TRUMPF, a German machine-tool maker, announced at Formnext last week that its TruPrint 5000 could print high-carbon steel or titanium alloys, while its new green laser pointer pulse products could print pure copper and other precious metals.
TRUMPF unveiled its new pulsed green laser in Frankfurt last week, demonstrating its ability to 3D print pure copper and other precious metals. The company says this breakthrough capability could be important for mechanical and plant engineering applications, as copper is well suited to manufacturing conductive inductors and heat exchangers.
Green laser technology is also used in jewelry because it can be used to print details of gold or other precious metals. “3D printers don’t waste precious gold and silver,” says Thomas Fehn, a salesman with TRUMPF’s Additive Manufacturing. In other words, jewelers can actually save money by reducing material waste.
To demonstrate how to print copper wires, TRUMPF connects the TruDisk 1020 disk laser to the TruPrint 1000 machine. In contrast to more conventional infrared lasers, green lasers have the right wavelength to melt and weld precious metals. As Fehn explains, “traditional systems use infrared lasers as a source of light, but their wavelengths are too long to weld highly reflective materials like copper and gold. This can be done with lasers in the green wavelength spectrum. ”
It’s worth noting that in addition to a new LaserProFusion system for polymer AM, EOS also showcased a new copper material at Formnext last week.
Preheat the printer to 500°C
At Formnext, TRUMPF also showed how its TruPrint 5000 3D printer preheats to 500°C high temperature steel and titanium alloys without risk of cracking or warping. This ability opens the door for manufacturers to manufacture molding tools, punches, and molds, which were previously barriers to AM.
High carbon steel, such as carbon tool steel 1. The 2343 is an extremely tough and durable material that is commonly used by tool and die manufacturers because of its properties and ability to dissipate heat. However, until now, it has been a challenging material in additive manufacturing due to the risk of cracking.