Additive Manufacturing Paper: Homogenous Heating in Microwave Sintering in Metal Manufacturing
We partnered with Metallum3D to publish one of their technical papers on advanced microwave sintering technologies for sinter-based metal manufacturing.
Metallum3D wanted to take on the challenge to improving conventional sintering processes for metal manufacturing. Conventional sintering processes have slow heating rates, long sintering times, high energy consumption and high equipment costs. Metallum3D’s patent-pending microwave sintering technologies greatly improve the performance and economics of the sintering process by providing fast heating rates (5x to 10x faster), short sintering times (up to 80% reduction), energy efficiency, and lower equipment costs.
Paper: “HOMOGENEOUS HEATING IN MICROWAVE SINTERING WITH NON-RESONANT SLOTTED WAVEGUIDES AND GRANULAR SUSCEPTOR MATERIAL”
This paper analyzes a variety of techniques for manufacturing a three-dimensional part followed by a sintering process.
In one technique, a 3D printer may extrude a feedstock composed of a metal powder and a binder to create a green part without the need for a mold. The green part may then undergo a debinding and sintering processes to produce a solid metal part. In another technique, a 3D printed part is produced by selectively spraying a binder into successive layers of a metal powder material to form a green part. The green part is then subjected to a sintering process to produce a solid metal part. 
Current conventional sintering processes for metal additive manufacturing have slow heating rates (~ 5 deg. C/min), long sintering times (> 24 hrs.), high energy consumption and high equipment costs. Metallum3D is developing patent pending microwave sintering technologies that greatly improve the performance and economics of the sintering process including fast heating rates (5x to 10x faster), short sintering times (up to 80% reduction when compared to conventional sintering), lower energy consumption and lower equipment costs. Read the paper to learn more…
