Replies to post #2243 on Arcam AB fka AMAVF

[mauser96]

One of the problems with any metal 3DP process is that unmelted powder can onlty be removed if there is an exit area afer the melting is done. Any holes like those in closed cell foam or Swiss cheese remain filled with unmelted powder. While this might not matter for some parts it makes them heavier and more expensive, not good for aerospace. This probably can be minimized by clever design of the part, leaving adequate channels for powder removal.

[mauser96]

The GE talk said that the single biggest problem GE was having with EBM is getting trapped powder out of passages, so that sounds like a good step. The passages in fuel nozzles are critical to the core of the design , but in other parts may be secondary.


Engineers are like the rest of us, both a beneficiary of our experience from the past but also trapped by it when something really new comes along. It is going to take time, senior designers may never adopt, we may need a new generation.

Much like the da Vinci robot was for prostatectomy. Older urologists mostly downplayed it , it took took younger men on the way up , men with not so much invested in conventional thinking and doing , to lever it to a point where it is now the standard.

It is impressive that GE is doing so much 3DP without any parts in actual production yet. And that they see so many opportunities that even a giant like GE will need to collaborate with others. This plus all the free research Arcam EBM process is getting confirms to me that engineers and scientists who know a lot more than I do see a great future for EBM, particularly in aerospace