MarketsandMarkets 最近的一份研究報(bào)告顯示，2019 年，全球 3D 打印金屬市場的估值約為 7.74 億美元。這家研究公司預(yù)計(jì)，未來，3D 打印金屬市場將以 32.5% 的復(fù)合年增長率持續(xù)增長，并在 2024 年達(dá)到 31 億美元以上。該報(bào)告指出，在這種增長背后，主要原因是航空航天、國防和汽車終端行業(yè)對(duì)3D 打印金屬的需求不斷增加，以及 3D 打印技術(shù)在降低制造成本和縮短交貨時(shí)間等方面所體現(xiàn)的優(yōu)勢。
此外，3D 打印技術(shù)能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)增長的另一個(gè)關(guān)鍵原因是其在質(zhì)量保證方面的能力：金屬增材制造設(shè)備必須能夠始終如一地生產(chǎn)質(zhì)量高度穩(wěn)定的零部件。“隨著越來越多 OEM 不再滿足于單純的產(chǎn)后檢測，生產(chǎn)過程中的質(zhì)量監(jiān)控和質(zhì)量保證已經(jīng)成為了眾多解決方案提供商的工作重點(diǎn)。”Velo3D 技術(shù)合作副總裁 Zach Murphree 博士表示，“測量機(jī)械完整性、檢測表面缺陷和孔隙度對(duì)于零件質(zhì)量至關(guān)重要，每個(gè)解決方案提供商都需要認(rèn)真考慮如何解決這些難題，到時(shí)候誰能拿出適用于關(guān)鍵組件的質(zhì)量控制解決方案，誰就能最終勝出。設(shè)備廠商和第三方供應(yīng)商都應(yīng)著力于解決 OEM 的痛點(diǎn)。”
目前，Sigma Labs 等公司已經(jīng)開始提供可以在生產(chǎn)過程中實(shí)時(shí)監(jiān)控生產(chǎn)設(shè)備的技術(shù)。Sigma Labs 總裁兼首席執(zhí)行官 John Rice 最近在接受NetworkNewsAudio 采訪時(shí)說，“我們的硬件/軟件包可以觀察并評(píng)估生產(chǎn)過程，并且利用熱信息，及時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)生產(chǎn)過程中零部件規(guī)格出現(xiàn)偏離的情況。”他說，“我們可以識(shí)別質(zhì)量問題發(fā)生的前兆，并及時(shí)提醒設(shè)備操作員及時(shí)停止生產(chǎn)并作出修正，從而降低零部件報(bào)廢或生產(chǎn)受限的情況。”
Rice 提到，如何保證質(zhì)量是行業(yè)面臨的“主要挑戰(zhàn)”，但他同時(shí)認(rèn)為公司的PrintRite3D 5.1 等技術(shù)可以助力金屬 3D 打印技術(shù)最終改變制造業(yè)的整個(gè)格局。“你可以用 20 或 40 個(gè)零件拼湊成你想要的部件，也可以使用 3D 金屬制造工藝直接把你想要的部件一次性打印出來，無論這個(gè)部件的幾何形狀多么復(fù)雜、性能要求多么高。”他說，“這將完全改變未來工廠的運(yùn)作配置方式。到時(shí)候?qū)⒉粏螁斡杏赏暾a(chǎn)線組成的傳統(tǒng)工廠，還會(huì)出現(xiàn)徹底改變零部件分配方式的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)（IoT）工廠，就像亞馬遜和沃爾瑪所做的那樣。”
Sigma Labs 目前擁有六家企業(yè)公司，包括三家 OEM 和三家終端用戶，預(yù)計(jì)將在 2020 年初完成設(shè)備的測試和評(píng)估環(huán)節(jié)。”Rice 表示，“2020 年將是收獲市場的一年。”
需要解決的挑戰(zhàn)
金屬增材制造行業(yè)需要在 2020 年開展哪些工作？這是增材制造系統(tǒng)提供商 Velo3D 向多位增材制造專家（非客戶）拋出的問題，目的在于更好地了解這些專家對(duì)明年市場發(fā)展的見解。這項(xiàng)調(diào)查還揭示了一系列為了讓市場充分發(fā)揮潛力而仍需解決的領(lǐng)域。
