In addition to the metal additive machine, other pieces are needed, many of which are often included with the additive machine. These are:

1. A wet separator, which is really a vacuum to remove excess metal powder. It includes a water tower where the vacuumed powder goes into, thus, “passivating” the reactive powder. To passivate means to suspend powder in water, which renders it essentially nonreactive.
2. Build preparation software helps determine the proper amount of support for a part. Too much support makes it harder to remove a part from the build plate. Too little support risks a build failure.
3. The sieve is used to recycle the powder. It uses a form of vibration, often ultrasonic, to remove all particles above the recommended size for the additive machine. It typically comes bundled with your equipment. If not, you should ask for it or seek it out elsewhere.
4. The ultrasonic cleaner helps remove as much powder as possible out of the part and trap supports.

A few additional pieces that can be helpful are:

–a glove box that makes access to the build part safer. Some boxes are integrated into a machine; some are stand-alone.

–a furnace for post-processing. A heat treatment after a build is useful to improve the microstructure of the part (stress relief) and reduce porosity. In some cases, it also eliminates any binding material that was used with the powder during the build. For metal additive manufacturing, an inert gas furnace is a common recommendation.

–a blade or wire EDM tool to remove the part from the build plate. Dremel tools and band saws are other options.

–hand tools such as die grinders with carbide tips eliminate the last remnants of the support material or any burs on a part.

–bead blaster for post processing. Glass beads and alumina work well with metal additive parts. Bead blasters improve the surface finish of a part. Another option is an electrochemical post processing process.

–an end mill to ready the build plate for the next build. The build plate can be recycled in this manner until it gets too thin.

 

Source: Lessons learned from installing a 3D printer.