When choosing a suitable powder-laying laser cladding metal 3D printing device, you can consider the following aspects:

1. Building size: According to the size of the required printed part, choose a device with a suitable building size. Make sure that the building space of the device can accommodate your part.
2. Accuracy requirements: Different applications may have different requirements for accuracy. Understand the molding accuracy of the device, including dimensional accuracy, surface roughness, etc. Generally speaking, the smaller the layer thickness, the higher the accuracy may be, but the printing time may also increase.
3. Laser power and spot diameter: Laser power affects processing efficiency and the range of processable materials. Higher laser power can process some metal materials with higher melting points. The spot diameter is related to the resolution of printed details.
4. Motion control system: The accuracy and stability of the motion control system will affect the printing quality. For example, a device with high-precision linear modules, precision electric cylinder drives, and galvanometer drives can ensure the accuracy of powder laying and contour scanning of each layer.
5. Scalability: Consider whether the device supports multi-laser configuration or expansion axes to meet possible future needs. For example, some devices can be expanded from a single laser to dual lasers or quad lasers to improve printing efficiency.
6. Powder supply method: Common methods include upper powder dropping or lower powder feeding. Different powder supply methods may affect the uniformity of powder delivery and distribution.
7. Equipment stability and reliability: Choose equipment with a solid structure and good stability to reduce the possibility of vibration or failure during printing. Understand the brand and quality of the key components of the equipment, as well as the reputation and after-sales service of the manufacturer.
8. Software and control system: Powerful and easy-to-operate software can improve work efficiency. For example, software with open process data packages, parameter optimization and good support addition functions.
9. Material compatibility: Confirm that the equipment can be used for the required metal materials, such as stainless steel, mold steel, cobalt-based alloys, high-temperature alloys, titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, etc.
10. Safety performance: The equipment should have good safety design, such as inert gas protection, powder handling and mobile pickup devices, etc., to reduce operational risks.
11. Price and budget: According to your own budget range, choose cost-effective equipment on the premise of meeting your needs. But be careful not to take price as the only decision factor and ignore the quality and performance of the equipment.
12. Application fields and industry requirements: If the printing equipment is used in a specific industry, such as molds, aerospace, automobiles, etc., it is necessary to consider the application cases and experience of the equipment in related fields, and whether it meets the special requirements of the industry.
13. After-sales service and technical support: Understand the after-sales service content provided by the manufacturer or supplier, including installation and commissioning, training, repair and maintenance, etc. Good technical support can solve problems in time when the equipment has problems, reducing downtime.

Before choosing, you can also visit the equipment manufacturer’s factory or actual case display to get more information about the equipment’s performance and actual printing effect. At the same time, you can exchange experiences with other users to understand their feelings and suggestions when using similar equipment. In addition, consulting multiple manufacturers and conducting detailed technical comparisons will help make a more informed choice.

Han’s Laser’s HANS M720-300 is a powder-spreading laser 3D printer with the following features for reference:

• Fully open process data package for easy secondary process development;
• Powder drop and two-way powder spreading;
• Large molding size, high-efficiency industry-specific machine;
• Safe, stable and efficient independent circulation purification system;
• Single-row four-head laser, efficient molding.

Applicable materials include stainless steel, mold steel, cobalt-based alloy, high-temperature alloy, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, etc. The equipment size is 2560mm×1400mm×2600mm, the maximum molding size is 710mm×350mm×300mm, the molding accuracy is ±0.1mm, the laser power is 500W×4, the beam quality M²＜1.1, the laser wavelength is 1060nm～1080nm, the spot diameter is ≦90μm, the powder layer thickness is 20μm～100μm, the scanning speed is ≦10m/s, and the oxygen content is ≤100ppm. Its control mode is Profinet bus, and the power supply/power consumption is 380V±10%, 100A, ≤35KW. The equipment is suitable for shoe molds, aerospace, automobile and other industries.

In addition, Huacheng 3D’s SLM150 metal 3D printer also has certain characteristics:

• The density of metal printed parts is nearly 100%, and the fluctuation of mechanical properties is <3%;
• The Z-axis repeat positioning accuracy of the molding cylinder is ≤±5μm, and the layer thickness of the printing process is stable;
• When double laser printing, the accuracy deviation of the overlap area is ≤±0.1mm;
• The independently developed process software optimizes the scanning path and shortens the processing time;
• The printing preparation time is short, the substrate + scraper leveling time is <3min, and the inflation time (closing the hatch to the printing state) is <15 minutes;
• The printing efficiency is high, and the maximum molding speed can reach 55cm³/h;
• It can achieve large layer thickness printing and further improve production capacity.

The LiM-X400A large-format customizable metal 3D printer from Radium Laser has the following advantages:

• Flexible and configurable, it can be customized based on the standard model architecture according to customer needs, and provides a variety of configuration options such as single laser, dual laser, and quad laser;
• Inheriting the proven safety design, it ensures the sealing and effective protection of inert gas during the printing process, and adopts a carefully designed powder handling device and mobile pickup device to reduce safety risks;
• The core components of well-known domestic and foreign brands, such as IPG lasers, Scanlab galvanometers, THK guide mechanisms, etc., are selected to ensure the reliability and consistency of the equipment’s printing quality;
• The wind field design with optimized parameters improves the printing quality;
• The independently developed printing control software has a fully open process parameter package that can cope with various extreme structures. Through the functions of automatic avoidance of the scanning angles in the wind and the wind, strip strategy, and optimized overlap, the overall printing quality is guaranteed.

Equipment of different brands and models may differ in specific performance and features. You can make a comprehensive evaluation and selection based on your actual needs. At the same time, you can also consider the scalability of the equipment to adapt to possible future business development and technology upgrade needs. Before purchasing, it is recommended to fully communicate with the equipment supplier to understand the detailed information of the equipment, technical support and after-sales service.