Xometry 應(yīng)用工程總監(jiān) Greg Paulsen 表示，客戶教育和預(yù)期管理非常重要。“市場中仍存在很多有關(guān)增材制造的定義、可以打印的產(chǎn)品以及最佳使用方法的混淆。”他說，“市場教育仍任道重遠(yuǎn)，如何保證技術(shù)的一致性和可重復(fù)性也值得討論。隨著粉末熔覆（PBF）、沉積和粘合劑噴射等新技術(shù)的出現(xiàn)，我們需要團(tuán)結(jié)整個(gè)制造社區(qū)，幫助新用戶了解每種技術(shù)的特有價(jià)值以及優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)。”
根據(jù) MarketsandMarkets 的預(yù)測，在報(bào)告的預(yù)測范圍內(nèi)，粉末熔覆（PBF）將在 3D 打印金屬市場中占據(jù)最大份額。該技術(shù)的增長主要憑借其通過先進(jìn) CAD 流程（如拓?fù)鋬?yōu)化）創(chuàng)建詳細(xì)的、輕量級(jí)零件的能力。該報(bào)告還預(yù)測，未來四年內(nèi)，鈦材料將在 3D 打印金屬市場中占據(jù)最大份額。這種材料的高抗沖擊性和耐高溫性都是運(yùn)輸行業(yè)非常重視的特性。
近年來，盡管增材制造材料和加工技術(shù)方面均出現(xiàn)了重大進(jìn)展，但仍有較大的改進(jìn)空間。奧鋼聯(lián)公司（voestalpine）材料科學(xué)家 Yuan Tian 博士表示，“未來預(yù)計(jì)將有更多不可焊接材料選擇增材制造，比如 Stellite6 和 Inconel738 等。”他說，“激光粉末熔覆（LPBF）工藝還必須在表面光潔度、變形控制和后加工成本方面做的更好，而且還必須更好地減輕印刷過程中的應(yīng)力，并降低對(duì)支撐結(jié)構(gòu)的需求。”Tian 對(duì)未來市場的期望主要集中在以下幾個(gè)方面：體積更大的電子束熔化（EBM）室，繼續(xù)提高打印精度，更好地控制 Binder Jet 工藝的收縮問題，以及直接打印大型零部件而無需配合定向能量沉積（DED）工藝的能力。
根據(jù) Velo3D 公司的Murphree 的說法，我們需要在零件的幾何形狀上發(fā)揮更大的想象力，而這也會(huì)進(jìn)一步推動(dòng)打印機(jī)的發(fā)展。他說，“我們行業(yè)必須學(xué)會(huì)忘記一些根深蒂固的限制。除此之外，我們不但需要共同開發(fā)更先進(jìn)的設(shè)計(jì)工具，并且還需將這些設(shè)計(jì)工具更好地應(yīng)用至打印的準(zhǔn)備工作中，比如如何將這些設(shè)計(jì)工具和生成 3D 打印構(gòu)建文件的軟件緊密聯(lián)系起來。未來使用 .stl 文件格式的情況會(huì)繼續(xù)減少，但目前還沒有其他廣為接受的替代格式。”
此外，我們還必須提高激光粉末熔覆（LPBF）等工藝的產(chǎn)量。Divergent 增材制造部門的實(shí)施負(fù)責(zé)人 Taylor Doty 表示：“LPBF 系統(tǒng)必須提高打印速度，并提供更大的打印室，這樣才能充分發(fā)揮金屬增材制造方面的潛力。”他說，“具體來說，通過嵌套，也就是將部件堆疊在一起，來提高構(gòu)建密度的能力將對(duì)提高打印速度和生產(chǎn)效率至關(guān)重要。不過，這種嵌套必須用到支撐結(jié)構(gòu)件，而你從設(shè)計(jì)零部件的時(shí)候就必須提前考慮到未來生產(chǎn)中要用這些支撐件的情況。”
一些專家指出，行業(yè)整合是不可避免的。增材經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)金屬增材制造專家 Alex Kingsbury 表示，目前，增材制造業(yè)涌現(xiàn)了大量來自不同設(shè)備提供商的增材制造設(shè)備，各種模態(tài)類型和材料應(yīng)有盡有。“在此背景下，這些企業(yè)必須清楚地向市場傳達(dá)自己的價(jià)值主張，否則很難脫穎而出。”他說，“在這個(gè)市場中，克服成本壓力、提高材料靈活性、突破制造限制都將是非常具有吸引力的價(jià)值主張。最終，我們將在增材制造行業(yè)中看到更多整合，但目前還需耐心等待。”
