Additive Manufacturing

MAY 2015

Modern Machine Shop and MoldMaking Technology present ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, a quarterly supplement reporting on the use of additive processes to manufacture functional parts. More at additivemanufacturinginsight.com.

Issue link: https://am.epubxp.com/i/497467

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 9 of 23

8 — AM Supplement F E A T U R E Now, he says he is already seeing what he characterizes as a "hybrid ecosystem." Other ma- chine builders have combined additive layering and CNC machining into traditional machine tool platforms. Meanwhile, companies well-known for machine tool programming and control—Delcam and Siemens—have created toolpath algorithms (and material-path algorithms) that are specifcally appropriate to subtractive/additive machines. Accepting Applications Hybrid's own system is still so new, with such a small user base, that it continues to fnd applica- tions. The system certainly has limitations, Dr. Jones says. Just as additive manufacturing can- not replace CNC machining, his own company's add-on additive head is not an alternative to stand-alone additive manufacturing machines. For example, the head could not be used to produce a part like the GE Aviation fuel nozzle. Because of the nature of Hybrid's process (metal deposition via laser cladding), the head is best-suited not for dense and solid metal parts, but for relatively compact or thin-walled metal features. Cladding an existing surface, including cladding one metal atop a different metal, or adding elaborate fns or other projections onto a block or shaft, are ex- amples of uses in which Hybrid's head can excel. The frst and most obvious application was turbine blade repair. All of the steps that a CNC machining center using Hybrid's system em- ploys—cladding, measuring and machining—are steps that blade repair facilities have traditionally applied as separate operations with separate set- ups. A one-stop additive and subtractive machine tool is thus essentially an automation solution for these facilities. Machine tool maker Hamuel Reichenbacher introduced a hybrid machine using Hybrid's head as a solution specifcally for blade repair. Now, Dr. Jones says the inquiries he is seeing cover a range of applications. One example: The additive head allows additive to be used only where needed in the part-making cycle. Surfaces or features can be additively applied to a part that is otherwise machined. About the International Additive Manufacturing Award The IAMA was created by AMT–the Association for Manufacturing Technology and VDW, the German Machine Tool Builders' Association. These two organizations, along with sponsor CECIMO (European Machine Tool Association) and media partners Gardner Business Media and VDI Nachrichten, announced the award at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in 2014. The criteria the judges consider in awarding the prize include technological innovation, benefts for industry and society, cost effectiveness, and the feasibility and practicality of the idea or product in an industrial application. The winner of the IAMA receives $20,000 in cash and an international marketing package worth $80,000. For more information about the award (including the list of judges), visit www.additive-award.com.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Additive Manufacturing - MAY 2015