Benefits of laser beam based additive manufacturing in die production

Dies were produced using EOS M290 and were not subjected to any conventional finishing and/or surface hardening post processes. Field tests were carried out in an industrial aluminum extrusion facility and high-quality profiles were extruded. Dies and extruded profiles were characterized. Results revealed that DMLS can be a favorable method to produce dies having complex inner sections with high accuracy. Production of high quality extruded profiles was possible using additive manufactured dies directly from production.