Powder Bed Fusion Printer Creates Molds with Increasingly Complex Geometries

AddUp Inc. is a global metal additive manufacturing (AM) OEM, providing industrial-scale metal 3D printers. The company evolved from a partnership between tire manufacturer Michelin and Fives for a laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) machine to build tire mold inserts and industrial parts with quality, accuracy and repeatability.

AddUp launched the FormUp 350 New Generation powder bed fusion (PBF) machine in 2021. This machine can reportedly create molds with increasingly complex geometries with internal passages that cannot be achieved with conventional manufacturing processes. The FormUp 350 enables the use of very fine powders (5-25 μm), which when coupled with a roller recoating system, provides users with a support-free production of cantilevered parts down to 10º, and achieves surface finishes of sub-10 μm arithmetic roughness (Ra).

According to AddUp, the FormUp 350 also offers an autonomous powder module that provides all the functions of powder management. It provides a constant supply of powder, without interrupting production, regardless of the quantities to be produced. The modular design of the FormUp 350 machine also allows each manufacturer to configure the machine according to their specific needs, offering users a scalable option to increase their level of productivity while guaranteeing user safety.