3D metal printing is a new type of 3D printing, and it is commonly employed. Printing of metals comes in two different material combinations, which come with creation models with fusing metal powder or through using metallic filaments. Liquid-based materials are less common but based on bonded power application.
In this post, we will cover details for 3D printing material accuracy and related factors. Learn how to get quality 3D printing service. So let’s get started.
Metal 3D Printing Materials
- With the advancement of metal 3D printing technology, it is growing, and different materials are used. Some metallic materials are high-cost and difficult to manufacture through the following conventional methods.
- Commonly used materials for the metal 3D additive manufacturing process are superalloys, steel, copper, aluminum, and titanium.
Steel 3D Printing Material
- Steel is a commonly used metal in the 3D printing process. Steel provides a versatile nature and is used in accurate manufacturing processes where steel is the best option for making high-quality components.
- Commonly used steels for 3D printing are stainless steels and tool steels. These metals are high-cost and made with a difficult process.
Features of steel for 3D printing
- It has high strength and stiffness and comes with different material features.
- It handles heating conditions.
- excellent strength and stiffness
Stainless steel
- It is high-strength and high-stiffness steel that comes with high resistance since it has chromium. comonly used types of stainless steels are austenitic and martensitic for 3d printing service.
Austenitic stainless steels
- it is comonly used stainless steel that has high corrosion resistance and comes with machining and welded features but does not have heat treated features.
- 316L is a common 3D-printed stainless steel because it has high corrosion resistance.
Martensitic stainless steels
- It has high strength as compared to austenitic steels but has a brittle nature and low corrosion resistance. 17-4 PH is martensitic stainless steel that is heated for different material features commonly used during the manufacturing process.
FDM 3D Printing
- Fused deposition modeling, also known as fused filament fabrication, is a commonly used 3D printing process performed by users and professionals with 3D printers.
- This process is good for basic concept models and also high speed and low cost for machining components.
- Consumer-level FDM provides lower resolution and accuracy than the plastic 3D printing process and is not preferred for complex designs.
- through using mechanical polishing with a chemical combination. Industrial FDM 3D printers have soluble features for solving some errors and also provide different thermoplastics at variable costs.
- Melted filament makes layers; in some conditions, voids exist between layers if not properly applied. that make anisotropic components that are good for bearing loads and resistance for pulling
FDM 3D Printing Materials
- Commonly used FDM 3D printing materials are PLA and ABS, and they come in different blends. Advanced FDM printers printed using certain materials,s have high heat and chemical resistance with a rigid design.
ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
- It is a durable and strong design, has high heat resistance, uses a heated bed for printing, and operates with ventilation.
PLA (polylactic acid)
- It can easily print materials with a rigid design and a strong design but has a brittle structure. It is used for making prototype models.
PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol)
- It is supported with low printing temperature for providing high-speed manufacturing and chemical resistance with high transparency.
- It is used for snap-fit components and waterproof applications
Nylon
- It is lightweight, durable, and strong and has a flexible structure. It has resistance to heat and impact. It is complicated to print on FDM.
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane)
- It is a flexible design and has an elastic nature with good vibration dampening. It is used for flexible prototypes.
HIPS (high-impact polystyrene)
- It has a soluble nature and is employed with ABS and dissolved in the chemical limonene.
SLA 3D Printing
- Stereolithography is the first 3D printing technology, first used in the 1980s, and a very common technique to use.
- SLA provides high accuracy and resolution through providing clear design aspects with a smooth surface finish of the plastic 3D printing process.
- Resin 3D printing is best for high prototypes that need strong tolerance with a smooth surface, with different molds and designs.
- We can also process after finishing through polishing, painting, and coating and provide high-quality finishes.
- SLA 3D printing outputs parts that are isotropic and have constant strength according to the direction of chemical bonds between layers.
SLA 3D Printing Materials
- SLA 3D printing is a good feature that provides resin creation with optical, mechanical, and thermal features for engineering and industrial thermoplastics.
- Resin 3D printing comes with a larger spectrum of biocompatible materials.
- availability of materials based on printer and manufacturing process.
Standard Resins
- It has a high resolution, matte surface finish, and uniform design. used for prototypes
Clear Resin
- It has clear design materials used for plastic 3D printing, and polishes for optical transparency. It is used for components needing optical transparency. Microfluidics
Fast Model Resin
- It is a high-speed material that provides two to three times the 3D printing process of standard resin and ten times the speed of FDM. It is used for high-speed changes in the process.
