Optomoec LENS MR-7 multi-material metal 3D printer

This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel®.

This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel®.

This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel

Optomec LENS MR-7 (Courtesy of Optomec Inc)

The LENS MR-7 system offers a 300mm cubed work envelope, making it ideal for the manufacture, repair and addition to smaller components. LENS systems use energy from a Fibre Laser to build up structures one layer at a time directly from powder – metals, alloys, ceramics or composites. Up to four powder feeders allow gradient materials to be made – every layer can have a different chemistry. This enables new materials to be made and analysed with extraordinary speed. LENS systems are used throughout the entire product lifecycle for applications ranging from rapid alloy development and functional prototyping to rapid manufacturing or repair.

This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel

LENS laser in action (Courtesy of Optomec Inc)

LENS systems builds fully dense structures directly from a 3-dimensional CAD solid model. The CAD model is automatically sliced into a tool-path, which instructs the LENS machine how to build the part. The part is constructed layer by layer under the control of software that monitors a variety of parameters to ensure geometric and mechanical integrity. The LENS process is housed in a chamber which is purged with argon such that the oxygen level stays below 10 parts per million to ensure there is no impurity pick-up during deposition. The metal powder is fed to the process by Optomec’s proprietary powder-feed system, which is able to flow small quantities of powder very precisely. When complete, the part is removed and can be heat-treated, hot-Isostatic-pressed, machined or finished in any other manner.

Specifications include:

  • IPG Fibre Laser “blownpowder”
  • 300 × 300 × 300 (mm) chamber build volume
  • 500W beam power
  • Two power feeder (layered composition profiles)
  • Part roughness Ra 20-50µm (Rz 150-300µm)
  • 22cm³/h build rate (Ti-64)(much higher build rates for other LENS variants)
  • High purity inert gas (O²≤10 ppm)
  • Repair, prototyping, design, customising, light- weighting, alloy design, composite materials
This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel®.

LENS laser in action (Courtesy of Optomec Inc)

This unique additive manufacturing technology may be used for the fabrication and repair of high performance single or multi-material metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel®.

View of the LENS process from an optical imager (Courtesy of Optomec Inc)

Applications

Specially configured system to rapidly produce novel materials with exceptional quality. Two powder feeders enable gradient materials to be made – every layer can have a different chemistry.

Materials that may be used on the machine: Titanium, Nickel, Tool Steel, Stainless Steel, Refractories, Composites, Cobalt, Aluminum, Copper

Materials that may be used on the machine (Courtesy of Optomec Inc)                (* Under development)

Example applications include:

  • Rapid Alloy Development
  • Fundamental Materials Research
  • Rapid Solidification Research
  • Composites Research
  • Ceramics Research
  • Rapid Manufacturing
  • Hybrid Manufacturing
  • Advanced Product Development
  • Medical Implants
  • Defence Research