The Ultimate Guide to Powder 3D Printers

Powder 3D printers are revolutionizing manufacturing with their ability to quickly produce complex metal and plastic parts. This guide will explain how powder 3D printing works, the different technologies, key benefits, applications, and leading powder printer models.

How Powder 3D Printing Works

Powder bed 3D printing refers to processes where thin layers of powder material are selectively fused together to build up a part. The powders are spread across the build platform in a thin layer. An energy source like a laser or electron beam then fuses the powder in the pattern of each layer. The platform lowers, more powder is spread over the top, and the process repeats until the full part is complete.

The unfused powder supports the part during printing and eliminates the need for dedicated support structures. After printing, the loose powder is simply brushed or blown away, leaving the finished part.

Main Powder 3D Printing Technologies

There are several different powder 3D printing technologies, each with their own advantages:

• Selective Laser Sintering (SLS): SLS uses a laser to fuse together powdered plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass powders. SLS is known for good mechanical properties and an ability to print complex geometries.
• Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS): DMLS also uses a laser but is specialized for printing high-density metal parts like titanium and aluminum. The parts have properties similar to traditional manufacturing.
• Electron Beam Melting (EBM): EBM directs a powerful electron beam onto metal powder beds to melt and fuse them. EBM builds fully dense metal parts with superior strength.
• Multi Jet Fusion (MJF): MJF prints plastic parts by selectively applying fusing agent onto the top layer of powder. MJF produces excellent detail and mechanical properties.
• Binder Jetting: An inkjet printhead selectively deposits liquid binding agent onto the powder bed to produce metal, sandstone, ceramic, and other powder-based parts.

Key Benefits of Powder 3D Printing

There are several unique advantages that make powder bed technologies a popular choice:

• High mechanical strength – The layer-by-layer process results in dense, durable parts.
• High resolution – Powders allow for precise, detailed prints. Resolution can be as low as 20-50 microns for plastic and 5-10 microns for metal.
• Good surface finish – The unfused powder creates smooth surfaces without visible layer lines.
• Complex geometries – Unsupported overhangs and internal features are easily produced thanks to the powder bed support.
• Range of materials – Metals, plastics, ceramics, and glass can all be printed from powders.
• Cost effective – No dedicated support structures needed, less waste relative to other 3D printing processes.

Applications of Powder Bed 3D Printing

Here are some of the most common applications of powder bed fusion 3D printing:

• Functional metal prototypes – Quickly test forms, fits, and functions of metal parts like engine and aerospace components.
• End-use metal parts – DMLS and EBM can make final metal parts for industrial applications, implants, tooling, and more.
• Mass customization – Easily make customized end-use plastic parts like protectors, housings, and features tailored to each customer.
• High heat applications – Ceramic and glass powder printing can make parts that withstand extremely high temperatures.
• Conformal cooling – Use internal lattices and conformal channels in metal tooling for improved injection mold cooling.

Leading Powder 3D Printer Manufacturers

Many companies manufacture powder bed fusion 3D printers. Here are some of the major players in this technology:

EOS – The pioneer of laser sintering machines for metals and plastics. High accuracy and large build volumes. Models include the EOS P770 for plastics and EOS M300-4 for metals.

3D Systems – Offers the entire range of powder bed technologies, including the ProX SLS 6100 for plastics and DMP Factory 500 for metals.

Stratasys – Best known for FDM, but also manufactures the GrabCAD Voxel high-speed binder jetting system.

GE Additive – Their Direct Metal Laser Melting machines like the Concept Laser M2 Series 5 are popular for metal parts production.

HP – The Jet Fusion 5200 series provides fast, high-quality plastic powder printing leveraging Multi Jet Fusion technology.

Markforged – Offers accessible plastic and metal powder 3D printers that utilize sintering. Such as the Onyx Pro for nylon parts and Metal X for metals.

The Future of Powder Bed 3D Printing

Powder bed fusion technologies will continue advancing to open up new geometries, materials, applications, speed, accuracy, and part sizes.

Ongoing developments include new powder recycling processes to reduce waste, hybrid machines that combine laser sintering with milling or machining, and artificial intelligence to automate printer parameter optimization.

As the capabilities improve and costs decrease, powder bed 3D printing will become the go-to process for mass customized end-use part production across aerospace, medical, dental, automotive, and consumer industries.