3D printing with steel – The INSIDE metal AM project explained

You think 3D printing with steels could be an innovative and efficient technology for your company? Considering an investment in additive manufacturing equipment or start exploring in collaboration with a printing service provider?

Often these questions are the start of a journey towards the potential use of additive manufacturing (AM). The intention to start using AM can come to you after having seen applications that were developed in other industries or because you are convinced your company should adopt this new and exciting technology. And then … once you start digging deeper you realize there is a lot more to it. In a recent survey performed by Flam3D, companies from different industries and sizes have stated that the “lack of internal expertise and know-how regarding AM” is an important obstacle for them to go ahead. But there is good news! Thanks to funded Flemish initiatives such as the recently finalized INSIDE metal AM project you do not have to have to build up all the required know-how on your own. The experience gathered within these projects and the support given by experts from organizations such as the Belgian Welding Institute, CRM Group and Sirris can also help your company to successfully select the application suited for AM and in a next step identify and implement the right technologies for the job.

As mentioned before, preparing the purchase of a 3D printer, or selecting a service provider that fits your needs, is merely the start. If you want to accomplish a successful 3D-printed product, there are various activities other than the actual printing that have to be taken into account.

The INSIDE metal AM project doesn’t answer all the business and technology related questions you might have on this rapidly evolving subject. It does however cover many key aspects and activities relevant for current and future users of metal AM. The information and gathered experience has been compiled in reports and other documents for communication purposes. These include amongst other (1) information on raw materials and their quality control; (2) processability info obtained while manufacturing simple geometries; (3) industrial demonstrators produced by different relevant AM technologies (L-PBF, LMD and WAAM); (4) information on obtainable material characteristics for several relevant steels (316L, 17-4PH, H11, 2209 duplex steel), demonstrating their performance; (5) a study on the impact of heat treatment and (6) an overview of surface postprocessing efficiency (tribo-finishing, electrolytic polishing etc.).

Want to know more?
Meet them during the webinar on 22/02/2021 from 13h30 to 16h to discover this project in more detail and have the opportunity to Q&A with the project team.
Webinar – 3D printing with steel | Sirris
Feel free to contact them directly with any questions you might have, they will be happy to help out or discuss your ideas.

Frederik Hendrickx & Norberto Jimenez (CRM Group) & Jeroen Tacq (Sirris)

norberto.jimenez@crmgroup.be | jeroen.tacq@sirris.be

This project has been realised with the support of VLAIO and the Strategic Initiative Materials (SIM).