ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING METALCUTTING/FORMING TECHNOLOGISTS MOVE INTO AM TERRITORY
Additive offers its own 3D Printing Suite
software, with a range of functions for quick
le preparation, design change, part creation
and slicing, reducing design to manufacture.
Utilising a specialised head to provide the
powder spraying and fusion at the focal point
of the laser beam, the machines offer
working volumes starting from 585 by 400 by
500 mm up to 2,100 by 4,140 by 1,020 mm.
Laser power options range from 1 up to 6 kW
and deposition rates are possible up to
70 cm3/hour. The large working envelope of
these machines offers considerable versatility
for applications ranging from R&D, rework
and prototyping fully through to part
manufacturing.
Industrial sectors such as aerospace,
automotive, motorsport, rapid prototyping and
medical can bene t from Prima Additive’s
technology. The machines can be used with a
wide variety of metal powders that include
aluminium, nickel, steel, cobalt-chrome and
titanium alloys.
Another entrant to the AM arena is Chiron,
a company with no laser heritage to call
upon. A specialist in the eld of CNCcontrolled
vertical milling and turning
machining centres, it has developed the AM
Cube, the company’s rst 3D printer for
manufacturing larger, more complex
components (UK agent is HK
Technologies, www.is.gd/puwalu).
The new machine was one of the
product highlights that the Chiron Group
presented during an online Open House
from 14 to 19 May. The AM Cube is
suitable for coating and repairing
components, as well as printing near-netshape
net-
parts.
Explains Axel Boi, head of additive
manufacturing at the Chiron Group:
“The Additive Manufacturing department is
a start-up within our own business group.
With this 3D metal printer, made by Chiron,
we are creating a facility for manufacturing
larger components with long procurement
times and high material prices. This
technology can be used effectively in the
mechanical engineering, tool manufacturing,
energy production and aerospace sectors.
These are all important target sectors for the
Chiron Group.”
The new AM Cube employs a robot to
manipulate the additive manufacturing head
about a 2-axis table system. Operation and
programming are claimed as intuitive, with
the system programmed either using a
standardised DIN ISO code or, for complex
components, using CADCAM software. All
aspects of the system can be controlled
using tried-and-tested Siemens components,
from hardware, to the HMI, through to
programming of the AM Cube, Chiron
highlights.
In contrast to other 3D metal printers, the
print head of the machine can be changed
during an active printing/coating process.
This option enables the AM Cube to be used
to combine different process requirements.
For instance, one print head could be used to
achieve a high surface quality and another
could be used to achieve a high deposition
rate. The automatic head change function
enables these properties to be combined in a
single workpiece. This is another area where
the professionals at Chiron have put their
comprehensive process expertise and many
years of experience in using machining
centres into practice. Due to the low
quantities manufactured using this process,
high exibility is a crucial factor across all
industries. The AM Cube is equipped with a
total of three print heads, with wire and
process in different production phases.
By designing a printer for the two
commonly used deposition materials – wire
and powder – the German machining centre
manufacturer has also patented a completely
new technology. Both processes have their
applications. While coating with powder is the
most commonly used process, wire-based
laser metal deposition offers better safety
characteristics and an impressive reduction
in waste material. Wire also has the bene t
that every type of welding wire can be used
for manufacturing part features or parts.
The system is designed as a platform and
can be recon gured from 4-axis machining to
5-axis machining with relatively little effort.
The AM Cube is equipped with cutting-edge
sensors and meets all relevant safety
requirements for operation without monitoring
by the operator. If the AM Cube is used to
machine particularly reactive materials such
as titanium, the entire system can be ooded
with protective gas to reduce oxidation,
enabling manufacturing to be performed
under a protective gas atmosphere for
several hours.
In order to ensure the suitability of this
new solution for industrial applications, an
intensive eld test of the AM Cube is
currently being performed by a pilot
customer, with more details to follow.
powder used as deposition material within a
single
manufacturing
Left: Chiron’s new AM Cube can employ both wire (left) or
powder as the feedstock, providing a verstaility not available
from others. Below: Inside the work envelope of the new Chiron
AM Cube, which will be available later this year
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | May/June 2020 29
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