ExOne M-Flex
ExOne has announced a new clean-burning metal binder which will enable the binder jet printing of materials like titanium and aluminium will be made available next year.
The patent-pending CleanFuse formula represents the fourth product in ExOne’s newly branded Fuse metal and ceramic binder portfolio and will help to expand the number of materials available to users of the company’s metal 3D printing technology. ExOne customers can already access more than six qualified metals, including stainless steels 316L, 304L and 17-4PH, but CleanFuse will act as a gateway to more.
Available in Q1 of 2020, CleanFuse is said to leave behind no carbon residue and thus works well with metallic materials negatively affected by carbon, like aluminium and titanium. ExOne have also suggested Inconel materials will work well with its latest binder.
“CleanFuse is an important advancement for the field of binder jet 3D printing,” commented John Hartner, ExOne CEO. “In addition to enabling the future binder jet 3D printing of aluminium and titanium, CleanFuse will also be important for 3D printing some beta materials now moving through our strict qualification process, such as Inconel 718 and 625.”
ExOne’s metal binder jetting process works by ink-jetting a binder into a powder bed to build parts up layer by layer in accordance with a digital model. Post print, parts are sintered to fuse the particles together into a solid object, but when binder don’t burn off cleanly during this process, carbon residue can alter the chemistry and performance of sensitive metals. The clean-burning CleanFuse binder promises to preserve consistent performance in metal parts, including its ability to be welded. ExOne expects the binder’s capabilities to be well-received in the aerospace, defence and automotive sectors.
