When did metal additive manufacturing start?
Additive Manufacturing History: From the 1980's to Now
History of Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
Link to Kingsun The first additive manufacturing system appeared in the 1980s — from there, additive manufacturing has taken off, branching out into several different types of technologies for turning CAD files into 3D physical objects. Heading towards the end of the Cold War in the United States in the 1980s, military funding exploring science and industrial technologies increased. This led to the exploration of a diverse range of ideas and concepts with innovative potential — one of these was additive manufacturing. In the early 1980s, Dr. Hideo Kodama, an inventor, took the knowledge from 3D scanning and the layering pattern from 3D topographical maps, to create the prototyping machine. In 1984, Charles Hull developed the material Stereolithography Apparatus known as SLA. He went on to establish the first 3D printing company in 1986, that then produced the first 3D printing machine in the year 1987 — printing layer by layer using Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA). Thus, commercialized availability of additive manufacturing and 3D printing for manufacturers was born. Following the release of this first 3D printer, inventors and creators began researching new methods and techniques for additive manufacturing. In 1991, three new, different additive manufacturing technologies were commercialized. Scott Crump invented a technology called fused deposition modeling (FDM), and founded his own company called Stratasys. A company called Cubital released a technology known as solid ground curing (SGC). An additive manufacturing technology called laminated object manufacturing (LOM) was introduced by a company called Helisys. In the 2000s, more companies and enthusiasts took a keen interest in the capabilities and fundamental process benefits offered by 3D printing. Thus, the race to build the best machine and become a leader in the industry had begun. A new company called RepRap emerged in 2005 by professor Adam Bowyer from the University of Bath. The company specialized in making self-replicating machines. This open-source project led to the eventual proliferation of desktop fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers. This turn in the industry influenced a company called MakerBot to produce DIY kits in 2009, for hobbyists interested in the idea of trying 3D printing to create models and build functional working parts for DIY projects. After hobbyist interest generated significant hype, another 3D company formed: Prusa Research was founded in 2011 and developed the Prusa i3 design, based upon the company’s early work on the RepRap machine. With the Prusa i3 3D Printer now on the market, MakerBot sought to be a contender, making the Replicator 2, which was released in late 2012. This machine became the world’s most popular 3D printer at the time.
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As MakerBot continued its success, the creators of FDM, Stratasys, merged with another company (Objet) in 2012, and then subsequently acquired MakerBot in 2013. During this time period, available additive manufacturing solutions were characterized by several issues: cheap printers were unreliable and lacked the mechanical properties for high-value applications, while industrial 3D printers were not affordable to the majority of relevant manufacturers.
Markforged entered the industry in 2013 with a revolutionary 3D printer design and the ability to use methods such as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR), which allowed parts to be printed quickly and accurately with a variety of innovative material options. Markforged’s proprietary CFR technology added strength to parts and introduced composite parts strong enough to replace metal parts: quicker, and for much cheaper. Markforged introduced the Mark One at Solidworks World 2014 with an anodized aluminum enclosure and native cloud-based slicing and control.
Metal Additive Manufacturing history
Development of metal AM systems
BJT and DED technologies stood in the shadow of PBF for nearly two decades
One of the ancestors of modern LB-PBF was the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technology introduced in 1994 by system manufacturer EOS. EOS was already producing SLS machines, when they adapted their machine technology to print metal parts from two component metal powders in a liquid phase sintering process. The process allows a one-step AM production by melting the low melting matrix material (often copper or bronze) around the steel particles. In the late 90s first developments with high energy fiber lasers were conducted to melt one component metal alloys directly in the AM process. In 1999 FOCKELE & SCHWARZE introduced the first Selective Laser Melting system. Quickly CONCEPT LASER, EOS and in 2003 TRUMPF followed with their own systems using laser energy to directly melt metal alloys. All of the early adopters of this principle are still existing as machine manufacturers today, although some have been re-branded or bought. Only TRUMPF discontinued its engagement in PBF from 2006 to 2014 due to limited market size and prospects in machine sales. Additionally to the Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion developments, Swedish company ARCAM developed their Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion technology and introduced 2002 the first commercial system.
Parallel to the PBF activities in Europe, mainly Germany, USA based company EXTRUDE HONE introduced the first sinter-based metal AM system in 1999. The technology was adopted from Binder Jetting using a metal powder, which in a subsequent sinter process was densified to a metal part. Metal BJT stood in the shadow of PBF technologies for nearly 20 years until HP and DESKTOP METAL announced their commitment to enter the AM market.
Direct Energy Deposition technologies have been used in coating applications for many decades. One of the first dedicated AM systems was sold by OPTOMEC in 1998 using Powder Feed Laser Energy Deposition technology. Systems from conventional machine manufacturers such as TRUMPF and DMG followed over the next two decades. In recent years smaller turn-key solutions using Powder Laser Deposition were introduced into the market by e.g. BEAM, COHERENT or LUNOVO. In 2007 NORSK TITANIUM entered the market as an early adopter of the conventional plasma arc welding process for AM machine technology. Due to the use of titanium wire the major application focus is in aircraft and space applications. Targeting the same focus application of large-scale titanium blanks, SCIAKY introduced its Wire Electron Beam Deposition system in 2014.
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