The AM laboratory at Ångström
The AM laboratory at Ångström is a research infrastructure providing facilities and equipment for AM-related research.
The lab is located in the Ångström laboratory on floor K1 of house 6 and houses both common equipment maintained by AM@Å and co-located equipment from different research groups.
This joint laboratory has been created to provide suitable lab spaces for different AM processes and equipment, and allow efficient use of resources.
Additionally the shared lab promotes a creative and synergetic research environment for additive manufacturing.
The AM lab at Ångström is a part of the WISE resarch technology platform WISE additive.
Equipment available through AM@Å
Access
The common AM infrastructure maintained by the AM@Å initiative is available to all research groups at the Faculty of science and technology at Uppsala university.
When the laboratory facilities of AM@Å have been used in your research, we require that this acknowledged in publications
The running cost of the equipment is covered by user fees, with different hourly cost for different instruments, see price list
New users will receive training on the instruments from our research engineers, but for smaller projects it will also be possible to engage the research engineer at an hourly basis to do work for a specific project.
Users who have received training on instruments can thereafter book the equipment themselves, where some booking rules apply to ensure fair distribution of instrument time between the projects. Booking is done through the Ångström Lims system
Access for external users and projects
External projects, from academia or industry, are accepted based on availability of resources.
For accepted external projects, equipment will be booked by the research engineer, under the same booking rules as internal projects.
Different prices apply for external users, , see price list
Contact
To get access to our the equipment in the AM lab, or to discuss the possibility of having printing projects carried out, please contact our research engineers:
Jithin James
Research engineer
responsible for the AM lab
Evgenii Tikhomirov
Research engineer
working with polymer printing
Equipment available through AM@Å
ACONITY MIDI PBF- LB/M SYSTEM
The Aconity MIDI is the most recent procurement at the Ångström AM-lab. Unlike the EOS M100 which is an industrial machine, the Aconity MIDI had been developed with research purposes in mind. This means that some aspects of the PBF- LB/M (laser-based powder bed fusion of Metals) process which in the EOS M100 is controlled automatically by background software, is available to the user in the Aconity MIDI. This of course, makes the use of the Aconity MIDI more complex but on the other hand offers the possibility to study the influence of additional parameters. The Aconity MIDI is equipped with 500 W laser and a 3D scanner which allow on the fly alterations of the laser focus. Furthermore, the system is equipped with a heater, allowing the build plate to be heated to 800°C. A dual wavelength pyrometer allow for process monitoring of the melt pool temperature and the vacuum option allow for studies focused on deep welding effects. Lastly, the larger build volume in the Aconity allow for printing of lager components, for example the AM-lab can now print creep specimens according to standard which was not possible in the in the EOS M100 given its smaller build volume.
- Build volume: 170 mm dia. x 200 mm
- Laser Power: 500 W
- 3D laser scanner which allows on the fly alteration of laser focus from 80 µm-500 µm
- Layer thickness down to 10 µm
- Heating: 800°C
- Pyrometer monitoring
- Vacuum option
EOS M100 PBF- LB/M SYSTEM
The EOS M100 is a small, industrial type laser powder bed fusion system initially developed for medical and dental applications. The system is equipped with a 200 W Yb-fiber laser which have a focus spot around 45 µm in diameter. This small focus spot results in a comparatively high resolution in the printing process, allowing small, detailed components to be printed. The system is easy to use and ideal for users with limited experience of PBF- LB/M (laser-based powder bed fusion of Metals) systems. Hence, it is an important piece of equipment also for educational purposes. Given the small size of the system, it is ideal for feasibility studies on new alloys as only a small amount of powder is required to run the process. With a circular build area of 100 mm in diameter and 80 mm total build height, the resulting build volume, although small, is sufficient to print tensile and impact specimens according to common standards. At the Ångström laboratory, the system has successfully printed many different alloys including Ni-, Cu-, Fe-, Zr- , Al- and Ti- and Mg-based alloys. The system has been modified in-house to allow in-situ measurements of temperatures as well as heating of the build platform up to 350°C.
- Build volume: 100 mm dia. x 80 mm
- Laser Power: 200 W
- laser focus of 40 µm
- Heating: 350°C
Bambu Lab X1 Carbon (with AMS)
The Bambu lab X1 is a professional-grade FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printer. Here's what makes it special:
- High Speed: The Bambu Lab X1 Carbon’s advanced motion system allows for rapid production, significantly reducing print times for large and complex projects.
- AMS: The integrated Automatic Material System (AMS) allows multi-material printing. This smart system can handle up to four different filaments, automatically switching between materials and colors, and ensuring precise layering for intricate designs.
