Will the "marriage" between 3D printing and aluminum revolutionize the aluminum industry?

3D printing is a type of rapid prototyping technology. It is a technology that builds an object by layer-by-layer printing using a powdery metal or plastic adhesive material based on a digital model file. 3D printing is usually implemented using digital technology material printers. It is often used in mold manufacturing, industrial design and other fields to manufacture models, and then gradually used in the direct manufacture of some products. There are already printed parts using this technology. The technology has applications in jewellery, footwear, industrial design, construction, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, grabbing and other applications. Such as 3D printed running shoes, 3D printed prosthetic limbs, 3D racing wheelchairs, 3D printed sportswear, and so on, all came into being.

In the aluminum industry, some of the industry giants in the world are also seeing the broad prospects of 3D printing technology and have announced their commitment to 3D printing. Rusal Group (RUSAL) announced that it has signed an agreement with SAUER GmbH, Germany, the world's largest RUSAL company and a member of DMGMORI, the world's largest manufacturer of composite laminated machine tools, to jointly develop printable aluminum and aluminum alloys. Industrial 3D printing technology. The technology will be able to print aluminum parts for customers in the machine production, aerospace and automotive industries, which indicates that this world aluminum giant will be the industry leader in 3D printing.

Americans also felt the arrival of the wave of 3D printing. Researchers at the Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Laboratory at Michigan Technological University in the United States launched a project to explore the common applications of aluminum alloys in 3D printing technology. Paper on the project's "GMAW-based 3D metal printing technology in the use of common aluminum welding alloy as a raw material when the structural properties of relations." The beginning of this research will be a good start for aluminum alloy 3D printing to life.

3D printing has brought about a worldwide manufacturing revolution. It used to be that the design of components depends entirely on whether or not the production process can be realized. The emergence of 3D printers will overturn this production idea, which will allow enterprises to no longer consider production when producing components. Process problems, any complex shape design can be achieved through a 3D printer. This will greatly improve the precision of precision instrument parts, making it more sophisticated and smooth.

This important feature is reflected in the aluminum industry is the use of custom-made 3D printers for the processing of aluminum parts, and can control the accuracy to the micron level. This feature is critical to the refinement of aluminum alloy parts for various types of machinery. Therefore, Audi has specifically purchased a number of 3D printers, and stated that the ultimate goal is to “implement small-volume products optimized by topology and process. Efficient production."

The Russian scientific community and the business community are also working together to enhance the country’s competitiveness in the global 3D printing market. The spacecraft is a national key project, especially the manufacture of satellites. The project to manufacture high-quality satellite 3D printers is under development and is supported by the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos (National Space Corporation) and other space-related Russian companies and universities.

At the end of 2016, Sirius, a Russian-centered Russian education center dedicated to outstanding youth in Sochi, Russia, introduced a sample of 3D printers to Russian President Vladimir Putin. At present, the model has been adjusted and applied to the operation of the International Space Station to produce suitable satellites.

The Joris Laarman Laboratory has launched a furniture made of 3D printing - "gradient aluminum chairs." This chair is made of a small amount of molten aluminum alloy combined with 3D printing technology. It has a complex spatial structure and aesthetics, and elaborates the concept of furniture design in the digital age.