Industrial high-end 3D printing service

FKM 3D printing metal

SLM process, materials, design recommendations, machinery

Metal additive manufacturing: FKM, your specialist for SLM

Metal 3D printing has been our passion for decades. The possibilities of powder bed-based additive manufacturing fascinate us anew every day. With our services, we help to push the boundaries and drive innovation. Every day, we work to break new ground and find solutions that make 3D printing and additive manufacturing even better, more economical and faster.

We rely on the powder bed based laser beam fusion (LPBF: Laser-Powder Bed Fusion) process. We specialize in a state-of-the-art technology that brings a new level of quality to the 3D printing of metal components. The process we use in metal production is called Selective Laser Melting (SLM). We use SLM to print tested, high-quality metal parts for prototyping, tooling and production from batch size 1. As a full-service 3D printing provider, we also take care of finishing and assembly. This enables us to deliver thermally and mechanically resilient, ready-to-install components for design, toolmaking or on-demand production of series parts and spare parts.

FKM machinery for metal 3D printing

At FKM, we realize over 2,500 metal orders per year on 17 SLM machines. Thanks to our intelligently controlled project planning, we are flexible and adaptable.

We guarantee short response times, transparency and 100% on-time delivery and delivery reliability, even in complicated special cases. We continuously invest in our production facilities and can therefore provide flexible capacity for the additive manufacturing of metal at short notice. As we efficiently combine different components from the same material in our construction jobs, our prices are always competitive and often cheaper than in-house production.

SLM - Machine capacities

Metal-material portfolio at FKM

We always have a range of high-quality metal powders in stock for 3D metal printing. These include aluminum, stainless steel, tool steel, Inconel 718, cobalt-chrome and copper. Our metal specialists will be happy to advise you on the selection of the optimum 3D printing powder for the application areas of your metal parts.

Material overview metals

Design recommendations for 3D metal parts

Anyone switching from conventionally manufactured metal parts to 3D-printed components has to think in new ways. The SLM process offers so many more possibilities that designers can give free rein to their creativity: How would nature do it? Where do curves make sense instead of sharp corners, edges or angles? What mechanical forces act on the component and how, and where can material be saved? Can two or three components be made into one? And which functions can be directly integrated?

You can find out what needs to be considered when developing 3D printed parts in metal in our design recommendations.

Design tips for metal components

Surface technology 3D printing metal

3D-printed metal components and metal tools already have very good surface properties after production. In order to further optimize them for a requirement profile, various surface technology processes are available for finishing.

As additively manufactured metal parts have a high density, mechanical post-processing or polishing is also possible, even up to the high-gloss range. At FKM, you can also have your metal components heat-treated (hardening), plasma or laser-coated (short-term plasma nitriding), galvanized (nickel-plating), coated or painted. In the case of internal support structures that are difficult to access, we offer the high-quality service of automated support structure removal plus component smoothing from a single source.

Surface technology metals

Quality assurance and testing technology

Our customers rely on the consistently high quality of our 3D metal printed parts. However, this does not happen by itself, but is monitored and checked by us on a daily basis. Our quality management process comprises several stages. These range from process validation before 3D printing to monitoring the ongoing 3D printing process and component inspection after printing. It also includes the documentation of the printing process and materials. Our in-house test laboratory has been setting standards in AM quality assurance for many years. We put the 3D-printed metal parts through their paces there. To do this, we use optical measurements, tensile tests, density measurements, Shore hardness measurements and surface roughness tests. We constantly monitor the quality of our 3D printing powders using special particle measurements.

More about quality management & quality assurance

We answer your questions

Here you will find answers to the most important questions about additive manufacturing with metal.

What are the advantages of additive manufacturing with metal compared to conventional processes?

Tool-free production → lower up-front costs
Greater freedom of design and geometry (e.g. complex inner ducts, lightweight construction)
Faster iterations and variant production
Potential for reducing assembly steps or parts through functional integration

Which metal materials and alloys are typically used?

Common materials are stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and nickel alloys as well as tool steel. The selection depends on the strength, temperature and corrosion resistance requirements as well as the area of application.

What is FKM's machine and capacity base in the metal sector?

FKM has one of the largest industrial plant parks for metal additive manufacturing in Germany.
Several high-end systems enable reproducible series production and high component quality – from prototypes to functional end components.

What does quality assurance look like?

FKM relies on end-to-end quality assurance – from material batch testing to process monitoring and final inspection. Typical test procedures include leak tests, 3D measurement, metallographic examinations and mechanical tests. This ensures that each component meets the defined material properties and tolerances.

What finishing or surface technology is possible?

Post-processing includes heat treatment, CNC machining, grinding, polishing, blasting or coating.
This improves surfaces, reduces stresses and increases dimensional accuracy. Functional surfaces or sealing surfaces can also be precisely machined – right through to ready-to-install end components.

In which industries is metal 3D printing from FKM used?

Typical areas of application are the automotive industry, aerospace, medical technology and mechanical and plant engineering.

Metal 3D printing offers clear advantages wherever stability, weight savings or functional integration are crucial.

How does a typical metal additive manufacturing project work?

Advice on feasibility and choice of materials
Optimization of design for additive manufacturing
Printing process with qualified metal powder
Post-processing and heat treatment
Quality assurance and delivery

Tip: If you provide your CAD data at an early stage, FKM can design the components optimally for cost-effectiveness and performance.

FKM is your high-end 3D printing service provider

for ready-to-install parts made of plastics, filled polymers or metal.

From materials consulting and design optimization to joint project co-engineering, we are our customers’ experts and partners for tricky tasks. With our complete after-print service consisting of testing technology with IATF certification and a range of surface technology with various finishing processes, we have been offering 3D printing services as a complete solution for almost 30 years – from a single source, with a lot of understanding.