6 3D-Printable Metals from ExOne

Industrial 3D printer supplier ExOne has introduced six new metal powders that can be used with its multi-material M-Flex and recently introduced Innovent machines. These printable materials are aimed at customers who are developing products using ExOne's binder-jetting technology, but who don't expect to use ExOne's post-processing services at its production service centers.

As we told you the last time we reported on new metals from ExOne, the company was working on several materials in different stages of development and continues to introduce new ones. The six new printable metal powders include cobalt-chrome, IN alloy 718, iron-chrome-aluminum, 17-4 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, and tungsten carbide.

The cobalt-chrome material is used wherever high wear-resistance is needed, in industries such as aerospace, cutlery, bearings, and blades. More recently, due to its high melting points, incredible strength at high temperatures, and excellent resistant properties, it's also being used in medical applications. Tungsten carbide is used mainly for carbide cutting tools, milling and turning tools, and high wear-resistant abrasives in metalworking, woodworking, mining, petroleum, and construction.

IN alloy 718's ability to retain its strength even when subjected to extreme environments and its oxidation and corrosion-resistant qualities make it popular in components for aerospace, chemical, and energy industries, such as gas turbine blades, filtration and separation, and heat exchanger and molding processes. Both of the stainless steels, 17-4 and 316, are widely used in automotive, medical, and general industrial markets. Iron-chrome-aluminum alloys are widely used in electrical furnaces, electrical ovens, home appliances, electrical heaters, and infrared environments.

Related articles on DesignNews.com

Materials for use at ExOne's eight production service centers in the US, Germany, Italy, and Japan are generally qualified for production printing at one of those centers. They may also be qualified at one of the company's research and development centers. These qualified materials are either sold commercially at the production centers in industrial densities or used for finished products printed at one of those centers. Currently available qualified materials for the M-Flex and the Innovent for direct printing include 420 stainless steel infiltrated with bronze, 316 stainless steel infiltrated with bronze. iron infiltrated with bronze, IN alloy 625, bronze, bonded tungsten, and glass. Silica sand and ceramic sand have also been qualified for indirect printing.

ExOne was one of a few 3D printer makers, including Stratasys and 3D Systems, chosen as initial members of the US government-sponsored America Makes, formerly the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).

Ann R. Thryft is senior technical editor, materials & assembly, for Design News. She's been writing about manufacturing- and electronics-related technologies for 25 years, covering manufacturing materials & processes, alternative energy, machine vision, and all kinds of communications.