3D Metal Printer System

g parts made out of invar and AlSi10Mg, along with stainless steels, tool steels, cobalt chrome, aluminum, inconel, and titanium. For invar, the vendor MUST have parameters developed for creating parts �out of the box.� Incomplete systems not containing all components and all capabilities described below do not meet minimum requirements. 1). Twin Laser system with Invar Beta Parameters QTY = 1 -Selective Laser Melting machine - build envelope of 280 x 280 x 350 mm or larger -adjustable layer thickness 20 - 120 microns or finer -max print speed > 50 cm^3/hr or faster -laser focus diameter: adjustable 80 � 115 microns or wider range -Twin lasers, at least 700W for fast printing to achieve 50 cm^3/hr -�air knife� system to create laminar flow of inert gas over optics entering build chamber to prevent damage to optical elements -bi-directional powder recoating -open software architecture with the freedom to control system parameters -Layer control system, -Laser Power (LPM) monitoring -Melt Pool (MPM) Monitoring -supplied external water/water or water/air cooling system Must containing the following operational basic configuration: -Laser and Optical Bench -Coating System & Main Tank -Process Gas Filtration -Electronics, Control Computer, and Machine Software (MCS) -Process Build Chamber -Layer Control System (LCS) -Platform Mechanism -Air Treatment Optical Bench Laser system: optical bench within a sealed housing optics against dust and vapors. Housing should be overpressured with continuously supplied clean dry air necessary for continued operation of the high power laser used for powder bed fusion. Laser alignment on the powder bed should be digitally controlled with a galvo system. Water-cooled 3D scanning alignment system should be used to direct the laser onto the powder bed additive manufacturing area. Optics should maintain system reliability and accuracy (see below) AM process chamber -ergonomic accessibility to ensure ease of access for loading, component removal, and cleaning. -clear view of chamber and printing process using laser safety glass. Lighting system to view the parts during production and in detection system to detect process problems during production. -chamber design should minimize inert gas consumption during chamber flooding and normal operation -gas tight gloves to allow manipulation of the part and removal of excess powder under an inert environment. -exhaust air should go through H13 class filters or better to purify air before venting into exhaust system -feedthroughs for data and supply lines for process customization and monitoring during production Recoater system -multidirectional coating system required, bi directional acceptable -powder must be deposited on both forward and backward movements minimally -after layer deposition, system must operate without going to home position before applying new layer (to speed up manufacturing process) -coating guide system must be dustproof -soft leveling blades must be available -powder recovery system must recover unused powder so that it can be re-used in the process -at least two valves between powder handling system to prevent powder contamination and oxidation Materials and Process Parameters -diverse set of materials and parameters should be available from the manufacturer. The following materials represent a minimal set: invar, stainless steels, tool steels, cobalt chrome, aluminum, inconel, titanium, AlSi10Mg. -system must also include material development options to develop custom materials and processes not listed above Laser Control System -system must monitor build process, and detect and respond to build irregularities such as recoating an area or halting the process. Identification of irregularities should be coded in by setting thresholds in software -LCS should also allow manual intervention in a process -LCS should document each layer in the build as a record and for evaluation of the process as new materials are utilized -LCS system should process high quality images of build: Process Gas Filtration -powder bed fusion system must operate in an inert environment (ex: argon, N2) with enough gas flow to maintain print quality by regulating temperature and soot removal -gas flow sensor -minimum two oxygen sensors -minimum two temperature sensors -dew point sensor records gas dew points throughout process -compressor to generate volumetric gas flow that can be set and monitored for printing. Must have automatic control system -oxygen sensors must detect oxygen at the part per million level -temperature sensor and internal gas and water heat exchanger to regulate temperature and maintain gas flow -gas system must minimally have two large main filters, along with an additional fine filter in series. Filtered gas should then be recirculated into the process chamber to minimize particle concentration in the gas flow. -For safe filter removal, a double valve should be used for all interfaces between the system and filter housings and in powder handling. -filler flushing device: inert gas is slowly replaced by water during removal of the filter to reduce the risk of oxygen reactions. -Main filters should be located outside the machine and easily accessible for replacement. -The long-life fine filter should be housed in the machine cabinet but should still be accessible -process gas filtration must be upgradeable so that filters can be hot-swapped into system during a paused build process Platform Mechanism -365 mm precision travel in z-direction (transverse to build plane) for large objects -heating element to increase substrate temperature by up to 200 C. Dedicated control circuit should maintain set and adjust the temperature throughout the process Electrical requirements -electrical and control system components housed separately from gas and water supply -safety interlock to prevent access to electrical system while machine is in operation -should be compliant with NRTL machine safety regulations in North America. -network connection for updating software and remote customer service Machine control system -machine control software must be compatible with Windows 10 or newer computer -all machine functions should be accessible via control software during operation and during paused operation. -software must display relevant parameters during build such as: build time, time remaining, temp, oxygen content, filter status, etc. -software must store relevant process data to allow for post build analysis, data documentation for research, and machine statuses and parameters. System should be capable of sending data at user request to vendor for analysis -should be capable of producing a report documenting powder type, slicing parameters, machine settings, pictures of the build process, tensile test results, density test results, and roughness measurement results Lasers: -dual water cooled lasers with output optical power of at least 700W to achieve >50 cm^3/hr print speed -on axis measurement system to track target and actual laser output power during build process, software to identify deviations -measurements must occur on both beams, documented in software Melt Pool Monitoring -system must measure and create visualization for melt pool by recording thermal radiation from the melting powder bed fusion process -measurement must be approximately on axis, measured by photodiodes -measur