Analysis of Density, Roughness, and Accuracy of the Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) Process for Metal Parts

Abstract

Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) is a recent layer-wise process patented by Markforged for metals based on material extrusion. ADAM can be classified as an indirect additive manufacturing process in which a filament of metal powder encased in a plastic binder is used. After the fabrication of a green part, the plastic binder is removed by the post-treatments of washing and sintering (frittage). The aim of this work is to provide a preliminary characterisation of the ADAM process using Markforged Metal X, the unique system currently available on the market. Particularly, the density of printed 17-4 PH material is investigated, varying the layer thickness and the sample size. The dimensional accuracy of the ADAM process is evaluated using the ISO IT grades of a reference artefact. Due to the deposition strategy, the final density of the material results in being strongly dependent on the layer thickness and the size of the sample. The density of the material is low if compared to the material processed by powder bed AM processes. The superficial roughness is strongly dependent upon the layer thickness, but higher than that of other metal additive manufacturing processes because of the use of raw material in the filament form. The accuracy of the process achieves the IT13 grade that is comparable to that of traditional processes for the production of semi-finished metal parts.

Copper extrusion 3D printing using metal injection moulding feedstock: Analysis of process parameters for green density and surface roughness optimization

“…Larger layer thickness resulted in larger voids and lower density. Similarly, Galati and Minetola [42] reported a low residual porosity with 0.05 mm layer thickness as compared to 0.125 mm layer thickness with samples of 17-4 PH and binder composite.…”

Hybrid Metal/Polymer Filaments for Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) to Print Metal Parts

“…Flatwise and upright building orientation were tested. The deposition strategy used by Markforged includes one outer contour and three inner ones as reported by Galati and Minetola [14] ( Figure S1). Like in standard FFF systems, the bottom and the top layers are printed with full density, while the strategy used for the other layers depends on the layer thickness.…”

“…It is clear from Table 5 that the measured properties for the 17-4 PH samples are lower compared to those reported by Markforged. However, these specimens presented a closed triangular cell infill [14] which resulted in a lower load bearing area ( Figure 6). The cross-section area was estimated using Image J to be equal to 20.89 mm 2 rather than 36 mm 2 which was calculated considering the external sides of the cross section.…”

“…In a recent paper, the mechanical properties of the green parts were optimized by varying the 3D printing parameters [13]. Galati and Minetola [14] recently reported a detailed study on the density, roughness and dimensional accuracy of sintered parts printed using 17-4 PH filaments with the ADAM (Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing) process patented by Markforged.…”

Mapping Industry 4.0 Enabling Technologies into United Nations Sustainability Development Goals

“…Nowadays, the application of powder-bed fusion technologies is consolidated in many industrial sectors as an alternative to traditional manufacturing for small production batches or single components [93]. Indirect processes are based on binder jetting or material extrusion and involve post-processing operations including a final sintering phase to fabricate dense metal parts [94]. Process productivity and a wider material range are the future challenges for these technologies.…”