Raise3D MetalFuse - Industrial metal 3D printer

Raise3D, the renown manufacturer of FDM 3D printers and quality filaments, has come up with MetalFuse - a complete bundled solution for additive manufacturing with the BASF Ultrafuse 17-4PH and Ultrafuse 316L metal filaments, and the Ultrafuse Support Layer filament, ideal for the production of tools, jigs and fixtures, functional parts, prototypes and batches. 

Video 1: The MetalFuse full in-house solution for manufacturing with the BASF Ultrafuse filaments. Source: Raise3D.

The MetalFuse solution is the first end-to-end fully integrated in-house printing ecosystem using the BASF Ultrafuse Metal Filaments, with a relatively low cost of ownership and maintenance, and countless other benefits over SLS metal manufacturing or traditional metal manufacturing methods. 

Additive versus traditional mteal manufacturing

Traditional manufacturing is great for manufacturing in large volumes. Nevertheless, when it comes to sophisticated designs in small and medium size batches, additive manufacturing has no competition. When compared to traditional manufacturing methods for metal such as CNC machining or metal injection molding (MIM), or even SLS 3D printing with metal powders, additive manufacturing with metal filaments has countless benefits.

Video 2: How Raise3D implements flexible manufacturing. Source: Raise3D.

Not only does it significantly reduce the production time and cost and increase user safety but also gives the user a lot more freedom in terms of the design of the part, its customizability and the number of parts produced. This makes possible the production of parts that with traditional manufacturing may be more costly, more time-consuming or may simply not be feasible.

Image 1: A comparison of the properties of parts produced wit Ultrafuse 316L with MIM vs. MetalFuse. Source: Raise3D, American Powder Metallurgy Industry Association.

Nevertheless, parts 3D printed with metal filaments must go through debinding and sintering - processes that get rid of the binding polymer and turn the green part into a brown part and then into a fully metallic object. Debinding and sintering are demanding and complex processes, which is why normally these services are performed by professionals with the help of specialistic equipment. With MetalFuse, however, this can be done easily and safely in-house.

What does MetalFuse include?

The MetalFuse solution consists of:

1. The Forge 1 desktop metal 3D printer.
2. The D200-E catalyctic debinding furnace.
3. The S200-C vacuum sintering furnace.

All are optimized for maximum user comfort and safety, and an efficient metal 3D printing workflow - from laminating, through printing, debinding and sintering to a finished 100 % metal part.

Image 2: The MetalFuse solution for additive manufacturing with the BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments. Source: Raise3D.

With the Raise3D MetalFuse solution, green parts (1) 3D printed with the Ultrafuse metal filaments on the Forge 1 printer go through the debinding process (2) in the D200-E catalyctic debinding furnace in order to remove the polymer binder from the part. 

Image 3: The printing, debinding and sintering process with MetalFuse. Source: Raise3D.

Next, the resulting brown part is placed in the S200-C furnace for sintering (3) where any remaining binding polymer is removed. The result is a fully metal part (4) than can be further post-processed, for example by polishing.

Forge 1 desktop metal 3D printer

The Forge 1 FDM 3D printer has a considerable build volume of 300 x 300 x 300 mm for simple extrusion and 255 x 300 x 300 mm for dual extrusion. This gives the use freedom in terms of the parts' size and complexity, and also allows to produce in batches of many parts at once.

Image 4: The Forge 1 metal 3D printer is part of the MetalFuse solution. Source: Raise3D.

The dual extrusion system with electronic lifting and precise kinematics ensures high speed (30-150 mm/s) and accuracy of printing. The Raise3D Forge1 prints layers from 0.25 to 0.1 mm, producing parts with smooth exterior surfaces. Forge 1 features an automatically leveled glass build plate with a silicone heat bed, which ensures optimal adhesion and guarantees accurate calibration. The Forge1 comes with a default 0.4 mm nozzle that can print at temperatures of up to 300 ºC.

Image 5: The Forge 1 metal 3D printer working in dual extrusion mode. Source: Raise3D.

Apart from this, the Forge 1 3D printer has several smart features optimizing the working process and making it safe and efficient. The 3D printer is equipped with a HEPA filter with activated charcoal and when in operation, the printer only generates about 55 dB, making the 3D printing process quiet and enjoyable and the device suitable for noise-sensitive environments such as laboratories or teaching institutions.

