SEBM additive manufacturing technology is one of PBF technologies, which use electronic beam as heating resource.
The principle is to use high-energy electron beams to scan and heat the metal powders at high speed under vacuum protection, melt layer by layer, stack layer by layer, then directly form the required components.
This technology has the characteristics of high energy utilization efficiency, fast scanning speed, high forming efficiency and high powder bed temperature during the forming process, particularly suitable for forming the parts which require the forming process in a vacuum environment, and the material with high melting point, high activity, brittleness, and difficulty in processing, as well as high reflection for laser. and it has been widely used in the fields such as biomedical, aerospace, and automotive.
Compared to laser selective melting forming technology (SLM), powder bed electron beam 3D printing technology (SEBM) has the following significant advantages:
- Electrons as energy carriers: When electron beams bombard metal powders, their reflectivity is low and their penetration ability is strong, the molten pool is deeper, the forming layer is thicker, and thicker powder can be used (cheaper). High speed moving electric beam deflects rapidly and accurately under the control of a magnetic field. it can form high melting point metal materials, and the forming efficiency of parts is higher, and the density of forming parts is higher.
- Vacuum environment: Forming process is in a cleaner and more controllable vacuum environment with good insulation performance. Parts will not be easily contaminated and has less internal stress. so it is capable to form highly active metal materials.
- Higher powder bed temperature: The powder bed temperature is higher during the forming process, so the parts can be pre-heated up to 1300℃(depending on the metals) before printing and the temperature can be held until melting which will significantly reduce the possibility of internal stress. After forming, the parts can be slowly cooled in the furnace. So this technology is suitable to form the parts which are brittle and prone-to-cracking materials, complex solid structures, thin-walled parts, and suspended, small rod-shaped structure parts.
- Almost no supports needed and suitable for mass production: After preheating (fake sintering) and melting, the formed part and powders have a certain strength which are enough to support for the next printing, so the real supports like SLM are not needed. The fake supports can be easily removed by high-pressure air gun, no cutting is needed to remove the supports. Due to the fake supports by preheating, the printed parts can be stacked layer by layer, so many parts can be printed on one base plate which can provide higher production efficiency.
Series production of standardized bone trabecular acetabular cups by SEBM printing technology: Sailong AM independently develops electron beam additive manufacturing equipment and processes and help our customer to establishe a standardized bone trabecular acetabular cup batch additive manufacturing production line for medical implants.
With domestically produced additive manufacturing equipment, raw materials, and acetabular cup additive manufacturing technology, Sailong AM successfully helps our customer obtain Class III medical device registration certificates on 3D printing acetabular cup system, and has reached long-term cooperation, specializing in the localization and batch production of electron beam 3D printing acetabular cups, with a stable supply of more than 2000 pieces in the past. It is expected that the production of standardized trabecular acetabular cups will reach 20000 to 50000 pieces per year by 2024.
Truer also provide the PREP equipment and the metal powders produced by our PREP equipment with high quality. such as superalloy powders, high-entropy alloy powders, refractory metal powders, Titanium alloy powders, Aluminum alloy powders, etc. Inconel718, Inconel 625, Hastelloy X, Inconel 738, Inconel 939, CoCr alloy, AlSi10Mg, Ti6Al4V, pure copper, pure tungsten, pure tantalum are most common powders we produce.
