Multimaterial powder bed fusion techniques

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in powder bed fusion (PBF) techniques for additive manufacturing of multiple materials. It reviews the emerging technologies in PBF multimaterial printing and summarizes the latest simulation approaches for modeling them. The topic of “multimaterial PBF techniques” is still very new, undeveloped, and of interest to academia and industry on many levels. Design/methodology/approach This is a review paper. The study approach was to carefully search for and investigate notable works and peer-reviewed publications concerning multimaterial three-dimensional printing using PBF techniques. The current methodologies, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, are cross-compared through a systematic review. Findings The results show that the development of multimaterial PBF techniques is still in its infancy as many fundamental “research” questions have yet to be addressed before production. Experimentation has many limitations and is costly; therefore, modeling and simulation can be very helpful and is, of course, possible; however, it is heavily dependent on the material data and computational power, so it needs further development in future studies. Originality/value This work investigates the multimaterial PBF techniques and discusses the novel printing methods with practical examples. Our literature survey revealed that the number of accounts on the predictive modeling of stresses and optimizing laser scan strategies in multimaterial PBF is low with a (very) limited range of applications. To facilitate future developments in this direction, the key information of the simulation efforts and the state-of-the-art computational models of multimaterial PBF are provided.

Research progress in multi-material laser-powder bed fusion additive manufacturing: A review of the state-of-the-art techniques for depositing multiple powders with spatial selectivity in a single layer

“…Next, the photoreceptor is brought close to the powder supplier causing powder particles to attach to the appropriated charged areas of the photoreceptor 62 . Then, the developed powder image is transferred onto the charged build substrate by electrostatic attraction force 63 . In the final step, the photoreceptor is cleaned off with a blade to remove residual particles and also discharged with a second laser exposure before the start of the next powder deposition cycle 64,65 .…”

Multi-material and Multi-dimensional 3D Printing for Biomedical Materials and Devices

“…This method is purely based on mechanical forces to generate and hold a thin layer of powder rather than using electrostatic charge, thus it can be applied to virtually all types of powder materials for both PBF and BJ processes. More details of multi-material PBF have been discussed in recent reviews [39][40][41]. There is another unique and interesting approach for multi-material printing-HP's multi jet fusion voxel technology [42].…”

Analytical and numerical modelling of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of polymers – a review of the key areas of focus of the process

“…Moreover, some physics are neglected in meso-and macro-scale modelling, thus reducing their accuracy [51]. However, the three modelling scales should be employed together in PLS since they yield different but essential information [52]. Multi-scale, multiphysics modelling and experimental validation are crucial to understanding PLS.…”