Binder jet 3D printing or binder jetting is an established metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology with notable advantages relative to other metal additive processes. Build times tend to be relatively fast, and large-scale structures are readily manufactured. Binding powder layers during processing, rather than thermally fusing them, avoids the build-up of residual stress in the finished component. Increasing the range of qualified metal powder feedstocks available for binder jetting is important as demand for this cost-effective technology grows.
ExOne (Pittsburgh, USA) is a global leader in binder jetting technology, providing printers, printed products and related services. The company routinely faces the challenge of assessing new metal powders from customers to determine how the technology will perform for a given application and is actively engaged in qualifying new materials.
In a recent article, published by Metal AM, we look at how ExOne has learned to differentiate powders that will print well from those that will not and the pivotal role of powder flow measurements in defining specifications.
Click here to read “Developing an Effective Metal Powder Specification for Binder Jet 3D Printing”.
For more information on the FT4 Powder Rheometer®, used in the study, please click here.
Image Copyright © Freeman Technology.