New 3D Metal Printing Technique Combines Lasers and Advanced Robotics

Posted by samzenpus on Monday September 7, 2015 @06:09PM from the build-it-better dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A new alternative to rival other 3D metal printing techniques is being developed by a team of manufacturing researchers at the Southern Methodist University. Led by Professor Radovan Kovacevic, the group have presented a technique called Laser-Based Direct Metal Deposition (LBDMD) which builds on traditional FDM and laser technology to create high-quality metal objects as parts for a range of fabrication uses. The technology uses multi-axial positioning robotics which eliminates the need for a support structure and human intervention.

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What is new here? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-09-07 21:04 · Score: 4, Informative

Maybe I am missing something, but where is the big innovation in this? The company I am working for (DMG MORI - world's largest manufacturer of CNC turning and milling machines) already has a commercially available version of this (if you can affort it, machine is ~900k€ as far as I know):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9IdZ2pI5dA
In the linked article a lot of words are being spend, but in the Laser-Based Direct Metal Deposition (LBDMD) is nowhere really explained.
Can anyone clear this up?