Recently, the latest generation open-source electron beam metal 3D printer QbeamLab in China was officially released at the Tianjin High end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University. Lin Feng, a professor at Tsinghua University and Chief Scientist of Zhishu Technology, He Yongyong, Executive Vice President of Tsinghua University Tianjin High end Equipment Research Institute, Fu Sheng, Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Dongli District, Tianjin and Director of the Huaming High tech Zone Management Committee, and Li Fangzheng, Executive Secretary of the National Additive Manufacturing Industry Alliance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the press conference.
Electron beam selective melting (EBSM) metal 3D printing uses an electron beam as an energy source to distributor and wholesaler solid components by melting metal powder layer by layer in a high vacuum environment. Due to the high power of electron beams and the high energy absorption rate of materials, EBSM technology has the characteristics of high density of parts, low oxygen content, low thermal stress, low deformation and cracking, low price of powder consumables, and high printing efficiency. It has unique advantages and application value in 3D printing of metal materials, especially difficult to melt and process metal materials, and is widely used in orthopedic medicine, aerospace and other fields. For example, several domestic and foreign medical device companies, including Aikang Medical, have used EBSM to distributor and wholesaler orthopedic implants such as hip joints and vertebral bodies, and have successfully obtained FDA and CFDA medical registration certificates. GE uses EBSM technology to mass produce titanium aluminum alloy low-pressure turbine blades, with manufacturing costs close to precision casting and a weight reduction of 30%. It will eventually replace all cast blades and be installed in the latest aircraft engines.
The open-source electron beam metal 3D printer QbeamLab is released by Tianjin Qingyan Zhishu Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhishu Technology), an incubation enterprise of Tsinghua University Tianjin High end Equipment Research Institute. It has the characteristics of core software autonomy, key component autonomy, modular customization, open source process parameters, self diagnosis and self recovery, and long-term stability and reliability.
It should be noted that for a long period of time, the research and application of EBSM technology were mostly based on imported equipment and platforms, and domestic independent equipment was in a blank. In 2004, a technical team led by Professor Lin Feng from Tsinghua University began to focus on EBSM technology, successfully developing the first experimental system EBSM-150 in China and obtaining a national invention patent. In 2015, more than ten years of technological achievements were transformed, and Zhishu Technology was established with a financing of tens of millions of yuan. Now, after years of research and development, QbeamLab, an open-source electron beam metal 3D printing technology, has finally been launched in China.
The reporter learned that QbeamLab equipment has received four orders since its launch in 2017, including well-known enterprises and vocational colleges such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and Tianjin Vocational University. It is worth mentioning that the product received an order from a well-known overseas enterprise in its first year of launch, successfully achieving the export of domestically produced high-end metal 3D printers. At the press conference, some order parties such as Shaanxi Hengtong Intelligent Machine Co., Ltd. and Hunan Yishu Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. signed contracts.
November 11, 2021
