Overview

3D printing with metals is revolutionizing manufacturing, engineering, and artistry. In “Introduction to 3D Printing with Metals,” you’ll learn about the essential elements of the technology, and how it can be applied to a range of use cases. Designed for broad relevance to professionals, hobbyists, and students alike, the course provides essential information about methods of printing using metals, how they work, their advantages and limitations, and most importantly, their practical applications. From basic, desktop forms of 3D printing with metals to more complex processes, like powder bed fusion and jetting-based projects, you will learn about 3D metal printing through examples and interviews with industry experts. You’ll also gain hands-on experience with 3D printing within a smartphone or desktop-accessible augmented reality experience. The content presented in this course draws on a number of interviews with industry experts and was created through a partnership with Siemens. With this course, you’ll gain a broad understanding of how 3D printing with metals can help you realize your creative vision or enhance your career.

Syllabus

Why 3D Print with Metals?

Welcome to the Introduction to 3D Printing with Metals course! Why does one need to 3D print with metals? When is it better to 3D print with metals as opposed to plastic? How is it different? This module will allow you to answer these important questions by reviewing the fundamentals of 3D printing with plastics and introducing the process of 3D printing with metals. Let's start printing!

Directed Energy Deposition (DED)

Welcome to Module 2! Imagine this: Instead of welding metallic parts together, what if we let the weld be part itself? How to do that? Our imagination can become a reality. Directed Energy Deposition (DED) with metals is a family of processes that allow one to “draw” a part in 3D space by welding together material nonstop until the part is finished. In principle, this would be human-operable, but robotic welders do it because it requires long periods of nonstop operation. This module reviews three types of DED processes, which differ in the size and precision of the machinery used, in the form of the metal stock being welded, and in how the weld is performed. Let's start printing!

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)

Welcome to Module 3! There are many applications for 3D printing with metals that demand extreme precision, far more so than the extrusion-based and welding-based processes—we have learned about so far—can satisfy. A class of processes called Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) addresses this concern by fusing metal powder particles with a far smaller and more concentrated heat source than Directed Energy Deposition (DED), with the powder particles laying stationary as a flat surface to further remove process variability. In this module, we will learn about two types of PBF processes, which differ in the technology used for the heat source. Let's start printing!

Jetting-Based Processes

Welcome to Module 4! In Module 3, we discussed the powder bed fusion processes and how they produce parts with extreme geometric complexity. However, they are very slow processes. So, what could be done to improve the process speed? A class of methods known as jetting-based processes addresses these concerns by joining powder particles together at room temperature using a glue-like binder and then fusing the joined particles together into a solid part as a post-processing step. This can be done much faster than a continuous application of heat. In this module, we review two types of jetting-based processes, which differ in how the powder particles are joined together during the layer-wise printing process. Let's start printing!

Friction-Lamination Processes

Welcome to Module 5, the last Module of the Course! We know already that many applications for 3D printing with metals demand extremely strict quality control. The various fusing methods discussed earlier in the course struggle to meet these demands. Lamination-based processes address this limitation by joining together layers of metal sheets via low-intensity methods that almost exactly reproduce the properties of traditionally wrought material without needing extra post-processing work. In this module, we review two types of jetting-based processes, which differ in the technology used to fuse the metal sheets together. Let's finalize printing!