Posted on 05/20/2014 5:56:16 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Professional 3D printer for metals and for sand casting medium sized parts.
Designed primarily as a metal 3D printer, ExOne’s M-Flex system is the company’s most comprehensive solution for finished product additive manufacturing. The M-Flex can print in stainless steel, bronze and tungsten and can also produce parts in silica and ceramic sand as well as glass.
Unlike many other metal 3D Printers, the M-Flex can rapidly print durable end-use parts. It can print component layers in as little as 30 seconds, which represents a ten-fold increase in speed over previous ExOne systems, making the M-Flex one of the fastest metal additive manufacturing machines.
The M-Flex uses ExOne’s Digital Part Materialization (DPM) process that uses a powdered material, a chemical binder and a digital file to create the end use part. The M-Flex can also produce sand molds that can be cast into metals that are not currently supported by the M-Flex system.
Complementing it’s core printing technology, ExOne also boasts that the M-Flex can come equipped with it’s own recycling equipment, curing oven and furnace, a one-touch user interface and a comprehensive multimedia training program. If more than one of any component is needed they can simply be added to the system. Given that variability, the price of an M-Flex system can range upwards from the base model price of $450,000.
Although ExOne is a smaller player in the world of AM when compared to 3D Systems and Stratasys, it is growing rapidly in terms of revenues and in terms of materials. In the first half of 2014 the company has announced its systems can now process Inconel alloys, broadening the applications their printers can meet. As more materials are added, more companies may choose to invest in an ExOne M-Flex to leverage metal AM for short run production.
An application for the M-FLEX – Deep Hole Drilling Equipment:
Deep hole drilling is fraught with pressure. Excavating soil, bedrock and other hard materials requires precisely design tools. What’s more, drilling tools have to be built to last. For every tool that’s broken, precious time is lost to recover and replace worn out or shattered equipment.
Ulterra is a drilling technology company that has rethought how they design their rotors and stators used in down hole applications. Previously, Ulterra machined their rotors using 4145 steel. While those rotors worked, the company wanted to improve the lifetime of their components to reduce system downtime.
Ulterra turned to additive manufacturing, employing an M-Flex machine to build a new generation of rotors from an S4 stainless/bronze alloy. After printing and testing a short run of rotors, Ulterra realized that their new parts would last significantly longer than those produced using traditional manufacturing methods. In addition to producing a more reliable product, Ulterra’s engineers also realized a substantial cost savings. According to in-house analysis, milling each rotor resulted in components that cost between $400 and $500. Once Ulterra introduced the M-Flex to their production scheme the cost of each rotor plummeted to between $75-$150.
By leveraging metal AM, Ulterra’s engineers not only reducing the cost of their components, they also improved their lifetime.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
I wonder if you can print a receiver out of metal. hmmmm
Already printing pistols.
Can you print springs?
No, not yet. Which means that the collection of parts above only resembles a gun, it isn't really a gun. Officer.
Heh.... That’s actually a really interesting question. I’m guessing not. A spring requires a specific alignment of molecules under some some specific temp and pressure. The wire for the spring could certainly be printed. But to really take on the properties of a spring it would have to be twisted and tensioned to fit its purpose.
This is huge. Not just for the one part but what it implies for a lot of other high performance high stress parts in the oil industry and heck in every other industry. While the cost decrease of the part is important...— even more important by many orders of magnitude is the savings in down time the come from longer lasting better performing parts. We’re talking a huge cost savings that will roll across the industry.
Political power grows out of the nozzle of a 3-D Printer.
I want one made out of titanium...
Not joking.
You and me both!
Interesting post!
Thanks again 2ndDivisionVet for keeping us all informed about new 3D printing news.
Your work is appreciated by many. :-)
Yeah, imagine having a 3D printer in a shed at a drilling site, construction site, military base or best yet, on an ocean platform or vessel so that no or few deliveries of parts are needed.
What is interesting to me is that it is now becoming possible to print the part using the absolute best alloy without then worrying about “how do I make a cutting tool to mill it, how long will it take, and how many tools will it take.”
What is interesting to me is that it is now becoming possible to print the part using the absolute best alloy without then worrying about “how do I make a cutting tool to mill it, how long will it take, and how many tools will it take.”
...................
Which means that there are not 10k tools in the parts department and a team of guys who have 10,000 hours each worth of experience learned to machine the parts to spec.
Instead there’ll be one guy with software it took him 100 hundred hours or less to learn proficiently to punch in the right code that the machine uses to spit out the part.
Yeah, imagine having a 3D printer in a shed at a drilling site, construction site, military base or best yet, on an ocean platform or vessel so that no or few deliveries of parts are needed.
...............
So, everything is always delivered just on time. Even on Mars. So there are few transportation costs.
You can see whole materials science centers focused on ways to source local materials for 3D projects.
New Process Recycles Milk Jugs Into 3D Printer Filament (10 cents per KG, vs. $50 now)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3130558/posts
Intricate 3D Printed Materials Lighter Than Water And As Strong as Steel
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3121897/posts
Could nanoprinting kick-start a world of versatile home manufacturing?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3121297/posts
Being able to print springs is not necessary for the 3D printing revolution to keep rolling on. As nice as it might seem to be able to push a button and have a completed gun pop out some time later, there are always going to be specific parts that are best made by another route.
As far as guns are concerned, it is not possible now, or in the foreseeable future to print ammunition. This doesn't mean a printed gun is useless, it just means that ammunition must be obtained through a different route.
Springs are similar, they are best obtained by a means other than printing. That doesn't mean that a printed gun can't be designed to use a spring that is commonly found in most hardware stores.
To me, we are just starting with the really big deal, which is parts that are designed to be made by 3D-printing. So far a lot of what we have seen is parts that were designed to be made by other technology being printed. When we start to see things which are designed to be printed, then we will realize the true potential of the technology.
3dprinting continues its progress with varying materials and even living cells. I’m looking forward to the 3d liver scheduled out this year and learning of the progress on the 3d heart.
Interestingly enough, that isn’t an idle or impossible request either. The DLSM system those guys made the stainless 1911 out of has a titanium alloy it can use with similar results from the steel one.
Just... lighter and stronger.
That appeals to me. :-)
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