State research institute localizes core software for metal 3D printers

By Park Sae-jin Posted : December 20, 2022, 17:02 Updated : December 20, 2022, 17:02

[Courtesy of KETI]

SEOUL -- A South Korean research institute has localized core software for metal 3D printers to improve the quality of products. The software based on the opinions of 3D printing engineers can create codes and routes which decide the output of lasers and the course they move to create metal 3D-printed objects.
 
Metal 3D printer shoots lasers into a base of powdered metals to weld them. Exact coordinates and the power of lasers must be calculated in order to create fine-quality printed metal products. Currently, South Korea's metal 3D printing industry heavily relies on U.S. and Chinese software and equipment. The global 3D commercial printing market is predicted to reach $5.2 billion by 2027, according to Markets and Markets, a global market research firm.
 
Metal 3D printing which uses additive manufacturing has gained attention. While manufacturers will have to create casts and heavy machinery as well as equipment to mass produce one type of metal object, 3D printers do not. It can create complicated-shaped objects without a whole line of equipment.
 
The Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) said that its research team has developed core software for metal 3D printers. Printer operators can accurately set the course and power of lasers to improve the quality of final products. Currently, such codes installed in foreign software are encrypted and it is almost impossible to decode and collect necessary data.
 
"We were able to overcome the limits of 3D software led by foreign companies and actualized the ideas of engineering specialists using actual engineering know-how," KETI head Shin Hee-dong said in a statement on December 20. 
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