Company Machine Provider Based on Metal Powder Bed - Essay Example

Company Machine Provider Based on Metal Powder Bed Concept laser Concept laser Gmbh is a company that manufactures rapid manufacturing systems that are used as building parts and tools straight from 3D CAD designs. They make machines that are marketed using the term “laser cusing,” This term is derived from cladding and fusing. Concept laser is a branch of the Hoffman Innovation Group company that is a plastic processing company that has a significant injection mold-making expertise. Therefore the company has an extensive experience in the utilization of SLM for the manufacture and production of injection molds and tooling. Concept laser sells three different laser cusing platforms M1, M2 and M3 (Gibson, Rosen, & Stucker, 2009, p. 125). The technique or technology generates components one layer after the other through the use of 3D CAD data. This technique allows for the manufacture of complex component geometrics that do not contain moulds. This includes complex structural geometrics that can only be implemented with the use of conventional techniques. The laser cusing technique has been used by the company in the manufacture of components, both prototypes and series parts for the following industries: medical, dental, aviation, automotive and space (Hoffman, 2011). The processing plants at concept laser are used in the processing of powder materials from stainless steel, reactive aluminum, titanium alloys, nickel based alloys and cobalt chrome alloys. It is believed that in future they are also going to process silver and gold. The uniqueness in the technology used at concept laser is a random process control of the slice segments which are then processed in succession which in the end leads to a substantial reduction of stress in the final component (Hoffman, 2011). Phenix System Phenix system is a technology oriented company that is leading in the manufacture of solutions and systems based on the laser sintering technology. The process involves the manufacture of components or series of components from 3D digital files without tools using a laser beam to solidify the fine metal or the ceramic powders layer by layer. Phenix systems in the course of their production has managed to come up with various SLM platforms that range from machines for intricate, smaller arts, machines specifically for the dental industry, to high versatile equipment for metals and ceramics (Gibson, Rosen, & Stucker, 2009). The biggest advantage with the phoenix technologies is their complete focus on ceramic parts. The build cylinder that is used in some of the phoenix machines is said to have the capability to be held at very high temperatures and this facilitates the sintering of ceramic powders and is also very essential in the melting of metal powders. Due to their innovative technologies that are used in the manufacture of these test systems, the SLM machines produced by phoenix are seen as the most suitable for processing high-melting-temperature materials. Their products are used in the aerospace industry, pneumatics, energy, packaging and biomedical industries. The PXS is the smallest and most simplified among the PX products. It makes it possible to manufacture small and complex parts and offers an opportunity for one to familiarize himself with the additive technology. The PXM is the latest offering a powerful laser that is adapted to the intermediary production between the PXS and PXL. PXL helps industries in the production of metallic parts with innovative designs and provides a high alternative to the traditional manufacturing processes (Phenix, 2011). MTT Group The MTT Company specializes in the manufacture of machines which are available in different platform size configuration and laser powers. It majors in the SLM technology that uses high powered laser combine fine metal powder together, layer after layer straight from the CAD data to create metal parts. Immediately after each layer a powder recoater system is used to add another layer of fresh deposits. This system uses gas to produce dense metal parts in materials that include Titanium, stainless steel and cobalt chrome (MTT, 2011). The MTT manufactures two machines: the SLM 125 and SLM 250. The two machines have vacuum evacuation that is followed by pure argon gas. This is used to create a high quality environment which is necessary in building reactive materials for example Titanium that requires oxygen content to be minimized. The two machines are built such that they have fully sealed chambers, properly welded that contribute to their robustness and the low consumption of gas. The SLM 125 is built with a remover powder cassette that is very important for materials changeover or development. It also features MTT’s ultra-designed powder handling and safe change filter system that provide with user with minimal contact with materials. The two machines are designed for factories with a simplified touch screen user interface (MTT, 2011). The MTT machines give the users more control over all the process parameters as opposed to other typical commercial AM machines. It allows people to experiment with any materials of interest to them. However this experimentation poses some safety risks especially if the powders are explosive or inflammable in the presence of oxygen. To counter this risk the machines have been made with additional safety features to minimize the risks involved (Gibson, Rosen, & Stucker, 2009, p. 124). EOS It is considered the world leader in sintering