Powder bed fusion

Powder Bed Fusion offers a multitude of benefits including reduced material wastage, improved buy-to-fly, efficient recycling and low volume production.

Powder bed fusion

(also known as direct metal laser melting or selective laser melting)

Kingsbury, through their partnership with SLM Solutions, can offer production-ready powder bed fusion machines to the UK and Ireland.

The selective laser melting process totally melts each layer into the previous for completely dense metal parts. This allows companies to go from a prototype to final part in days with total design flexibility.

Compared to traditional manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing enables parts with complex geometric shapes and hollow structures to be produced and is used in several industries including aerospace, automotive, energy, tooling, healthcare, as well as research and development.

What is powder bed fusion?

  1. A layer of metal powder is spread onto a substrate plate
  2. The laser selectively melts the powder to create the first layer of the build
  3. A fresh layer of metal powder is evenly distributed over the build surface
  4. The lasers melt each successive layer to the layers underneath until the desired component is produced

Powder bed fusion gives unparalleled freedom of design. It allows the manufacture of complex assemblies and part consolidation, giving users the ability to produce multiple parts at the same time.

Additive in manufacturing

Metal additive manufacturing has revolutionised modern manufacturing processes in every industry – from aerospace right through to medical.

Additive manufacturing creates significant advantages for organisations, allowing them to quickly react to changing market demands. Parts can be produced quickly without the need for extra equipment or investment.

Whether you need on-demand spare parts production, customised products, lightweight designs, functional integration or completely new ideas – metal 3D printing can meet your needs.

What are the advantages of powder bed fusion?

 

  • Reduced material wastage and cost
  • Improved buy-to-fly ratio
  • Efficient recycling of un-melted powder
  • Rapid prototyping and low volume production
  • Wide material choice
  • No need for machining fixtures
  • Fully customised parts on a batch by batch basis

The advantages of powder bed fusion

Get in touch

If you have any questions about our machines, or interest in setting up a new machining process. Our expert team are more than happy to help.

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