Recently, QbeamLab, the first domestic open-source electron beam metal 3D printer of the latest generation, was officially released in the Tianjin Institute of High end Equipment, Tsinghua University. Lin Feng, a professor of Tsinghua University and chief scientist of Wisdom Technology, He Yongyong, executive vice president of Tianjin High end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University, Fu Sheng, director of the Science Committee of Dongli District, Tianjin, and director of the Management Committee of Huaming High tech Zone, Li Fangzheng, executive secretary of the National Additive Manufacturing Industry Alliance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and others attended the conference.

Electron beam selective melting (EBSM) metal 3D printing uses electron beam as the energy source to produce solid parts by melting metal powder layer by layer in a high vacuum environment. Because of the high power of the electron beam and the high energy absorption rate of the material to the electron beam, EBSM technology has the characteristics of high density, low oxygen content, low thermal stress, not easy to deform and crack, low price of powder consumables, and high printing efficiency. It has unique advantages and application value in 3D printing of metal materials, especially refractory and hard to process metal materials, and is widely used in orthopedic medicine, aerospace and other fields. For example, many domestic and foreign medical device companies, including Aikang Medical, have successfully obtained FDA and CFDA medical registration certificates by using EBSM to manufacture hip joint, vertebral body and other orthopedic implants. GE adopts the EBSM technology to manufacture titanium aluminum alloy low-pressure turbine blades in batches. The manufacturing cost is close to that of precision casting, and the weight is reduced by 30%. GE will eventually replace all cast blades and install them in the latest aeroengine.

The open source electron beam metal 3D printer QbeamLab was released by Tianjin Qingyan Wisdom Beam Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wisdom Beam Technology), an incubator of Tianjin High end Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University. It has the characteristics of independent core software, independent key components, modular customization, open source process parameters, self diagnosis and self recovery, and long-term stability and reliability.

It should be noted that for a long period of time, most of the research and application of EBSM technology were based on imported equipment and platforms, and domestic independent equipment was blank. In 2004, the technical team led by Professor Lin Feng of Tsinghua University began to aim at the EBSM technology, successfully developed the first domestic experimental system EBSM-150, and won the national invention patent. In 2015, the technological achievements of more than ten years were transformed, Zhibun Technology was established and financing of ten million yuan was completed. Now, after years of research and development, it is the first in China to launch the open source electron beam metal 3D printing QbeamLab.

The reporter learned that QbeamLab equipment has won four orders in 2017 since it was launched, including well-known enterprises and vocational colleges such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and Tianjin Vocational University. It is worth mentioning that in the first year of product launch, the company obtained an order from a well-known overseas enterprise, and successfully exported domestic high-end metal 3D printers. At the press conference, some orderers such as Shaanxi Hengtong Intelligent Machine Co., Ltd. and Hunan Yishu Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. signed contracts.