Additive manufacturing, 3D printing

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (3D metal printing)

Metal Additive Manufacturing is a NEW and INNOVATIVE solution that enables designers to RETHINK the way complex parts are made.

Metal AM is an additive technology similar to the conventional polymer Rapid Prototyping. Since parts are built layer by layer. The resulting parts however are AS DURABLE as a conventional part.

Definition

With Additive Manufacturing we describe those processes that are defined as follows:

Using additive processes
To create entirely functional components
For end-user commissioning

This means that Additive Manufacturing goes much further than prototyping. Since the materials are basically the same metals as they are commonly used, Additive Manufacturing is a new technique to manufacture parts in novel ways and with a unique set of advantages.

Benefits of metal edditive manufaturing

Additive Manufacturing gives designers extra solutions for their common problems. The main advantage of the technology is that fully dense metal parts can be made in virtually any shape by means of a 3D printing process, and all this without compromising material requirements.

As our client you can now SHAPE PARTS EXACTLY THE WAY YOU WANT. Typical examples are FUNCTION INTEGRATIONS of ducts, heat exchangers, nozzles, sprayers, extruders and clamping features.

stand out from the crowd with innovative solutions.
solve problems with a total freedom of design.
gain competitive advantage by using the leverage of a new generation additive manufacturing techniques.

Weight Benefit

Parts can be made lighter because material is added and not subtracted. Also hollow structures are possible. It displays the quality control based on 3D CT scanning.

Complexity Benefit

Virtually any shape can be made since RM is broken down in a series of 2D contours and any type of undercut or internal cavity is possible. Shapes that can’t be machined or casted become possible.

Lead times benefit

AM Delivery times are short since there is virtually no programming or tooling involved. All it takes is a push of a button (and then some), to convert any 3D drawing in a physical, functional model.

Material Specifications
Density	99.5-100%
Dimensions	250 x 250 x 400mm *
Typical part accuracy	± 50 µm or 0.1%*
Minimal wall thickness	0.2-0.45 mm*
Minimal feature size	0.1-0.8 mm*
Minimal channel diameter	0.3-0.6 mm*
Surface finisch quality	Ra 5 µm
Post treatment options	Turning, milling, edm, wire-edm, grinding, welding, hardening, soldering, coating, …

(*) depending on shape or material

Prototyping

Since RM techniques require no programming or tooling, the step from CAD drawing to physical model is virtually the push of a button. An extra advantage of RM is that easily multiple varieties and sizes of a design can be printed

Small and medium series

Because there is no need for programming or tooling, metal Rapid Manufacturing can offer a pure economic advantage for small and medium series. Since the cost of an RM part is mainly determined by its volume and not so much by its shape, especially smaller, complex parts qualify for metal Rapid Manufacturing.

Functional Integration

Often a functional design is compromised by the manufacturing restrictions of the selected construction process. For example, when an internal cavity is needed, 2 parts are machined and joined together. For conventional machining, designers start from a “Design for Manufacture” prerogative. This generally results in bigger and heavier parts and an extended bill of Materials in an assembly construction.

With Metal Rapid Manufacturing, there is a paradigm shift from “Design for Manufacture” to “Design for Function”. A cavity for example can be made as one piece and there is no need to assemble parts. In short, components are designed for maximum performance rather than for easy machining.

Functional Integration Benefit

Certain shapes can’t be made by conventional techniques and are thus broken down in subcomponents that are assembled together. With RM multiple functions, like a cavity and a cooling jacket for example, can be integrated in a single component, thus drastically improving the part count and the simplicity of the design.