2023-09-10 11:41:05
Thanks to improvements in the TruTops Print software, Trumpf metal printers can now also 3D print up to an overhang of 15 degrees without a support structure. One of the first customers to test the new software is toolcraft. Trumpf demonstrates support-free 3D metal printing at EMO Hannover 2023.
“Thanks to the new version of TruTops Print, we hardly need any support structures for 3D printing. This saves construction time and materials,” says Lukas Gebhard, Process Developer Additive Manufacturing at toolcraft. The German supplier is active with AM in the semiconductor industry, among other things. “Thanks to support-free printing, we almost never have to rework the parts.”
Internal cooling channels with large diameters or impellers can now be printed
Large diameter internal cooling channels
Lukas Gebhard says that with support-free 3D printing, Toolcraft is even able to realize projects that were previously impossible to 3D print. As an example, he mentions near net shape printing of internal cooling channels with a large diameter. Until now, this has not been possible without support. Even with difficult-to-machine materials, such as stainless steel, 3D printing with the high-tech company’s technology is in many cases possible without supporting structures. This is one of the new possibilities that arise thanks to the new software.
Broadening the scope of AM
The trick is to avoid both inherent tensions and overheating of the material in the overhang with the right lighting strategy, notes Timo Degen, Product Manager AM at Trumpf. With TruTops Print, the 3D printer exposes different parts of the part with the optimal strategy for each position on the build plate, eliminating the need for support structures. The improved gas flow of the new Trumpf 3D printers enables uniform process conditions and supports printing without support structures. There are many applications, but especially in hydraulic components, heat exchangers and tools. New applications include centrifugal compressors or so-called impellers, propellers with a shroud. Until now, manufacturers might only print fans with supporting structures because of their overhanging corners. “That is why 3D printing was not an economic alternative to conventional production. That has now changed,” says Degen.
Trump card is located in the Additive Manufacturing Area at EMO Hannover 2023. You can get free entrance tickets via this link
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