D200-E debinding furnace

The MetalFuse D200-E debinding furnace uses oxalic acid catalyctic debinding in an argon-nitrogen atmoshphere, a completely safe and environmentally friendly process with a very high debinding rate (over 1 mm/h). The oxalic acid catalyctic debinding method used in the Raise3D D200-E furnace is the first instance of this technology being applied in the metal additive manufacturing context since other AM methods use solvent or thermal debinding for parts 3D printed with metal filaments.

Image 6: The D200-E debinding furnace. Source: Raise3D.

According to Raise3D's internal testing, this process leads 60 % savings in debinding time (4-12 hours instead of 12-7 hours) in comparison with solvent or thermal debinding, is easier than nitric acid treatment, and increases the part's density to up to 98 % of wrought iron's density (52 % more compared to products obtained by debinding with solvents).

The D200-E debinding furnace has a 200 x 200 x 200 mm working chamber with adjustable multi-level trays (7 positions).  D200-E is equipped with various smart functions, such as safety interlocks, an emergency stop button on the front, and activated carbon adsorption facilities for exhaust treatment. In addition, D200-E can be moved thanks to in-built swivel casters with adjustable leveling locks.

Image 7: The user interface of the D200-E debinding furnace. Source: Raise3D.

The device has a user-friendly interface displayed on a 7" touchscreen and can connect to the network via WLAN or Ethernet via any browser. The progess of the debinding job can be tracked live and auto-generated temperature and pressure profiles are provided.

S200-C sintering furnace

The last step on the way to obtain a 100 % metal part in 3D printing is sintering. The S200-C vacuum sintering furnace is part of the Raise3D MetalFuse solution for additive manufacturing with the BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments. S200-C is responsible for removing any remaining polymer binder from the brown part in an argon-nitrogen atmoshphere with the help of temperatures below the melting point of the metal, generated by a graphite heating rod to a maximum of 1450 ºC. That way, the part achieves its final hardness and strength properties.

Image 8: The exterior and interior of the S200-C sintering furnace. Source: Raise3D.

The S200-C sintering furnace stands out thanks to its fast sintering capabilities combined with low gas and energy consumption, an undeniable benefit for small scale production. The argon gas consumption as low as 3 l/min and the sintering process takes about 10-24 h (compared to 17–31 hours for other sintering devices), consuming 80 kWh.

Image 9: The MetalFuse sintering process. Source: Raise3D.

The Raise3D S200-C sintering furnace has a 200 x 200 x 200 mm working chamber with adjustable multi-level trays (6 positions), a front-mounted emergency stop button and over-temperature protection, which makes it safe and convenient to use.

Image 10: MetalFuse is compatible with the ideaMaker Metal laminating software. Source: Raise3D.

Similarly to the other devices in the MetalFuse family, the S200-C sintering furnace is equipped with a 7" touchscreen display for comfortable control and with an intuitive user interface that allows the user to manage the process easily. Furthermore, the device is fully compatible with a special edition of the ideaMaker software (ideaMaker Metal) that offers templates optimized for smooth sintering.

Cost effective metal printing made possible

The MetalFuse bundled solution for metal additive manufacturing was born from the combination of two forces: Raise3D's visionary spirit and experience in building high-end 3D printing equipment and BASF's quality Ultrafuse metal filaments and know how coming from Metal Injection Molding (MIM).

Image 11: Sintered (left) and polished (right) parts made with the MetalFuse solution. Source: Raise3D.

These assets, combined with the desire to provide a cost-effective solution for metal additive manufacturing, resulted in the Forge 1 metal 3D printer, the D200-E debinding furnace and the S200-C sintering furnace. These three devices allow the user to manufacture complex parts or small batches with the BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments, debind the parts and sinter them - all in a simple, safe, reliable, streamlined, optimzed and efficient workflow. Thanks to the Raise3D MetalFuse solution for the BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments, the handling of the green parts is significantly minimized, the wait time from the idea to the final part is drastically lowered, the need to interact with third parties for D&S is reduced to zero, and full confidentiality is ensured by having the whole process in-house.