DMG Mori LASERTEC 30 SLM

DMG MORI's LASERTEC 30 SLM 3rd Generation is a 325 × 325 × 400 mm (12.8 × 12.8 × 15.7 in) powder bed machine, and most of what the Highlights say about this generation concerns repeatability: how the frame, the process chamber and the monitoring keep one build like the next.

Three of the listed features deal with heat. The frame is a thermosymmetric casting. The process chamber is floating, which keeps its thermal movement from shifting the rest of the machine. The z-axis positioning has active temperature compensation. In a process that puts 1,000 W of listed laser power into the chamber, layer after layer at a minimum thickness of 30 µm (0.0012 in) over a build up to 400 mm (15.7 in) tall, drift in Z during a long job is a real source of error, and these three items are aimed at it.

Two monitoring functions watch the process itself. Protective glass monitoring detects smoke residues and weld penetrations on the glass. Powder bed monitoring looks for anomalies in the layer. The recoater works in both directions and has a collision protection system.

Operation runs through CELOS X with easyAM, which provides guided workflows for running and maintaining the machine. The laser system is available as Single-, Dual- or Quad-Laser with full overlap, and the build container is exchangeable.

The remaining limits are a focus diameter of 80 µm (0.0031 in) and a workpiece weight of 400 kg (881.8 lb). Powder is managed in the rePLUG module, one material per module, with sieving and drying under inert gas; the rePLUG FLEX module for parameter development is an option.