- AI-Powered Features: Equipped with artificial intelligence, the X1 Carbon offers intelligent print monitoring and automatic failure detection.
- Hardened Nozzle: The X1 Carbon is equipped with a hardened steel nozzle, which is resistant to wear and tear from abrasive materials like carbon fiber, metal-filled, and glass-filled filaments.
Ultimaker S5
The Ultimaker S5 is a professional-grade FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printer. Here's what makes it special:
- Precision and Detail: Achieve stunning detail with layer resolutions as fine as 20 microns.
- Dual Extrusion System: The advanced dual extrusion system allows for the use of two different materials or colors simultaneously. Create complex geometries with soluble supports or produce multi-material parts effortlessly.
- Wide Material Compatibility: The Ultimaker S5 supports a broad range of materials, including PLA, ABS, Nylon, TPU, and advanced composites.
- Large Build Volume: With a spacious build volume of 330 x 240 x 300 mm, the Ultimaker S5 is capable of handling large projects or multiple parts in a single print run.
- Custom Material Compatibility: Offers the flexibility to use custom filaments, allowing you to tailor material properties to specific project requirements.
Asiga Max X
is a professional-grade DLP (Digital Light Processing) printer that delivers incredible detail and accuracy. Here's what makes it special:
- Exceptional Detail: With a configurable resolution down to 27 microns, the MAX X can capture the most intricate details in your designs.
- Smart Positioning System (SPS): This technology ensures that each layer of your print is perfectly aligned, giving you consistent quality and reducing print failures.
- User-Friendly Experience: The Asiga MAX X is designed for ease of use, even if you're new to resin 3D printing. Its intuitive software and straightforward setup make it easy to get started.
- Materials Versatility: Experiment with a variety of resins to suit your needs. The MAX X works with castable resins for jewelry, biocompatible resins for dental applications, and engineering-grade resins for functional prototypes.
Pricing
Projects using the equipment in the AM lab are invoiced based on the instrument time booked.
Prices are differentiated between academic projects and non-academic (industrial) projects. The academic project prices are calculated to be cost-neutral and are based on equipment depreciation and maintenance, cost of lab space, running costs for the labs and provided consumables.
The following prices apply, all excluding VAT
Metal 3D-printing
- EOS M100 PBF- LB/M system
- Academic projects 185 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 370 kr/h
- Aconity Midi PBF- LB/M system
- Academic projects 250 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 500 kr/h
Polymer 3D-printing
- Bambu Lab X1 Carbon FDM printer
- Academic projects 180 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 360 kr/h
- Ultimaker S5 FDM printer
- Academic projects 135 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 270 kr/h
- ASIGA MAX X DLP printer
- Academic projects 250 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 500 kr/h
Research engineers
- Academic projects 650 kr/h
- Non-academic projects 1300 kr/h
Material
- Full (self) cost of powder or filaments used for project.
Lab space
Based on availability, the AM lab also offers lab space for suitable AM equipment. For this a early rent will be invoiced, based on the area occupied of the equipment and a standard fee for lab running costs.
Acknowledgements
If the laboratory facilities of AM@Å have been used in your research, we require that this in acknowledged in publications:
We gratefully acknowledge the Additive Manufacturing Initiative at the Ångström Laboratory (AM@Å) for providing facilities and experimental support.
For presentations and posters please use the AM@Å-logo shown to the right, and downloadable in vector format below:
Further equipment
Besides the above listed equipment managed by the AM@Å initiative, there are further 3D-printers and associated equipment belonging to individual research groups or µFAB Uppsala as a part of their microstructure laboratory. If you have an interest in these equipments, please contact respective group or µFAB Uppsala.
Nanotechnology and Functional Materials
- 3x polymer selective laser sintering printers
- 2x custom built polymer binderjet printers
- 3x fused deposition moulding polymer printers
Materials in medicine
- Formlab FORM 2, stereolitographic printer for ceramic materials
- Flashforge Hunter, digital light processing printer
- Dr. Wei Xia
Microsystems Technology
- Prototype printers for high-resolution 3D-printing
- Prof. Stefan Johansson
µFAB Uppsala
- UpNano 250 high resolution 2-photon 3D printer
(more info in µFAB Lims) - Thermo Scientific Process 11 Parallel Twin-screw Extruder
(more info in µFAB Lims)
Other relevant infrastructure
At the Ångström laboratory
- µFAB Uppsala and their materials analysis equipment
- The X-ray laboratory
- The furnace lab
- The Ångström workshop
National infrastructures
- WISE additive (where the AM@Å lab is one node)