CHECK THIS OUT
By Peter Zelinski
JANUARY 2018 Additive Manufacturing
40
Four-Laser Hardware
Shows What a Four-Laser
Machine Can Do
The enabling technology for a new four-laser additive manufacturing machine is
additive manufacturing.
At the recent Formnext show in Germany, Renishaw introduced its RenAM 500Q
selective laser melting machine, which applies four 500-Watt lasers within a com-
pact machine offering a build volume of 250 by 250 by 350 mm. Concentrating four
lasers within the tight space brings the lasers close to one another. Heat is a concern,
and it was a potential impediment to the design. The solution to this challenge that
Renishaw engineers found involves a laser galvo mount enhanced for cooling via a
large internal surface area resulting from a complex internal design that was realized
through AM. The company's display of the galvo mount at Formnext, where these
photos were taken, therefore answered two important questions at once.
One question: Why additive? In the case of this part, the reason for using AM was
the set of internal features that couldn't be produced practically in any other way.
And the other question: Why four lasers? The reason for using four lasers at once is
the increased productivity that comes from being able to melt metal at a higher rate
than a single beam would allow. Showing how far the machine can get in a given pe-
riod using one laser, two lasers and four lasers illustrated the productivity gain at each
step. Meanwhile, the incomplete parts left by the slower processes provided a view
into the otherwise hidden geometry that enables the compact machine.
For comparison, here is how much of the
galvo mount can be built in 19 hours using
only one laser (left) and using two lasers
(right). The incomplete parts reveal the
geometry on the inside that aids cooling.
Renishaw introduced the RenAM 500Q
at Formnext. The machine employs four
lasers within a build area just under 10
inches square by more than 13 inches tall.
The 3D-printed galvo mount
enables the compact four-
laser machine thanks to
internal geometry engineered
for cooling. And thanks to the
productivity of four lasers, this
part can be built in 19 hours.