The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) 3D metal printer – the largest of its kind in the world – is being used for a number of projects, including components for the Ahrlac, Marlin missile and Armscor.

 

Done layer upon layer, the process (also known as additive manufacturing) starts with designing a 3D computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) model and associated design file. In the CSIR’s case an STL (stereolithography) file then gets transferred onto the 3D printing machines software.

 

The machine then translates that design into multiple layers, depending on the desired layer thickness and begins printing out layer by layer. The 3D printer uses a powder bed fusion process called selective laser melting where a 5 kW laser melts titanium powder. A bed of powder is added for each layer and the subsequent layers are fused through the selective laser melting. The machine prints from 2 […]

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