According to Hans Langer, CEO and founder of EOS, “Meeting the manufacturing challenges and application requirements that clients have previously expressed to EOS, we develop new materials that are ideally applicable to manufacturing as well as to our systems and processes. Based on the design possibilities that e-Manufacturing can offer, our clients can even improve their product performance considerably.”

EOS NickelAlloy IN718 meets high-temperature requirements. It is a nickel-based heat resistant superalloy which corresponds to the commonly-known Inconel 718 alloy. It is a precipitation-hardening nickel-chromium alloy characterized by having good tensile, fatigue, creep and rupture strength at temperatures up to 700C. It shows outstanding corrosion resistance, is ideal for many high temperature applications and possesses excellent cryogenic properties. The main target group for this material is the aerospace industry.

Due to the very demanding requirements of this industry, EOS has already been through an extended development and test phase that included several pilot customers. EOS has developed process parameters which enable good part-building and ensure that the relevant industrial standards for this material type can be reliably fulfilled. These include heat treatment in accordance with AMS 5662 and AMS 5664 standards as well as tensile and stress-rupture properties at elevated temperature (650C, 1200F).

"We have been supplying parts in EOS CobaltChrome MP1 as a preferred material for high-stress/high-temperature environments since 2005," said Greg Morris, president of pilot-user Morris Technologies, Inc. "Since working with EOS NickelAlloy IN718, this has become our front-line material of choice for many applications in aerospace and other demanding applications. This material allows us to produce parts that will see some of the most demanding environments including high temperatures, high stress loads and extended fatigue situations."

Ian Halliday, CEO of pilot-user 3T RPD Ltd., added, “EOS NickelAlloy IN718 has helped to open up new application areas for us, and we are working with some of our customers to qualify this material for future series production of aerospace components. Tests have shown already that the mechanical properties of parts built from this material exceed what our customers are used to from cast parts, and they also report that the parts are easier to machine than conventional Inconel 718 parts.”

EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg is lightweight with excellent thermal conductivity. This typical casting alloy is the first aluminium alloy to be qualified for EOSINT M 270 systems and opens up new application areas. EOS has done thorough process development and testing as preparation for the market launch. Cast parts in conventional AlSi10Mg are typically subjected to T6 heat treatment including solution annealing and quenching followed by age hardening at elevated temperatures. 

“Due to the rapid melting and resolidification caused by the laser exposure, the laser-sintered parts match or even exceed the conventional heat-treated parts already in the as-built condition, so even more time and cost can be saved in the process chain,” said Mike Shellabear, vice president of technology at EOS. 

For more information visit www.eos.info