On August 14, the reporter learned that the British precision casting parts supplier Aeromet claimed that the latest test results of its 3D printed aluminum alloy powder A20X prepared parts set new records for toughness and strength.

The test was completed in cooperation with aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and additive manufacturing system supplier Renishawplc. Tests show that parts produced using A20X aluminum alloy powder can maintain high strength and fatigue performance at high temperatures, with a tensile strength of 511Mpa, a yield strength of 440Mpa, and an elongation rate of 13%.

The A20X aluminum alloy powder comes from the A20X casting alloy widely used in aviation, which is also known as the most powerful aluminum casting alloy in the world. Customers include aviation giants such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing, and Airbus. Aeromet has begun to study the production of this cast aluminum alloy by 3D printing as early as 5 years ago, and the project has also been included in the British National Aerospace Technology Development Plan.

It is understood that at present, metal 3D printing technology is mainly used in aerospace, medical implants and other fields. Guo Chao said that in the field of aerospace, laser 3D printing has many applications, "because it can manufacture some lightweight and complex structures, and the "killer" application of electron beams is also a very classic application in the industry. , Is the low-pressure turbine blades of aero engines." The manufacturing cost of aerospace titanium-aluminum alloy blades is close to that of precision casting, and the weight is 30% lighter. "It is foreseeable that in the next ten years, the replacement of traditional craftsmanship in the foundry industry by 3D printing is unstoppable. The trend of ".

The application of metal additive manufacturing technology in the aerospace field is embodied in four aspects: high-performance repair, extremely complex structural parts manufacturing, function enhancement, and weight reduction. Take the US AeroMet company as an example. The company uses laser three-dimensional forming technology in metal additive manufacturing to shorten the maintenance cycle of the wing spar in the F15 fighter to one week, and the replacement cycle of the F15 aircraft corrosion-damaged parts is greatly shortened. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne uses laser three-dimensional forming technology to repair single crystal turbine blades. The laser repair time for damaged blades in single crystal turbine blade repair is only 1-3 minutes/piece.

In recent years, medical implants have developed rapidly along the trajectory from standardization to individualization. Guo Chao said, "At present, standardized implants are commonly used in domestic and foreign markets. The next trend is individualization, that is, each bone implant is not only different in size, but also different in shape and appearance. "Through the close integration with CT scanning technology, 3D electron beam printing can customize the bones according to the specific conditions of the patient. "The scanned results are digitally used to quickly form the required restorations. The solid components can be directly produced by sending the drawings. Within 72 hours, the implant can reach the doctor and perform the operation on the patient."

“A very obvious feature of 3D printed bone components is the special secondary grid-like structure on the surface, which is a bionic structure that simulates the bones of the human body. After this structure is implanted in the human body, the bones can grow directly into electrons. In the components of beam printing, very good biological fixation is formed. This is also the reason why electron beam 3D printing is currently very popular in the medical industry.” Guo Chao believes, “It will only take five to six years for 3D printing to be applied in orthopedics. It quickly covers the entire medical industry."

In the future, it is hoped that metal 3D printing technology will pay more attention to the autonomy of core components, including electron guns, supporting power supplies, focus scanning coils, and height coil drives. "3D printing is a systematic project and a complete set of solutions. It should focus on the autonomy of core materials, from powder materials to process parameter packages to roughness, density, chemical composition, strength, fatigue and other properties. "Material-Parameter-Performance" database." In addition, Guo Chao said, "I hope that "3D printing+" will focus on a more civilian direction, which is also an important trend in the future development of 3D printing."

Link to this article： A20X 3D printed aluminum alloy breaks test record and is expected to serve aerospace

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