective laser melting (SLM) is one such evolving technology. Existing techniques continuously improve while completely new technologies are being developed. This means that additive manufacturing is never static. It’s a dynamic technology where staying on top of the latest trends is beneficial to finding price-optimizing opportunities.