Development of EB/PBF 3D Printer

Abstract

Electron beam processing has advantages over laser beam processing in terms of speed and quality when applied to metal melting due to its absorptivity into metal and vacuum process environment. Using the features of the electron beam, the newly developed EB/PBF 3D printer (Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion 3D Printer) has one of the world’s largest build sizes and highest build speeds. This review provides a description of basic electron beam processing, the development of the electron beam gun, which can control a beam covering a large scan area with high speed and precise beam profile, the additional mold transfer system and basic technology required for powder recycle. A small-size EB/PBF 3D printer that applies the fruits of this development has been released.