A team of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) researchers yesterday said they have developed a technology to produce a 3D metal printer and metal powders for 3D printing at one-fifth the cost of imported counterparts with a 90 percent yield rate, which the team said is the most competitive technology available on the market.
The team reached a breakthrough in selective laser sintering (SLS), a technique that uses a laser to sinter powdered material and bind the material together to create a solid structure, according to NCKU professors Chen Chieh-li (陳介力), Wang Muh-rong (王覺寬), Lee Sen-yung (李森墉) and Lo Yu-lung (羅裕龍), as well as National Yunlin University of Science and Technology professor Chang Shang-jye (張祥傑).
The team created a new laser scanner with multiple expander lenses that could correct the focus of the laser to boost the precision rate, Chen said, adding that the team also developed a core technology to produce iron-based and aluminum-based powders that have a diameter of between 18 and 25 micrometers with a 90 percent yield rate, which is the highest among all the existing SLS technologies.
The team’s 3D printer can stack layers of powder using a combination of rollers and coaters to increase the density of the metal layers and the integrity of the synthesized objects, Wang said.
Prices of metal powders used in 3D printing are 20 to 50 times more expensive than raw metals due to manufacturing difficulties, the team said, adding that while raw steel is sold at NT$120 (US$3.62) per kilogram, steel powder is priced at NT$3,600 per kilogram.
The team is able to produce a powderizer machine at one-fifth the cost of similar machines, significantly reducing the production cost of metal powder, Wang said, adding that it could supply metal powders at prices lower than those offered by any other manufacturer.
Currently, most 3D metal printers and metal powders are imported, and the team’s development gives Taiwan the ability to produce the printers and powders domestically, Ministry of Science and Technology Deputy Director-General Lin Yi-bing (林一平) said.
The team said it would launch a venture company next year with a manufacturing capacity of 500 tonnes of metal powders a year and an annual market value of NT$10 billion.
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