ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING is the magazine devoted to industrial applications of 3D printing and digital layering technology. We cover the promise and the challenges of this technology for making functional tooling and end-use production parts.
Issue link: https://am.epubxp.com/i/667993
MAY 2016 Additive Manufacturing TECH REVIEW 38 Hybrid Machine for Metals Combines 3D Printing with High-Speed Milling Sodick's OPM250L, an additive metal 3D printer which incorporates high-speed milling into the same workspace, enables single-process production of fnished components. The One-Process Machine (OPM) is Sodick's frst foray into direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology. It is primarily designed for use by moldmakers, with the ability to create conformal cooling chan- nels within a fnished mold. The OPM250L also enables machining workpieces before printing is complete, making it possible to alternate laser sintering and milling passes. In addition to its usefulness in producing conformal cooling channels, this capability also helps reduce the number of parts neces- sary to produce a mold. Sodick has developed Z-Asso, a dedicated CAM system, for this integrated machine. Z-Asso is capable of importing CAD data, generating laser and machin- ing data, optimizing cutting along high-load areas, and simulating the process to accurately estimate production time. The machine provides further process improvements by enabling unmanned and remote machining. sodick.com Software Enables Metal AM Material Traceability LPW Technology's PowderSolve software, part of the company's Total Powder Management (TPM) for additive manufacturing, is designed to meet the rigor- ous traceability requirements faced by the medical and aerospace industries. The software is also suitable for use by research centers investigating powder deg- radation and mechanical properties during additive manufacturing, enabling them to store chemical and mechanical test results in a single location for simplifed, fast access. The PowderSolve software stores all activities and processing of the powder in a controlled manner, logging all activities and recording any changes to the data. This log helps to ensure data stored has not been tampered with and provides a true history of events, the company says. A history fow chart enables the user to retrieve data for a specif- ic build or component, and to trace back powder history or investigate other products that have been man- ufactured using the same powder batches. The powder's history is fully traceable including when the pow- der was blended, who blended the powder and the percentages of the batches that were blended. The software has been developed to be a stand-alone solution to pro- vide an inventory of powders and their locations as well as logging machine usage and availability. It can also be customized to link in with established QMS and ERP systems. lpwtechnology.com