Colored Resin
- It has colorful components, rapid prototyping with matching colors and materials, and good finishing. used for custom-colored end-use parts
Tough and Durable Resins
- It is accurate, working, strong in nature, and dynamic in nature, with handle that stretches and bends without damage.
- It has different materials like ABS or PE. Its common uses are housings and enclosures, jigs and fixtures, connectors, and wear-and-tear prototypes.
Rigid Resins:
- It is strong in nature, high-field, and stiff in nature and has resistance to bending. It is thermally and chemically resistant.
- It is stable in load conditions and common uses. Jigs, fixtures, and tooling, Turbines and fan blades Fluid and airflow components
Clear Cast Resin
- It has low thermal expansion and a highly accurate design.
Get the Best 3D Printing Material for Your Project
JUSTWAY 3D printing fabrication houses help to get the required materials according to applications and quality product features. Through their online 3d printing service, you can get
- Instant Quotes & DFM Feedback
- SLA, MJF, DLP, FDM, SLM, SLS, Poly Jet, SAF Technologies
- Manufacturing Low Volume Parts
Some features comparison of different 3D printing services are as
| SLA | SLS | MJF | FDM | SLM | |
| Lead time in days | From 1 days | From 2 days | From 2 days | From 2 days | From 2 days |
| Available materials | Resin / Somos | PA12 / PA12GB | HP-PA12 | PLA / ABS | Aluminum (AlSi10Mg) |
| Tolerances | +/- 0.2 mm | +/- 0.25 mm | +/- 0.25 mm | +/- 0.2 mm | +/- 0.3 mm |
| Max Part Size | 2100 x 800 x 700 mm | 400 x 390 x 390 mm | 380 x 380 x 284 mm | 1300 x 1300 x 1300 mm | 300 x 300 x 300 mm |
| Applications | Detailed visual prototypes | Functional and high-fidelity prototypes. | Functional and high-fidelity prototypes. | Low-fidelity, proof-of-concept prototyping and visual design verification. | Functional and metal prototypes. |
Titanium 3D Printing Material
- It is not a common material used for conventional manufacturing processes. Titanium has a good strength-to-weight ratio and high cost, so it is preferred for use in 3D printing processes.
- titanium printed cast two types like titanium alloys and pure titanium (known as CP Ti).
Features
- It has high heat resistance with good chemical resistance and a high strength-to-weight ratio.
Titanium Alloys
- Titanium provides good mechanical features when used with other metallic materials. The commonly used titanium alloy is Ti64 (Ti-6Al-4V), which is strong in nature and 40 percent lower in density compared to
- 17-4 PH stainless steel.
- It works well for high-temperature conditions and corrosion conditions. so used for industries that need high strength-to-weight ratios, such as high-performance vehicles.
Commercially Pure Titanium (CP Ti)
- Pure titanium has lower strength than titanium alloys, with high biocompatible features. It is used for orthopedic insertion with other medical projects.
Copper 3D Printing
- Copper comes with certain features that other 3D printing metals do not. It is used since it has better thermal and electrical conductivity than mechanical features.
- With the use of metallic 3D printing, we can make geometrically optimized copper components such as heat sinks, welding arms, and bus bars at low cost.
- Some manufacturers offer copper pruning services. Copper is printed in pure as well as alloyed form.
Features of Copper for 3D Printing:
- It is thermally and electrically conductive with ductile features.
Pure Copper
- Pure copper provides good thermal as well as electrical conductivity of copper alloy and is the best option to use.
- Its high conductivity and high laser reflectance make it an improper condition for laser-based systems.
- pure copper is used for bound powder extrusion machines.
Alloyed Copper
- This copper comes with a 1 percent alloy component. so used to printing through Powder Bed Fusion machines. This alloy also has a conductive nature and is a better option than pure copper. The common example of printable alloyed copper is C18150, an alloy with chromium and zinc.
Advantages of 3D Printing
- 3D printing helps to optimize different complex processes used for manufacturing conventional methods and industry processes.
- It makes direct, complicated designs and helps to find errors for modeling and structural design as possible and minimizes errors that exist in design.
- Through reworking and cumulative losses, it provides high efficiency of new creation of projects and increases quality results in the production line.