差異化將是企業(yè)生存的關(guān)鍵。Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies 董事兼共同所有人 Eric Miller 表示，“LPBF 市場中的公司太過飽和了，但都大同小異，很難看到真正的差異化。”他說，“未來，誰能證明他們可以降低成本、提高質(zhì)量并保證穩(wěn)定生產(chǎn)，誰就可以取勝。誰無法找到自己的真正差異性，誰就很容易從 2020 年開始出現(xiàn)錢不夠燒的情況。”
金屬粉末的發(fā)展
目前，6K（前身為 Amastan Technologies）等公司正在開發(fā)用于增材制造的新型先進(jìn)材料。據(jù) 6K 公司表示，該公司的 UniMelt 微波等離子平臺(tái)是世界首個(gè)可以利用可持續(xù)資源，生產(chǎn)增材制造粉末的系統(tǒng)。6K公司的工藝可以將經(jīng)過認(rèn)證的化學(xué)加工切屑、銑屑等可回收原料，轉(zhuǎn)化為優(yōu)質(zhì)的金屬粉末，用于增材制造。
6K 公司首席執(zhí)行官 Aaron Bent 表示，“增材制造行業(yè)要想大幅提升零部件生產(chǎn)的規(guī)模，并擴(kuò)大應(yīng)用場景，粉末原料的生產(chǎn)技術(shù)必須首先取得進(jìn)步，這樣才能提供更強(qiáng)大的商業(yè)案例。”他說，“具體來說，粉末的總成本結(jié)構(gòu)必須更低，性能必須更高，而這兩點(diǎn) 6K 的工藝都能實(shí)現(xiàn)。不過，我們不能止步于此，而是要從構(gòu)建增材制造零件的完整生產(chǎn)周期出發(fā)，提供更合適的粉末原料和商業(yè)模式。”
該公司還計(jì)劃利用增材制造過程本身中的支撐結(jié)構(gòu)件和打印報(bào)廢品等材料作為原料，生產(chǎn)增材制造粉末。Bent 表示，我們的目標(biāo)是 100％ 地利用進(jìn)入供應(yīng)鏈的所有材料，為增材制造的最終用戶提供一種新的項(xiàng)目成本管理和供應(yīng)鏈控制方式，并同時(shí)朝著實(shí)現(xiàn)增材制造循環(huán)經(jīng)濟(jì)的方向發(fā)展。
6K 公司的 Alloy Reclamation 合金回收技術(shù)可以從減材制造等過程中回收金屬和合金。目前，該團(tuán)隊(duì)已經(jīng)可以每年從航空航天、醫(yī)療和汽車產(chǎn)品的鋁合金行業(yè)中回收并銷售超過 500 噸的 Ti-64。這家公司聲稱，他們可以針對(duì)不同的增材制造工藝，比如 MIM、LPBF、EBM、DED 或 Binder-jetting 粘合劑噴射等，提供不同尺寸的金屬粉末，從而達(dá)到接近 100% 的 UniMelt 工藝產(chǎn)出率，比氣體霧化工藝高 3 到 4 倍。
“這意味著所有經(jīng)過加工的合金都可以成為增材打印的粉末原料，”Bent 說，“此外，我們還可以創(chuàng)造以前無法想象的新型增材制造粉末：從非共晶合金（如高熵合金）制造的粉末，到可以在粉末熔覆系統(tǒng)中進(jìn)行打印的鋁合金粉末等。”目前，6K 公司正在建設(shè)一個(gè)具有全球領(lǐng)先水平的增產(chǎn)制造粉末生產(chǎn)設(shè)施，占地 40,000 平方米，預(yù)計(jì)將在 2020 年第一季度投產(chǎn)。
作者：Ryan Gehm
本文原發(fā)表于SAE《卡車與非公路工程》雜志
The global 3D-printing metals market was estimated to be US $774 million in 2019, according to a recent research report by MarketsandMarkets. The research company projects the market to reach more than US $3.1 billion by 2024, at a compound annual growth rate of 32.5% from 2019 to 2024. Driving this growth is the increasing demand for 3D-printed metals from aerospace & defense and automotive end-use industries, low manufacturing cost, and reduction in lead times, the report says.
