Additive Manufacturing - Potter Innovations - Design, Engineering, Solutions

Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing has many forms. Metal additive manufacturing typically utilizes metal powders similar to those used in the MIM process. Powders are laid down using various methods and the either laser or electron beam melt together the particles. The two dimensional shape of each layer is controlled by positioning of the melt spot in the X and Y directions. Layer after layer of powdered metal is placed and melted together eventually forming a three dimensional structure. Other variants of the metal printing process use binders to bind the metal powders together. Parts built using this binding process require an additional sintering step to complete the process.