electron beam melting (3D printing) (EBM)
Electron Beam Melting(EBM) is a 3D printing technique for rapid prototyping. In this process, individual layers of thread-like plastic strands, called filament, are applied one after the other and fused together in a vacuum.
In contrast to selective laser melting( SLM), in electron beam melting the melting temperature is not generated by a high- power laser, but by an electron beam. According to the process, in electron beam melting, the 3D object is printed in individual layers one after another and fused together by a focused electron beam. The electron beam is generated in the cathode of an electron beam tube, accelerated by electrostatic fields and the high voltage of the anode, and deflected by electromagnetically operating deflection coils.
To avoid oxygen inclusions, the 3D model is in a vacuum and is modeled by the approximately 1,000 °C hot electron beam, which is deflected electrostatically. The resolution is between 50 µm and 100 µm.
In this way, 3D models of any geometry can be created. The process can also be used selectively and is then referred to as Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM).