气溶胶喷气打印（AJP）和激光工程网塑料（镜头）公司Optomechas announced an advancement in the capability of its LENS Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printers.
The development means that Optomec’s range of metal 3D printers can now be used to deposit any aluminum alloy, including those recently developed with improved properties for additive manufacturing. This presents opportunities to expand on the applications of the technology in the transportation and aerospace industries.
Updating LENS 3D printing technology
这家总部位于新墨西哥州的公司一直在不断开发其镜头技术的功能，2019年10月，Optomec推出了其镜头技术latest LENS deposition head, the LDH 3.X, to optimize the DED process.
LDH 3.X的增强功能是改进的频道，以改善水的头部，以及根据应用程序互换喷嘴类型的快速连接/断开喷嘴系统。
The LENS system was updated last yearto 3D print in copper，并且由于某些铜合与合金配方可用于生产火箭组件，因此这种未锁定的潜在航空航天应用。此后，Optomec宣布镜头3D打印技术将用于生产双金属火箭发动机零件以支持NASA’s mission to return to the moon in 2024.
Optomec’s metal 3D printers are also used for maintenance and repair and overhaul (MRO) purposes, and the company has been seeking to expand the potential applications of its LENS technology in this area. In February last year, a team at罗切斯特技术学院（RIT）使用Optomec的镜头技术repair a broken gear on a machinefrom the 1960s. Because Optomec’s metal 3D printing process uses a powdered alloy feedstock, the technology is able to print directly onto pre-made surfaces, and this allowed the team to repair the part which would otherwise have become scrap metal.
此外，该公司发布了independent studyhighlighting the benefits of using automated laser cladding for gas turbine engine repairs. The study outlined how utilizing the technology has helped MRO service centers and aircraft engine manufacturers make faster repairs while retaining high standards.
New applications of the LENS DED system
Optomec的镜头系统使用金属粉末原料，该原料通过喷嘴吹来，然后与激光阵列接触以生产3D打印零件。该系统的同时5轴系统可以生产具有复杂几何形状的铝合金零件，而无需支撑结构。
3D打印机使用具有非常低水平的氧气和水分的控制大气手套盒，用于沉积铝合金，可产生具有改善机械性能的零件。它的功能使其特别适合在预制的组件中添加新材料，这使其对MRO的应用程序有用。
The latest development of Optomec’s metal 3D printing process, allows for the repair of more complex aluminum alloy parts and a better surface finish, using powder-based DED. This makes the system more capable of creating the intricate structural parts required in the transportation and aerospace industries.
“Our engineers have developed process parameters for aluminum alloys to provide an excellent surface finish, high deposition rates and a density of ~99.9%,” said David Otazu, LENS Applications Engineer at Optomec.
3D打印行业的DED技术
几家公司开发了自己的DED技术，包括3D打印机制造商Additec. The company, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Bremen, Germany, has launched itsfirst desktop metal 3D printer. Using Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), a variation of DED technology, the μPrinter is capable of depositing wire and powder feedstock into complex geometries.
航天additive manufacturing companyNorsk Titaniumand global standards bodySAE Internationalreleased the第一技术规格为了做出的零件。Norsk Titanium使用其DED Rapid等离子体沉积（RPD）技术的变体，建造了波音公司的第一个结构支持的3D印刷组件 - 787 Dreamliner的上层晶石零件。
三菱重工机床s（Mhimt），子公司Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.（MHI），宣布其金属3D打印机的商业化in April 2019, featuring its LAMDA DED 3D printing technology. While Mitsubishi considered the first version of its machine to be entry-level, the company is working on a further two versions of the machine, the LAMDA 500 and LAMDA 2000, with larger build areas.
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Featured image shows Optomec’s LENS DED system printing aluminum powder onto an aluminum substrate. Photo via Optomec.