Another key factor that will influence growth is quality assurance: metal additive manufacturing (AM) machines must be able to consistently produce a high level of repeatable quality parts. “In-process quality monitoring and assurance must be a stronger focus for solution providers as OEMs want to move away from 100% post-inspection,” said Dr. Zach Murphree, VP of technical partnerships, Velo3D. “Measuring mechanical integrity and detecting surface defects and porosity are vital for part quality, and every solution provider needs to seriously think about how their solution will do that. Whoever is able to do that for mission-critical components is going to win. Machine OEMs and third parties will need to address these needs through their product roadmaps.”
Companies like Sigma Labs are beginning to offer technology that allow real-time monitoring of machines as parts are being made. “Our hardware / software package is observing and assessing what is going on in there, and we are able to extract from thermal information when a part is beginning to drift out of specification,” said Sigma Labs president and CEO John Rice in a recent interview with NetworkNewsAudio, a NetworkNewsWire solution. “We can spot the precursors of a quality problem. We can alert the machine operator, who can stop it and make a correction and save the part and very often save the build.”
Rice believes quality challenges are the industry’s “major roadblock,” but feels technology like the company’s PrintRite3D 5.1 will help metal 3D printing eventually transform the manufacturing landscape. “Today you can find a subassembly of 20 or 40 parts, and you can use 3D metal manufacturing to make that whole assembly as one part, and it can have very complex geometry and very high-performance standards,” he said. “It will lead to a different configuration of how factories work in the future. You will not only have traditional factories with a whole line of manufacturing machines, but you will also have internet of things (IoT) factories where, in the same way that the distribution of parts has been completely changed by Amazon and Walmart, so this technology can change the distribution of manufacturing.”
Sigma Labs currently has six enterprise companies – three OEMs and three end users – that were expected to complete the test and evaluation phases of equipment in their shops in early 2020. “2019 was about getting into the market,” Rice said, “and 2020 is about harvesting the market.”
What does the metal AM industry need to work on in 2020? This is the question additive-manufacturing system provider Velo3D asked of a variety of non-customer AM experts, seeking insights about developments coming in the next year. The survey uncovered a range of areas that still need to be addressed for the market to reach its full potential.
Education and managing expectations will be important, according to Greg Paulsen, director of application engineering, Xometry. “There is still a lot of confusion on what it is, the printed product, and how to best use it,” he said. “Education, paired with more consistent and repeatable technologies, will go a very long way for the field. As new tech emerges in powder bed fusion (PBF), deposition, and binder jetting, we need to work together as a manufacturing community to help new users understand the value of each, as well as their trade-offs.”
PBF is expected to be the largest segment of the 3D-printing metals market during MarketsandMarkets’ forecast period. The technology’s growth can be attributed to the ability to create detailed, lightweight parts through advanced CAD processes, such as topology optimization. The report also projects that titanium will account for the largest share of 3D-printed metals in the next four years. Titanium’s high impact and high-temperature resistance are attractive properties for transportation sectors.
Though significant advances in materials and processing technology have been made in recent years, more improvements are still necessary. “Expect the addition of more non-weldable materials that can be additively manufactured in certain methods, such as Stellite 6 and Inconel 738,” said Yuan Tian, Ph.D. materials scientist, voestalpine. “The LPBF (laser powder bed fusion) process also has to advance in the areas of surface finish, deformation and cost of post-machining; there has to be a better way to stress relieve during the printing process as well as reduce support structures.” Tian also would like to see a larger chamber with electron beam melting (EBM), improvements in accuracy, the ability to print larger parts without bending with directed-energy deposition (DED), and better control of shrinkage with Binder Jet.
Geometric possibilities for parts will need to expand, and printer capabilities pushed further, according to Velo3D’s Murphree. “As an industry, we will need to unlearn certain constraints. This will also require the co-development of advanced design hardware, and a tight integration between these design tools and the print preparation and build-file generation software. Use of the .stl file format will continue to decline, but without there being a single accepted replacement,” he said.
