Welding and additive manufacturing solutions

Photo Courtesy: Civan Lasers

Civan Lasers and Smart Move GmbH partnered to provide welding and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing (AM) solutions. By steering Civan’s dynamic beam laser (DBL) with Smart Move’s laser scan head, welding and LPBF customers can now change beam shape orientation on the fly, enabling the use of nonsymmetrical beam shapes in complex geometries and making previously impossible applications a reality.

Civan’s coherent beam combination modulates beam shape at speeds up to hundreds of megahertz without any moving parts. The new lasers use optical phased array coherent beam combining to merge many single-mode laser beams into a larger beam. Each laser’s light overlaps with other beams, creating a diffraction pattern that allows manipulating the beam shape in real time. Phase modulators control the individual beams, and the resulting interference pattern can be adjusted to maximize the beam spot position and produce various shape patterns inscribed by the beam’s motion.

In addition to beam shape, Civan’s DBLs also enable control of shape frequency, shape sequence, and depth of focus. The ability to control these parameters is a powerful tool for optimization of evaporation in the capillary, the flow in the molten pool, and the solidification of the melt for any laser materials processing application. Such control eliminates pore, spatter, and crack formation while increasing feed rates and speeds in welding and additive manufacturing applications.

3D printing investments look strong in 2022

Stratasys company MakerBot has released results from its latest survey on 3D printing use habits and investment plans of nearly 1,200 professionals in its global network. The study finds continued strong adoption of 3D printing, with 77% of respondents saying they made 3D printing investments in 2021, and 69% expecting to do so this year.

The figures represent an increase from last year’s survey, in which 74% of respondents said they planned new 3D printing investments in 2021. In this year’s study, 84% of respondents who invested last year said they plan to purchase more equipment, materials, and accessories in 2022 for prototyping, tooling, or even expanding to mass production – something new for respondents.

“The results from our report show an eagerness to increase both use and spend as 3D printing demonstrates its ability to accelerate product development and transform businesses,” says MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen.