Recently, the first generation of open source electron beam metal 3D printer QbeamLab was officially released in Tianjin High-end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University. Lin Feng, Chief scientist of Tsinghua University, He Yongyong, Executive Vice President of Tianjin High-end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University, Fu Sheng, director of Science and Technology Committee of Dongli District and Management Committee of Huaming High-tech Zone, Li Fangzheng, Secretary of the Secretariat of Additive Manufacturing Industry Alliance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the meeting.

Electron beam Selective Melting (EBSM) metal 3D printing uses electron beams as an energy source to melt metal powders layer by layer under high vacuum conditions to create solid parts. Because of the large power of the electron beam and the high energy absorption rate of the electron beam, EBSM technology has the advantages of high component density, low oxygen content, small thermal stress, small deformation and cracking, low price of powder consumables and high printing efficiency. In particular, 3D printing of refractory hard metal materials has unique advantages and applications, and is widely used in orthopedics, aerospace and other fields. For example, a number of domestic and foreign medical device companies, including Icahn Medical, have used EBSM to manufacture orthopedic implants such as hip joints and vertebral bodies, and successfully obtained FDA and CFDA medical registration certificates. GE uses EBSM technology to mass-produce titanium and aluminum alloy low-pressure turbine blades, with manufacturing costs close to precision casting and a 30% weight reduction, which will eventually replace all cast blades and be installed on the latest aircraft engines.

The open source electron beam 3D printer QbeamLab was released by Qingqing Zhisheng Technology Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as Qingqing Technology), an incubator enterprise of Tianjin High-end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University. It has independent core software, key component modules, customizable, open source process parameters, self-diagnosis and self-recovery, and long-term stability and reliability.

The reporter learned that QbeamLab equipment has been online in 2017, and has received four orders, including well-known enterprises and vocational colleges such as CSIC and Tianjin Vocational University. It is worth mentioning that in the first year of listing, the product received orders from well-known overseas enterprises, and successfully realized the export of domestic high-end metal 3D printers. At the meeting, Shaanxi Hengtong Intelligent Machinery Co., Ltd. and Hunan Yishu Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. signed a contract.