Press Releases

Linear Documents Costs, Times for Laser-Sintering vs. Traditional Machining
Data reveal dramatic savings with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) for tooling, mold inserts

Novi, MI, September 4, 2008 — EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, the worldwide leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems, today announced the results of data gathered by Linear Mold & Engineering (Livonia, MI) comparing manufacturing times for creating molds and mold inserts in Direct Metal Laser-Sintering (DMLS) against traditional machining processes. The data were assembled during two-and-a-half years of costing out more than 50 commercial tool and mold projects across a wide variety of industries. The results demonstrate that, for many applications, DMLS significantly reduces production times and therefore costs. Cost savings using DMLS range between 15 and 30 percent, depending on the complexity of the part.

Because Linear has longstanding experience with machining, CNC tooling, EDM, and other tool and mold making processes, the company has a library of benchmark figures for how long different projects will take using these methods. Over the past three years, Linear has manufactured molds and inserts in Cobalt Chrome,  GP1 (17-4) stainless steel, and DirectMetal-20 using DMLS. Below are examples of some typical moldmaking projects, showing estimated production times for machining versus the actual time for DMLS:

John Tenbusch, president of Linear, says, “Given the high cost of materials and energy these days, we are always on the lookout for savings and efficiencies. Often, when we compare our production times between laser-sintering and other manufacturing methods, using DMLS is the obvious choice.”

“Linear is a creative, innovative customer,” comments Jim Fendrick, Vice President of EOS of North America. “John and his staff are constantly exploring the capabilities of DMLS to shorten manufacturing cycles and grow parts that wouldn’t be as cost-effective, or wouldn’t even be manufacturable, using traditional processes.”

DMLS on the EOSINT M 270 is a form of additive manufacturing. The process begins with a CAD file that defines each layer of a cross-sectioned model. 20 to 40 µm thin layers of metal powder are deposited onto a build platform and laser-sintered by a focused laser beam. The platform is then lowered and the process repeated layer-by-layer until a three-dimensional metal part is produced. DMLS can “grow” parts, even those with extremely complex geometries, in just a few hours.

EOS has completed its business year 2006/2007 with revenues in laser-sintering of €59.7 million (approximately $88 million), which is an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year. EOS GmbH is headquartered in Krailling/Munich, Germany.

Shown are injection molded visor clips (foreground) made using sintered DM 20 tooling inserts (copper color) and Stainless Steel GP1 (17-4) slide components. Using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) the moldmaking time was reduced to 8 days, instead of 4 weeks using traditional machining processes. (Courtesy of Linear Mold)