Another must is increasing throughput for processes like laser powder bed fusion. “The LPBF systems will need to have higher print rates and larger build envelopes to open up more possibilities in metal AM,” said Taylor Doty, implementation leader, additive manufacturing, Divergent. “Specifically, the ability to nest parts – i.e., stack them on each other, for higher build density – will be important for speed and increased efficiency. But that requires manipulation of support structures and designing parts with these factors in mind.”
Several experts note that industry consolidation is inevitable. Additive manufacturing has experienced a huge proliferation of new machine suppliers across all AM modality types and materials, said Alex Kingsbury, metal AM specialist, Additive Economics. “These businesses will only be successful where they can clearly articulate a value proposition to the market,” Kingsbury said. “A compelling value proposition in this market will be overcoming challenges around cost, materials flexibility, and manufacturing constraints. Eventually we will see more consolidation of the industry, but for now it’s a sit-and-wait game.”
Differentiation will be key to companies’ survival. “The LPBF market is too crowded with too many companies that have nothing to differentiate them,” said Eric Miller, principal and co-owner, Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies. “Whoever proves that they can decrease cost and increase quality with consistent results will win. All of these other companies with small tweaks and differences that don’t make a big difference, they are going to start running out of money in 2020.”
Many companies like 6K (previously known as Amastan Technologies) are developing new advanced materials for additive manufacturing. The company’s UniMelt microwave plasma platform can now produce what 6K claims is the world’s first AM powders derived from sustainable sources. 6K’s process converts certified chemistry machined millings, turnings and other recycled feedstock sources into premium AM-ready metal powder.
“If the AM industry is to succeed in expanding to a far greater number of parts and market applications, powder production technology has to advance to provide a far stronger business case,” said Aaron Bent, CEO at 6K. “Part of enabling that expansion will come from a lower total cost structure and higher performance powders, both of which are possible with 6K’s process. But we need to go beyond that, to powders and business models that consider the full production cycle cost of building AM parts.”
The company plans to extend its capability to feedstock created from AM support structures, non-conforming AM parts post-print, and other unique inputs. Its goal is to use 100% of the materials that enter the supply chain, providing AM end-users a new way to manage project costs and control supply chain, while also progressing toward a circular economy in AM, said Bent.
6K’s Alloy Reclamation technology can reclaim metals and alloys from subtractive manufacturing and other operations. The team is already reclaiming and selling over 500 tons of Ti-64 per year into the aluminum alloying industry for aerospace, medical, and automotive products. 6K claims it can specifically target the powder size distribution to the AM process of need: MIM (metal injection molding), LPBF, EBM, DED or Binder-jetting, thus enabling almost 100% UniMelt process yield, as much as 3-4 times higher than gas atomization.
“This now means that any alloy that is machined has the potential to become powder,” said Bent. “Furthermore, we can create new AM powders previously not possible: powders engineered from non-eutectic alloys such as high-entropy alloys, or designer aluminum alloys capable of printing in powder bed fusion systems.” The company is in the process of building a state-of-the-art 40,000 sq. ft. production facility for AM powders, which was scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2020.
By Ryan Gehm
SAE Truck & Off-Highway Engineering
Velo3D 的金屬打印工藝可以為汽車、航空航天、石油和天然氣等行業(yè)，生產(chǎn)幾何形狀復(fù)雜的零部件，圖中就是幾個(gè)例子。（圖片來源：Velo3D）
Sigma Labs 開發(fā)了一種專有的硬件和軟件技術(shù)，可以使用熱讀數(shù)來檢測和預(yù)測 3D 打印過程中的異常情況。（圖片來源：SigmaLabs）
PrintRite3D Inspect 采用了新的熱能密度（TED）算法，可提供以 100 微米為單位的分辨率。（圖片來源：SigmaLabs）
6K 公司的 UniMelt 微波等離子平臺(tái)已經(jīng)可以利用可持續(xù)資源，生產(chǎn)增材制造所需的原料粉末。（圖片來源：6K）
6K 可針對(duì) MIM、LPBF、EBM、DED 或 Binder-jetting 粘合劑噴射等各種主流增材制造工藝，提供尺寸合適的專用粉末。（圖片來源：6K）