3D Printing Has Applications in Processing Brittle and Crack-free Tungsten
You might have read from a science fiction novel, magazine and must have seen in films like Cloverfield Paradox that 3-dimensional printing of objects has unfathomable applications in space explorations and other scientific endeavors; however, a recent study has shown that 3D printing has found itself a practical application in the manufacturing industry in keeping a very useful material called Tungsten brittle and crack-free.
Well, if we are discussing Tungsten, it should be needless to say that it has numerous useful properties. It has one of the highest melting points ever found in metals, i.e., 3,4220 C, and along with corrosion-resistive properties, its characteristics make it an ideal material to use in high-temperature environments.
Now, its properties also make it disadvantageous in certain conditions apart from making it advantageous in others. And, that is where 3-D printing technology comes into the picture. Tungsten is one of the most brittle metals in the world, and you simply cannot sustain it at room temperature. And thus, it becomes an uphill task processing it at 28-290 F using traditional procedures.
Some scientists researching a reputed institute called “Karlsruhe Institute of Technology” located in Germany have studied the Tungsten problem for a long time now. They have recently tried to find a solution using EBM (electron beam melting), which is an additive manufacturing technique while processing the Tungsten material at room temperature. The scientists are also glad that they have got impressive results in the form of brittle and crack-free Tungsten material, which could then be employed in high-temperature conditions, utilizing its properties to perfection. Presently, the applications which have been put forward for its use include heating elements for furnacing, parts of fusion reactors, medical imaging systems, and rocket nozzles.
The process of additive manufacturing is sometimes also referred to as 3-D printing.
The researchers’ team from KIT (Germany), which was led by a very talented research professional known as Steffen Antusch (from IAM-WK), have tried and tested several procedures of additive manufacturing to manufacture tungsten without any laborious efforts of post-production processing. In the latest string of their research development, the research team successfully led by Steffen Antusch utilized something electron beam melting to decrease tension in Tungsten material during the procedure of processing and thereby making the product as soft as possible without the presence of any cracks, which makes the material less tricky to handle whilst maintaining all of its properties.
The EBM process is also known as “Electron Beam Melting,” uses fast electrons fired at a rapid speed in a vacuum to melt the tungsten metal. By cleverly directing the electron beam, it is perfectly possible to roll out a 3-dimension component out of the metal using the additive process, i.e., manufacturing the piece layer by layer.
And, it should be stated that the whole process was originally designed for Titanium alloys and other metals, which are an essential component in the harnessing of power in a high-temperature environment.
Furthermore, Steffen Antusch and his team took care of the fact that they pre-heating the tungsten metal using the electron gun before actually processing the metal. The main advantage of pre-heating the tungsten material before the actual process is the fact that doing so decreases the possibility of deformation and natural tension in the material. The problem arises when you have material such as tungsten, which is extremely brittle and strenuous to process at room temperature but can also deform if you heat it incorrectly. And, thus using EBM and pre-heating techniques let the researchers process the material optimally.
Meta Description
Tungsten has tremendous characteristics, but it is very brittle. However, a group of German scientists has developed a way to process tungsten using 3-D printing.
Hello, I am Blanche Harris. Being an online security expert, I love to make people aware of cyber threats and share helpful information to them regarding them. Download, install and activate your norton security at norton.com/setup.
Comments
Post a Comment