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Next gen 3D metal printing

fabric8labs.com

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Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#81

Post by tbenst »

FrostKiwi wrote: post #50
tbenst wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fabric8Labs can print 100% density, whereas Desktop Metal is highly porous. Also Fabric8Labs can directly print pure copper, which has historically been very difficult. The process is also more energy efficient and better suited for small complex parts. Desktop Metal serves a different market in terms of material and size. disclaimer: I'm a GP at Asimov Ventures and invested in Fabric8labs' pre-seed round.

Super interesting approach. > "directly print pure copper, which has historically been very difficult" SLM [1] has been able to 3D print Copper with precision down to the size of a mechanical pencil's lead for a long time already. In what way is ECAM better? Is it more precision + no need to handle powder + no need for laser source and containment - ECAM being slower, or am I missing some crucial feature? [1] https:/…

The high thermal conductivity of copper makes it difficult to maintain needed temperatures during SLM. Also, copper is prone to oxidation at high temperatures, further complicating (thermal based) laser melting 3D printing techniques. It’s more typical to print copper alloys than pure copper.

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#82

Post by ipsum2 »

dpain wrote: post #55

CTO of Fabric8 here - happy to answer any questions you may have about the technology or company. As you can tell we've got a process that's quite different than other metal AM techniques with some very unique benefits that we're excited to share!

Can we see a benchy?

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#83

Post by ben_w »

petermcneeley wrote: post #49
jimbooonooo wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yah, please post it! Can you speak to the minimum resolution and wear rate/lifetime with single electrode approaches?

I would imagine resolution mostly comes down size of electrode and how close you can get that to the substrate and grow the deposit in a controlled fashion. Mine were 25um. As for wearing out the electrode; madden's paper probably has some information. I would expect the wear to be similar to the oxygen side of electrolysis (water). https://darkcephas.github.io/MELED_paper/MELED_paper.pdf

Thanks, interesting read.

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#84

Post by Arch-TK »

godelski wrote: post #72
tombert wrote: post #20

I saw a video doing something like awhile ago [1], and I thought the idea of using electroplating made sense, but I know absolutely nothing about chemical engineering or material science. It's interesting to see this idea in action, though with my limited experience with electroplating it seems like it'd be absurdly slow. [1] https://youtu.be/W1d36wbx_yg

I never noticed this before but at 2:10 when he mentions the word subscribe, the subscribe button animates. How long has this been happening?

At least a few months. I don't think it has been more than a year.

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#85

Post by heisenbit »

kragen wrote: post #43
glitchinc wrote: post #33

What distinguishes the offerings from Fabric8Labs from the offerings from long-established companies like Desktop Metal[1] that are capable of printing parts using a wide range of materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and tungsten? The tungsten capability really throws me for a loop. As someone who TIG welds in my spare time, I can’t imagine having a machine in my shop that could make electrode…

in general electrolytic processes are very energy-intensive, and i'm sure fabric8labs's process is no exception

Based on the graph the process is producing way less CO2 than other additive processes. Being low temperature this intuitively seems a credible claim. Maybe you are concerned about high currents which is true but since voltage is low that does not multiply to much.

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#86

Post by adrian_b »

dpain wrote: post #55

CTO of Fabric8 here - happy to answer any questions you may have about the technology or company. As you can tell we've got a process that's quite different than other metal AM techniques with some very unique benefits that we're excited to share!

Which are exactly the metals that you can currently print by ECAM?

The images suggest pure copper. Are there any alloys that can be printed at this time?

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#87

Post by Joel_Mckay »

justinclift wrote: post #79
Joel_Mckay wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did your team handle the clogging problem with these designs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UbDk7LrvU Best regards, =3

That's a cool video. They even show creating multi-metal stuff with it, which seems like it'd be pretty lined up for creating meta-materials when using a small enough tip resolution. :) https://youtu.be/B-UbDk7LrvU?si=1GeqL7aoLbG6PBCH&t=462

Someone probably has something better already sitting on a shelf somewhere... =3

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#88

Post by InDubioProRubio »

dpain wrote: post #55

CTO of Fabric8 here - happy to answer any questions you may have about the technology or company. As you can tell we've got a process that's quite different than other metal AM techniques with some very unique benefits that we're excited to share!

What sort of crystallization behaviour can one expect from this process? Can one controll the crystallization formation?

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#89

Post by FrostKiwi »

tbenst wrote: post #81
FrostKiwi wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Super interesting approach. > "directly print pure copper, which has historically been very difficult" SLM [1] has been able to 3D print Copper with precision down to the size of a mechanical pencil's lead for a long time already. In what way is ECAM better? Is it more precision + no need to handle powder + no need for laser source and containment - ECAM being slower, or am I missing some crucial feature? [1] https:/…

The high thermal conductivity of copper makes it difficult to maintain needed temperatures during SLM. Also, copper is prone to oxidation at high temperatures, further complicating (thermal based) laser melting 3D printing techniques. It’s more typical to print copper alloys than pure copper.

Those are solved issues.

> oxidation at high temperatures

SLM machines typically use an Argon gas chamber. DED machines use an Argon gas shield.

> It’s more typical to print copper alloys than pure copper.

In the context of modern SLM, it depends on your definition of "pure" and "alloy". During the process, a bit of resin to is mixed into the powder and heat treated in a final step to get to 99.9% pure copper.

edit: Just fixed up my knowledge. Indeed alloys are typically used (99% copper with things like Chrome added on depending on use-case), tough the pure copper can be used with higher laser power.

Re: Next gen 3D metal printing

#90

Post by FrostKiwi »

dpain wrote: post #55

CTO of Fabric8 here - happy to answer any questions you may have about the technology or company. As you can tell we've got a process that's quite different than other metal AM techniques with some very unique benefits that we're excited to share!

First time hearing about the technique, sounds exciting.

I see a close comparison in features to SLM [1], which is already established as a core 3D Metal printing technique for a long time. SLM has precision down to the size of a mechanical pencil's lead. In what way is ECAM better? Is it more precision + no need to handle powder or shield gas + no need for laser source and containment, minus ECAM being slower. Am I missing some crucial feature?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_melting

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