Iranian Company Makes Complex Industrial Parts with Metal 3D Printer
“SLM technology, which uses alloy powder as a raw material and laser as a manufacturing tool, enables the production of parts with any complexity directly from their 3D file. In this method, the final metal product with any complexity is made directly from its 3D file without the need to any special secondary operations,” said Ahmad Forouzmehr, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“In this process, high power laser is used to melt metal powder and mix them together. When a layer is formed, a new layer of powder is spread over the surface. The thickness of the layers varies from at least 20 to 100 microns,” he explained.
Forouzmehr said that among the materials used in the process are tool steel, stainless steel, cobalt chrome and titanium, adding when reactive materials like titanium or aluminum are used, the amount of oxygen in the sealed chamber should be minimized to prevent oxidation of the material and subsequent defects.
“To reduce oxygen, it is sufficient to fill up the chamber with pure argon gas. This machine is used to make parts required for power plant, aerospace, automotive, industrial, medical and dental molds. This device also enjoys many capabilities in the field of research in areas of mechanical engineering and metallurgy,” he noted.
In a relevant development in March, Iranian specialists at a knowledge-based company had also succeeded in making a toner-producing machine with the capability of mass-production.
“I started laboratory work on this product after being aware of Iran’s serious need for the toner as an expensive and high-consumption material. After research, we found out that in order to produce toner, we should first build machines to produce it, and with personal investment and after spending 15 years of research and development, I was able to produce toner with a unique formula,” said Mohammad Hossein Hassani, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
Noting that the toner production equipment has been made in Iran for the first time by using the internal capacity, he said, “The machine does not have a similar domestic counterpart, and one of its differences compared to the foreign example is the use of local raw materials, meaning petrochemicals.”
“We have produced this toner in cooperation with an Iranian company, and all this know-how and technology has grown internally, and we are able to develop, grow and export it. Also, its price is cheaper than similar foreign samples,” Hassani said.
He noted that the knowledge-based company is able to produce 100 tons of toner per year.
4155/v