technology- an Additive layer manufacturing technique that is essential in e-manufacturing. The technology allows for the fast flexible and cost-effective production of components, patterns or tools straight from electronic data. It has categorized its systems and equipment into three: the plastic Laser-sintering systems, the sand laser sintering systems and the plastic laser sintering systems. In 2004 EOS introduced their M270 Direct Metal Laser Sintering machine which established it as the world’s most effective metal PBF provider. The company has continued to spend considerable amount of time in fine tuning their machine process parameters, perusing strategies for specific materials that they sell to their customers. They offer the following materials to their customers: steel alloys, Ti 6-4 and CoCrMo. The M270 is well developed, repeatable and from a company that sells and services machines worldwide (Gibson, Rosen, & Stucker, 2009, p. 124). The EOS M280 is also metal laser sintering system that is used for the production of tooling inserts, prototype components and final products directly in metal. It is the improved version of the earlier system M270 for the additive layer production of metal components. It is uniquely equipped with a solid state laser that provides high quality radiation and stable performance. It has also an optimized gas management system that guarantees optimal processing thus making it able to process various materials, ranging from light metals to steel and other super alloys (EOS, 2011). The P 760 on the other hand is a plastic laser sintering system that is an advancement of the P760 a first double plastic sintering system. It is high productive in the manufacture of thermoplastics. It also manufactures plastic products for product development or to be used in the production of spare parts (EOS, 2011). ARCAM Arcam is a Swedish technology development company that was founded in 1997. The company concentrates in the development of the Electronic Beam Melting (EBM) technique used for the production of solid metal parts straight from metal powder basing on the 3D CAD model. Its work began way back in 1995 with research in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. Its technology was commercialized in 2001 after various developments in terms of facilities to support the technology (Arcam, 2011). Arcam introduced a new larger EBM system in 2007. The new A2 system features two build tanks that facilitate the production of a 75% larger build than the EBM S 12. The two allow users to choose between wide and high builds. Depending on any of the two selected, the build envelope is either 200×200×350mm or a diameter of 300 with a height of 200mm (Chua, Leong, & Lim, 2010). It has a new power supply that enables improved beam control and also has a very advanced heat model that is used to increase build speed and precision. It also came with new software with new features that include automatic calibration and this enhances accuracy. This system was designed specifically for the aerospace market and the racing industry. It was also targeted for the general industry for use in the production of larger components (Chua, Leong, & Lim, 2010). Arcam is essentially based on EBM. In the EBM process, the electron beam melts metal powder in a layer by layer process in order to build the physical part in a vacuum chamber. The A2 uses a powder bed configuration and can produce multiple parts in the same build. The vacuum environment in the machine maintains the chemical composition of the material providing an excellent environment for building parts with reactive materials. The electron beam makes sure there is a high rate of deposition coupled with even temperature distribution within the part giving the fully melted metal excellent mechanical and physical properties (Chua, Leong, & Lim, 2010). The strengths of the Arcam EBM are: superior material properties, excellent accuracy, excellent finishing and good build speed. Its limitations include: need to maintain the vacuum chamber, high power consumption and gamma rays production which are dangerous. The systems are applied in rapid manufacturing, medical implants and aerospace (Chua, Leong, & Lim, 2010, pp.243-246). List of References Arcam. (2011). What is Arcam. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from Arcam: http://www.arcam.com/ Chua, C. K., Leong, K. F., & Lim, C. S. (2010). Rapid Prototyping: Principles and applications. London: World Scientific. EOS. (2011). EOSINT M 280. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from E-Manufacturing Solutions: http://www.eos.de/en/products/systems-equipment/metal-laser-sintering-systems.html EOS. (2011). EOSINT P 760. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from E-Manufacturing solutions: http://www.eos.de/en/products/systems-equipment/plastic-laser-sintering-systems/eosint-p-760.html Gibson, I., Rosen, D. W., & Stucker, B. (2009). Additive Manufacturing Technologies:Rapid Prototyping to Direct Digital Manufacturing. New York: Springer. Hoffman. (2011). Concept Laser. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from Hoffman Innovative Group: http://www.hofmann-innovation.com/index.php?id=18&L=1 MTT. (2011). Selective Laser Melting. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from MTT Group: http://www.renishaw.com/mtt-group/us/selective-laser-melting.html Phenix. (2011). Phenix Molding. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from Phenix Systems: http://www.phenix-systems.com/en/products Read More