How to choose the right metal technology
Typically more than one suitable technology for each application
Choosing the right technology can be tricky. Selecting the right process always depends on your application and its requirements. Before presenting an overview of typical characteristics of the different technologies covered in this online learning program, we will present 2 common selection criteria: part dimensions and productivity.
What you will find in this section
Part dimensions
Part size is a simple first indication to narrow down possible technologies
One of the most common selection criteria for metal processes are part dimensions:
- Material Extrusion and Binder Jetting are mostly suitable for small components. Here the limitation results from the fragility of the green body and shrinkage during sintering.
- L-PBF and E-PBF can be used for small to medium-sized components. Standard industrial machines reach up to 400 mm in each dimensions, with few machines coming up reaching up to 1m in size.
- DED technologies such as Powder and Wire Energy Deposition and can be used for medium and large components. Parts can reach dimensions up to several meters and are mainly limited by machine design.
In general, the lower limit of part dimensions is restricted by the process itself. Fine features in the range of a tenth of a millimeter can be manufactured by L-PBF, where the resolution is in the dimension of the diameter of the laser spot. In Binder Jetting, high resolution printing heads and small powder particle distribution facilitates building fine features. In general, powder-based technologies have higher resolution than rod or wire-based technologies.
Productivity versus accuracy
Higher productivity often comes at the expense of lower accuracy
Metal AM technologies differ greatly in their productivity and accuracy. An increase in productivity often results in decreasing accuracy and resolution of the process.
While the specific application as well as the processing parameters have a significant influence on build speed, a simplified comparison of the productivity can be performed considering the built-up rate of volume per time (cm³/h).
In L-PBF, the productivity is mainly driven by the volume of material a laser melts per time interval. Certain materials, such as titanium alloys, already exhibit physical limitations in their melting speed at today’s available laser power. Thus, a further scaling of the processing speed can only be achieved through adding further laser beam sources or increased layer thickness but not by increasing the power per laser. For layer heights of around 50 µm, a single laser melts at a rate of 10 to 20 cm³/h of titanium or stainless steel powder, and aluminum alloys at a rate of 20 to 30 cm³/h. An increase in layer height can improve these figures while reducing resolution and surface quality. The time for applying a new layer of powder, ie. recoating, or taking pictures for quality assurance measures is non-productive and can sum up to a significant and costly portion of the total process time of 25% or more.
The productivity of Binder Jetting is highly driven by the passing time of its coating and printing head over the complete powder layer. Announced BJ machines from companies DESKTOP METAL and HP will include single-pass coating and printing of the full width of the build envelope. If single pass coating and printing is achieved the productivity of the system is depending on the packing density of parts in the build chamber. A high packing density of parts in the build envelope results in high productivity while accuracy stays constant. The above mentioned companies claim green body printing of several thousand cm³/h, however, they currently lack independent sources for empirical confirmation of such high speeds. For Besides printing, times required for depowdering and sintering need to be taken into account.
In ME the application rate of material is not only limited by the nozzle diameter, but for filament based systems also by the speed the metal filament can be mechanically handled. Conveying the brittle and fragile metal filament at high speeds can cause breakage and stop of the process. The material built-up rate is about 15 cm³/h.
For DED technologies the productivity is highly dependent on many different factors, such as system technology and part geometry as well as material and processing parameters. The duration for setup as well as necessary cooling phases during the build, which are highly dependent from part geometry, can range from neglectable duration up to 50 % or more of the total processing time. Such an increase has a subsequent negative impact on the productivity.
In Powder Laser Energy Deposition, the nozzle diameter impacts the resulting resolution of the process and the overall productivity. The material built-up rate ranges from about 50 to 500 cm³/h. Wire Electric or Plasma Arc processes typically exhibit built-up rates of about 100 to 800 cm³/h, however, with a decrease in accuracy compared to the powder feed process. For Wire Electric Arc Energy Deposition as well as Coldspray technology, the material built-up rate can exceed 1,000 cm³/h.
Technology comparison
How do the different metal technologies compare?
We therefore created an overview of the main metal technologies below that will help you choose the right technology for your needs. You can dive deeper into the different metal technologies at the bottom of this page.
Keep in mind that the values given below should only provide you a general rule of thumb – within each technology the exact values will differ depending on machine and material.
ME
BJT
L-PBF
E-PBF
LMD
WAAM
Process Category
Extrusion
Binder Jetting
Powder Bed Fusion
Directed Energy Deposition
Typical Part size
15-150 mm
5-50 mm
15-300 mm
20-300 mm
100-1000 mm
0.2-2 m
Typical Productivity
5-50 cm³/h
10-1000 cm³/h
10-30 cm³/h (per laser)
15-50 cm³/h
50-500 cm³/h
100 -1000 cm³/h
Supports
Needed to print, debind & sinter
Not needed, may improve sinter
Usually required for low angles
Usually required for low angles
Typically not needed
Typically not needed
Surface Roughness
Ra 5-20 µm
Ra 3-5 µm
Ra 5-10 µm
Ra 15-25 µm
Ra 20-175 µm
Waviness >1 mm
Typical layer thickness
0.1-1 mm
50-120 µm
25-90 µm
~50 µm
0.1-1.5 mm
~3 mm
How to get started
Usually more than one process for your application
The above table should provide you a general guideline how to get started selecting the right process. Keep in mind that often there is more than one process for your application. There are different databases, such as the SENVOL Database of Industrial AM machines and materials or the ANIWAA AM marketplace. These databases will allow you to narrow down the list of possible machines or materials by applying filters such as your material category, part dimensions or required part properties.
Once you have one or several technologies in mind, the next step is to reach out to an AM expert to discuss this in more detail.