The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology has developed the 'Selectively Laser Melting (SLM)' technology, which realizes world-class titanium layer stacking speed. The SLM process is a 3D printing technology that layers metal powder by melting it with a high-power laser. It can precisely create complex shapes and is utilized in advanced component manufacturing.
The joint research team led by Kim Keon-hee, principal researcher of the Functional Material Parts Group at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and Lee Ho-nyeon, principal researcher of the New Industrial Parts Research Division, announced on the 29th that they have developed SLM process technology that doubles the layering speed of titanium materials while simultaneously improving quality.
Titanium is widely used as a key material in the medical and aerospace industries due to its excellent strength and corrosion resistance, but there was a drawback in the SLM process where the layering time was long. Additionally, as the layered material became thicker, it was difficult to secure adequate properties due to insufficient energy delivery, resulting in defects such as porosity.
The research team developed process conditions that enable rapid titanium layering while meeting material property requirements using only a single laser heat source. They calculated the energy required for the titanium powder to fully melt and solidify and precisely measured the energy absorption rate, reflecting the laser wavelength. Based on this, they combined process variables such as laser output, scanning speed and interval, and layering thickness to derive an optimized energy density for layering.
Using the technology developed by the research team, the layering time for an average adult-sized thoracic implant is reduced from 5 days to 3 days.
Kim Keon-hee noted, “This technology has shortened the production time for patient-specific medical devices, allowing us to reduce the waiting time for surgeries of critical patients,” and added, “We plan to expand the technology to various metal materials such as aluminum, nickel, and iron alloys, and to carry out follow-up research to broaden its application beyond medical to advanced component fields including aerospace, automotive, and defense.”