Advantages

Deposition Rates

As for the brawn, EBAM gross deposition rates range from 7 to 25 lbs.  (3.18 to 11.34 kg) of metal per hour, depending upon the selected  material and part features, making it the fastest metal additive  manufacturing process in the market. The reported maximum deposition  rate of laser-based wire-feed is 48.0 g/min, which translates to 6.4 lbs.  (2.9 kg) per hour. [8] Typical SLM and EBM metal powder AM approaches,  on the other hand, produce 0.22 to 0.44 lbs. (0.1 to 0.2 kg) per hour.  [7] In addition, powder-fed laser directed energy deposition methods  (i.e. blown powder techniques) top out around 5 lbs. (2.27 kg) per hour.

Material Costs

For example, on average, AM-grade Titanium 6AI-4V powder is about 141% more expensive than the average cost of Titanium 6AI-4V wire – and  Titanium wire generally has a faster turnaround time than Titanium  powder (sometimes as much as 4 weeks). AM-grade Tantalum powder is 7%  more expensive than the average cost of Tantalum wire. Dramatically, both AM-grade Inconel 625 powder and AM-grade Stainless Steel 316 powder are double the average cost of their wire counterparts.

Material Properties

Our innovative IRISS process control virtually eliminates  inconsistencies from the first to the last layer. Because IRISS is  self-adjusting, it maintains key process characteristics through the  manufacturing cycle, which results in high-quality parts. The iterative  nature of our control technology results in designs with greater  complexity, performance and cost reductions, compared to passive,  open-loop monitoring systems offered by others in the AM industry.