3D Printers

3 d印刷行业preview the Rapidia two-step metal and ceramic 3D printer

最近,邀请3D打印行业参观3D打印机OEM的温哥华总部Rapidia。In this visit, we were given a preview of the company’s new two-step metal and ceramic 3D printer. Using an FDM/FFF-based technology, that does not require any debinding, the Rapidia 3D printer is taking on fierce competition within the metal additive market.

DanGelbart, an electrical engineer, is the founder and president of Rapidia. Gelbart holds several prestigious awards and honorary doctorates fromSimon Fraser University不列颠哥伦比亚大学。他还是联合创始人Kardium,位于加拿大本那比的医疗设备制造商。

与基尔巴特和他说话team at Rapidia, I learned about the unique capabilities of the new system. Developed over the past three years, Gelbart says the Rapidia 3D printer “is the only system in the world that does not use loose powder and requires no debinding.”

“这是世界上唯一的[基于FDM的]系统,它是一个两步系统,而不是三个系统,其他所有人都有印刷,Debind,Sinter。这是印刷的,直接烧结。”

Rapidia Metal 3D系统,打印机和炉子。通过Rapidia图像。
Rapidia Metal 3D系统,打印机和炉子。通过Rapidia图像。

Office compatible metal 3D printing

The Rapidia 3D printer works like a dual extruder FDM/FFF 3D printer. Therefore, in terms of geometry, whatever is possible with a standard FDM printer can be achieved with Rapidia. To form an object, the Rapidia 3D printer builds directly on a mildly heated glass bed without the need for a base or a raft. Its feedstock is a water-based metal paste or ceramic clay.

Gelbart解释说:“我们是唯一使用水基金属的系统。”Gelbart强调的这种方法的显着竞争者是Desktop MetalandMarkforged, the difference being that their systems “use metal powder bound by polymers,” meaning debinding is needed. “The advantage of bound metal,” Gelbart adds, “is that you can make an office compatible system.”

使用用于原料的水基糊剂,印刷物体具有几个其他优势:对象can also be smoothed using a wet brush, allowing the use of coarser nozzles for faster printing. Water-based paste also enables a unique way of combining various parts to create a complex object. For example, a hollow object can be printed in three parts, base, midsection, and roof. Once printed these parts can be moistened and stacked on top of each other. After sintering in the furnace, the three parts fuse together to form a completely solid metal part. It is also possible to make a single object by combining freshly 3D printed and pre-machined objects.

在炉中,绿色部分的水含量简单地消失了。尽管这引起了金属零件的孔隙率的关注,但根据盖尔巴特(Gelbart)的说法:“烧结后,物体是固体金属,几乎没有孔隙率。在当前所有过程中,绿色或棕色的物体总是多孔的。孔隙率在烧结中消失。这就是为什么物体在烧结中缩小的原因。”

Rapidia 3D打印机技术规格

The Rapidia 3D printer can build parts as large as 200mm x 280mm x 200mm. It uses two independent extrusion heads which can be equipped with either a 0.4 mm or 0.6 mm diameter nozzle. The metal or ceramic paste is ejected out of the nozzles with the help of a high-pressure system enclosed in the bottom casing of the unit.

Two separate extruders allow printing of polymer-based supports which is beneficial for printing hollow bodies because the plastic support burns off during sintering.

除3D打印机外,Rapidia还生产了一个兼容的炉,其烧结量为235mm(内径)乘400mm(深度)。炉子是由10英寸触摸屏控制。因此,它具有预装的软件和烧结设置,因此几乎不需要操作员的技术知识。炉子和打印机都可以将它们插入常规的220-240 AC插头中 - 因此启动系统不需要特殊安装。对于北美装置,打印机将插入常规的120V墙壁插座,然后将炉子插入240V 50A插座中,与家庭厨房中的电子设备相同。

这是使Rapidia的金属系统安全的另一个方面。

A functional heat exchanger, 3D printed on Rapidia. Photo courtesy of Umair Iftikhar.
A functional heat exchanger, 3D printed on Rapidia. Photo courtesy of Umair Iftikhar.

See the Rapidia 3D printer firsthand

The Rapidia 3D printer is priced at $50,000 and the furnace costs $80,000. However, the printer and the furnace are independent units, and businesses who already own a furnace can buy only the Rapidia 3D printer.

从5月21日至23日,Rapidia将在北美最大的添加剂赛事中介绍其新系统Rapid + TCT 2019in Detroit, at booth 533.

When asked what he thinks will impress people most about the Rapidia metal 3D printer at the show, Gelbart emphasized, “The ability to fuse together different parts including machined parts and 3D printed parts is a huge benefit.”

“It will save a lot of money if you 3D print some of the pieces and stick them to machined parts. This is unique to this process. Also the ability to create complex internal structures by using evaporating supports is unique. Hand removable metal supports can not be removed from the inside of cavities.”

A 3D printed cog made on Rapidia. Image via Rapidia.
A 3D printed cog made on Rapidia. Image via Rapidia.

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Featured image shows the Rapidia metal 3D system. Image via Rapidia.