Electron Beam Melting is Hot

Custom Cranio-Maxillofacial implant

The Swedish Arcam AB, which produces 3D printers that use Electron Beam Melting, does not get much news coverage in the United States. However, the company's 2014 financial results show that it is one of the most interesting success stories in the 3D printing space.

Net sales for 2014 grew 70% over 2013 to $40* million while net income increased 57% to $6.8* million. The number of machines shipped grew from 25 to 35 and the order volume increased from 27 to 42. With five new orders in January, the Arcam is starting the year with a nice backlog.

Low Pressure Turbine blade in γ-titanium aluminide.

Courtesy of Avio Aero.

Arcam's machines use a powerful electron beam to selectively melt powdered metals, primarily Titanium and Cobalt. The most import applications are orthopedic implants and aerospace components.

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*Amounts converted from Swedish Kroner using Google Finance.

An Unforgettable Summer Job

In the summer of 1981, Carl Decker had completed his freshman year studying mechanical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. He traveled to Houston for a summer job with a machine shop that made parts for the nearby oil fields. Many of the parts were made from castings which had to be shaped using handcrafted molds. Decker recognized the need for a method to automatically create castings from CAD drawings and began thinking of ways it could be done.

By the time he was ready to graduate, in 1984, he had developed the idea of using a beam of energy, such as a laser, to melt particles into a solid 3D object. He continued to work on the idea, developed the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process and formed the company DTM Corp which was sold to 3D Systems in 2001. SLS continues to be an important part of the 3D System product line.

Selective Laser Sintering is a 3D printing method that uses a high powered laser beam to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic or glass into a solid layer. After each layer is fused, the part is lowered, a new layer of powder is applied on top of the first layer, and the fusing process is repeated. The bulk powder in the SLS machine is preheated to nearly the fusing temperature to reduce the amount of laser energy required.

Selective Laser Sintering Diagram from Wikipedia

The most common uses for SLS technology are rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing of complex or low volume plastic parts and fabrication of casting patterns.

When the SLS process is used to manufacture metal parts, it is usually called Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The Swedish company Arcam AB has a similar system which replaces the laser beam with an electron beam and is appropriately named Electron Beam Melting (EBM).  These processes are typically used to make parts for aerospace companies, personalized orthopedic implants and jewelry.

In 1993 Ely Sachs and Mike Cima of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a process that uses a powder bed like SLS, but binds the powder with glue injected using a print head similar to an inkjet printer. The process, which they named 3D Printing (3DP), was sold to Z Corp which was acquired by 3D Systems in January 2012. Z Corp created the first full color 3D printer by combining color print heads with the binder print head.

The invention of the SLS process by Carl Decker after three years of reflection on the idea he originally formed during his summer job is a great example of the need to let ideas simmer to allow the brain to connect the dots in a new and unique way.

What's cooking in the back of your mind?


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Additive Manufacturing Pioneers

Emma's "magic arms" were 3D printed.

In my last post of 2012, I made the observation that I would be following additive manufacturing, sometimes called 3D printing, closely in 2013. In that post, I noted that the technique had reached an inflection point where it would change manufacturing, distribution and marketing radically. Here are some of the most important companies in the industry.

• Stratasys Ltd. manufactures 3D printers that that use the Fusion Deposition Modeling method of extruding molten plastic in layers to build a part. In 2012, Stratasys merged with Objet Ltd. which builds machines that use a PolyJet process. The PolyJet process employs an ink jetting process to apply photo photopolymers in fine layers. Each layer is cured simultaneously with ultraviolet light.
• 3D Systems makes a variety of different 3D printers for personal and professional use. These machines can be used for manufacturing prototypes or final parts. The company was founded by Chuck Hull who invented Stereolithography, the original 3D printing technology. In early 2012, 3D Systems acquired Z Corporation which supplies machines that can build full color models.
• Arcam AB is a Swedish company that provides a unique technology for the production of metal parts. Electron Beam Melting builds parts layer-by-layer from metal powder melted by a powerful electron beam. The technology is used primarily in the medical, aerospace and defense industries.
• Mcor prints photo-realistic 3D parts from paper. This is the printer that Staples is market testing in some of their stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Renishaw is a UK based company with core skills in measurement, motion control, spectroscopy and precision machining. Their product line includes additive manufacturing technologies encompassing laser melting, vacuum casting and injection molding.
• ExOne calls their additive manufacturing process Digital Part Materialization and their machines are used for 3D printing of sand and metal materials.
• The NovoGen MMX Bioprinter™ from Organovo takes primary or other human cells and shapes them into 3D tissue for biological research. This technology was developed by a team led by Professor Gabor Forgacs from the University of Missouri in Columbia.
• Makerbot is a rapidly growing manufacturer of desktop personalized printers. The printers are used by engineers, designers, researchers and people who just like to make things.
• Shapeways is a 3D printing marketplace and community where individuals can make, buy and sell their own products. They 3D print everything on-demand which means that every order is customized and personalized.
• Cubify is a website from 3D Systems to encourage you to "express yourself in 3D!" You can look for something unique that has been 3D printed or design and print your own creations from scratch. If you want to print at home, the site encourages you to purchase a Cube 3D printer which is "plug-and-play easy and looks pretty nice on a worktable."
• Sculpteo offers a 3D printing service which is open to professionals or consumers. They can print from your 3D design or their community platform gives you access to 3D designers allowing you to share models, upload your own 3D designs and make them real through 3D printing.
• i.materialise believes that people have an inherent need to express themselves and provides 3D printing services for demanding designers and inventors. 
• Ponoko claims to be "the world's easiest making system" and offers both 2D laser cutting and 3D printer services.
• To make a file for additive manufacturing, you will need software. Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.

These are the companies that will change our world over the next decade. Are there any I should have included but missed?


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Focus for 2013

To Think Different, Read Different