IPG Photonics Corporation
Laser Additive Manufacturing​

Laser Additive Manufacturing​

What is Laser Additive Manufacturing?

Encompassing a variety of processes, including selective laser melting and sintering, laser metal fusion, and laser metal deposition, laser additive manufacturing (LAM) is a flexible, high-speed process suited for both prototyping and industrial production. Laser additive manufacturing solutions offer high-quality results in a wide variety of materials including aluminum, steels, copper, and polymers and other non-metals.

Highly precise spatial control of the laser beam enables the creation of both fine and bulk features with resolutions that reduces the need for finishing processes, even in complex parts. Optimization of laser parameters such as focus and wavelength combined with high-speed scanning of the beam enables the rapid creation of both full parts and additive features.

Advantages of Laser Additive Manufacturing

High Resolution

Laser additive manufacturing utilizes focused beam with the small spot sizes to make small parts and complex geometries possible.

Excellent Mechanical Properties

The laser additive manufacturing process produces parts and features with desirable material properties like density, hardness, and tensile strength.

Fast Printing Speed

Laser additive manufacturing technology enables faster processing speeds by allowing for rapid switching between different spot sizes for different resolutions.

Process Flexibility

Laser additive manufacturing processes are easily automated and offer a variety of methods to address a wide range of materials and geometries.

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    Copper Part Printed with a Pulsed Green Laser

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    Laser Cladding

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Laser Additive Manufacturing Capabilities

 

Fine tuning of laser parameters allows for optimization of laser additive manufacturing processes. Adjustments in laser focus, wavelength, power, and pulse properties enables higher process speeds and quality across materials, features, and geometries.

Copper manufacturing, for example, often utilizes green lasers  to take advantage of the green wavelength's favorable interaction with the material. In many copper applications, however, highly focused infrared lasers deliver similar results.

Dual-Mode Fiber Lasers

Dual-Mode Fiber Lasers for High-Speed Additive Manufacturing

Developed specifically for 3D metal printing, dual-mode fiber lasers combine independently adjustable single-mode and multi-mode outputs into one fiber to offer up to 5X higher printing speeds.

Compared to alternative solutions like external moving bulk optics or other mode switching technologies, dual-mode fiber lasers are more compact and cost-effective and are not sensitive to alignment, vibration, or contamination.

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Types of Laser Additive Manufacturing

 

Selective Laser Sintering

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and the closely related Selective Laser Melting (SLM) fuse or melt layers of powder to produce parts with excellent mechanical properties. SLS and SLM work well with a variety of materials and for complex part geometries.

 

Laser Metal Deposition

Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), also know as laser cladding, uses metal powder fed co-axially through a nozzle to add material to an existing workpiece. The process produces high quality features with minimal thermal impact on the underlying part.

 

Stereolithography

Stereolithography (SLA) is a common resin 3D printing method that builds parts layer by layer. This photochemical process is a fast and cost-effective approach for creating prototypes for medical device manufacturers and a variety of other industries.

Discover Your Laser Additive Manufacturing Solution​

IPG is a partner for every stage of production from research and development to full-scale manufacturing.

Our laser additive manufacturing experts are ready to evaluate your application and offer a solution optimized for your requirements

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How Can We Help?

Whether you have a project in mind or just want to learn more about laser additive manufacturing, an IPG laser expert is ready to help.