Brass 3D printing: 3D4MEC and Fraunhofer IAPT to develop new system - 3D Printing Industry

Italian metal 3D printer manufacturer 3D4MEC has partnered with the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Additive Manufacturing Technologies (IAPT) to advance its brass 3D printing capabilities.

The collaboration will see the partners develop a new in-situ optical monitoring system for 3D4MEC’s 3D4BRASS printer. This will provide live defect monitoring and correction, improving the reliability, stability, and sustainability of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 3D printing with complex materials such as brass.

Fraunhofer IAPT’s department of LPBF – In-situ Monitoring and Process Control will provide scientific expertise in the project. Additionally, non-destructive testing specialists Thetascan GmbH. has agreed to provide an optical system. This will be used to investigate advanced 3D Optical Tomography (3D-OT) and enhance the capabilities of the new 3D printing monitoring unit. The project will also utilize key findings from Fraunhofer IAPT’s previous optical tomography investigations with Thetascan.

“The collaboration with Fraunhofer IAPT and Thetascan is a tremendous opportunity for 3D4MEC to strengthen our commitment to research and development, an area in which we have heavily invested over the past years,” commented 3D4MEC’s Managing Director, Fabrizio Marino Corsini. “With this synergy, we aim to develop customized additive manufacturing solutions for special materials, meeting the specific needs of our clients and the market.”

In-situ monitoring for brass 3D printing

According to 3D4MEC, 3D4BRASS is the ‘world’s first and only’ LPBF 3D printer capable of processing lead-free brass powders. It seeks to address the need for quick prototyping and quick-series production of brass parts without using molds, reportedly making it the ‘fastest way to produce brass prototypes.’

The brass 3D printer can achieve >99% density, facilitating the production of functional and strong parts. Its automatic powder recovery system allows 98% of the powder used after each 3D print job to be automatically recycled.

What’s more, the 3D printer features ‘open powder’ functionality, allowing users to produce parts using materials from any powder supplier. The system is compatible with all base-copper alloys and is qualified for the production of special alloys like Ecobrass, which complies with the RoHS directive, ELV directive and Tap water quality standards.

3D4MEC and Fraunhofer IATP are designing the new in-situ monitoring to detect 3D printing defects as they occur during the 3D printing process. It will also be able to correct these errors, reducing material waste and optimizing energy efficiency for sustainable metal 3D printing.

Dennis Jutkuhn, scientific assistant for In-situ Monitoring & Process Control in L-PBF of Fraunhofer IAPT, called 3D4MEC an “excellent partner” to advance the development of optical tomography technology.

He highlighted the importance of the team’s efforts to extend sensor integration and the fusion of multiple sensing technologies for “data-based quality control in Laser Powder Bed Fusion.”

Detecting defects in metal 3D printing

As manufacturers look to improve productivity, reduce material waste, and guarantee part quality, in-situ defect detection and quality assurance have become essential tools in metal 3D printing.

Earlier this year, Additive Assurance signed an agreement with metal 3D printer manufacturer Additive Industries to integrate its in-situ process monitoring system into the latter’s LPBF 3D printers. The collaboration seeks to improve metal 3D printing process monitoring in high-value production applications. Additive Industries’ MetalFab 3D printers will integrate Additive Assurance’s AMiRIS quality inspection system, which can be mounted directly onto the 3D printer.

A patent-pending technology, AMiRIS collects micron-level detail during additive manufacturing. Machine learning is then used to analyze the data. The unit provides live insights into the 3D printing process, improving certification and quality assurance efforts while unlocking shorter production cycles and greater part confidence.

Elsewhere, Chicago-based 3D printing quality assurance software developer Phase3D offers Fringe Research. This metal 3D printing in-situ monitoring software, developed with the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA, can correlate 3D printing anomalies with part defects such as porosity.

Said to be the first software of its kind, Fringe Research reportedly allows aerospace customers to increase 3D printer throughput by over 10% yearly. This is achieved by preventing the production of parts that would later fail inspection, saving time and material.

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Alex is a Technology Journalist at 3D Printing Industry who enjoys researching and writing articles covering a wide variety of topics. Possessing a BA in military history and an MA in History of War, he has a keen interest in additive manufacturing applications within the defense and aerospace industries.