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Metal 3D Printing Materials using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technology

Technology Overview

What is DMLS?

DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) is an additive manufacturing method. It creates parts additively by sintering fine metal powder particles, to fuse them together locally. Like in the SLS process, your metal part will be created layer by layer, according to your 3D model. A major difference is the sintering temperature. Polyamide needs to be sintered at a temperature of 160°C to 200°C, when metal melts at a temperature around between 1510°C and  1600°C meaning that a more high-wattage laser is needed to reach that temperature. 

First of all a roller will apply a layer of metal powder, then the laser will sinter the powder according to the 3D file and the build platform will get down before applying a new layer of powder...  The process will be repeated until the desired part is created. Once it's finished, the metal part needs to cool down before being extracted. If the metal part needed supports, these supports will then be removed manually.

DMLS 3D Printers

DMLS was developed by the German company EOS, which is also our first SLS 3D printers' provider. The first DMLS machine, the EOSINT M 250, was launched in 1995. EOS were also the first to commercialise a DMLS process for titanium. The DMLS 3D printers we use are the EOS M280 and M290 . Here's a complete list of EOS DMLS systems:

• The EOS M100 is the an entry level model for industrial 3D printing.
• The EOS M400 can 3D print metal parts at an industrial scale, with its building volume of 400x400x400 mm.
• The PRECIOUS M080 allows the additive manufacturing of precious metal products, typically for jewellery and watchmaking.
• The EOS M280 (which we use) enables the additive manufacturing of metal products directly from CAD data.
• The EOS M290 (which we also use) is the number one 3D printer for high-quality 3D printed metal parts.

DMLS Benefits

The DMLS process is highly beneficial for those who need to produce their metal parts for prototyping or low-volume production by eliminating time-consuming tooling. It also allows to create complicated and highly detailed designs that would be possible with any other technology, due to the limitations of the traditional manufacturing processes. 

For example, DMLS allows to integrate multiple components (like fasteners or mountings) into one only object, thus reducing the costs and delays of assembly. With DMLS, it's also possible to get thin-walled objects and intricate geometries.

Thanks to our online DMLS service, you can have access to professional 3D printers for prototyping and production, distantly, and without needing to worry about operating the machines yourself. You'll get your 3D printed metal parts, fully functional and ready to be used or integrated into a larger object, within a few days. 

DMLS as other metal 3D printing technologies is appropriate for manufacturing small batches. In this case, it is better to contact directly our metal 3D printing team. We combine design, engineering and finishing skills in order to meet the requirements of your project.  Your only concern will be to create the best design for what you want to do.

DMLS 3D Printing Materials

DMLS technology enables you to 3D print with several types of metal alloys. On our online 3D printing service, you can now order two materials produced with DMLS 3D printers: 

• Stainless Steel SS316L
• Titanium TiAI64V grade 5. 

We also provide other metal alloys on-demand. If you're interested in bigger sizes, other metals or specific finishes, please contact our sales department. We will provide you a quote and a complete study for a wide range of other metals, such as:

• Maraging Steel
• Stainless Steel: SS17-4 or SS15-5
• Titanium Ti6AI4V grade 23
• Cobalt-Chrome CoCrMo
• Inconel Alloy 718
• HastelloyX

We also offer online 3D printing of Aluminium AlSi7Mg0,6, but using SLM technology. For precious metal, we are offering metal casting service (in sterling silver and brass). To learn more about the SLM technique and our Aluminium material, click here. To learn more about the metal casting method and materials, click here. Thanks to this plurality of metals you can choose the right one for your needs and applications.  

DMLS Applications

DMLS Case Study

For a full case study about how 3D printing in general and DMLS in particular are revolutionizing the aerospace and aeronautic fields, read our blog article "3D Printing takes off with aeronautics & aerospace". 

Our Metal 3D Printing service

Agile Metal Technology

Metal 3D printing is beginning to make inroads into manufacturing. However, creating metal parts in additive manufacturing is difficult and has several specific constraints, in particular thermal and structural ones. Some software exist to solve these problems but they are expensive and take quite some time to run, making them unavailable to most companies. Because of this, metal 3D printing projects often lack expertise, and require to go back and forth with several iterations before getting the part right, which is costly and time-consuming.

That's why Sculpteo has created a suite of tools, Agile Metal Technology, that helps designers and manufacturers analyze and evaluate metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) projects. 

The suite  Agile Metal Technology will be able to audit your 3D project thanks to a self-learning AI, handle thermic constraints, recommend the best structural configuration, optimize supports on your parts, propose the most fitting post-processing features and create batches to optimize the price and orientation of your parts.

You can already discover the first tool of the suite, Business Case, the first 3D printing AI, that enables you to audit your 3D project and learn how to optimize it thanks to 35+ criterias: just click this link.

On-demand Metal 3D Printing Service

Sculpteo provides you the best online 3D Printing Services for your metals parts. Thanks to our expertise you can choose between several metals and finishes and we will give you a quote instantly. If your project is very complicated and/or if you need specifics finishes please contact our sales team which will try to find a solution with you.

DMLS as other metal 3D printing technologies is appropriate for manufacturing small batches. In this case, our metal 3D printing team will do a complete study of your project and your requirements.

Our Materials