Additive Industries and SMS group announced during the last quarter an agreement to develop and jointly market a production system for additive manufacturing on an industrial scale, aligning the manufacture of metal and 3D printing, encompassing design, development, and delivery of the finished component.
“The entire process is designed for maximum productivity, with the result that additive manufacturing can finally enjoy competitive success in serial production,” said Guido Kleinschmidt, member of the managing board of SMS group.
“Five years ago, we started with the development of the world’s first 3D metal printer for high-end production applications, ” said Daan A.J. Kersten, CEO of Additive Industries. “Today, with our MetalFAB1, we are accelerating industrial additive manufacturing as one of the industry’s leading technology suppliers. In SMS group we have found a partner who has experience in planning production complexes such as these and delivering them on a turnkey basis.”
The process starting point is the manufacture of powder. To ensure maximum purity, the alloys are induction-melted under vacuum in the crucible. The liquid metal is atomized using pure argon in an oxygen-free atmosphere. “The quality of the powder manufactured is crucial for the quality of the finished product. To enable us to make faster progress in powder production, we are building an industrial-scale pilot system, which is scheduled to go live at the end of the year,” said Markus Hüllen, vice president 3D Competence Center at SMS group.
The powder manufacturing process is followed directly by 3D printing. In the integrated MetalFAB1 system, the metal powder bed fusion process is applied to melt the powder in a reproducible and efficient way. After additively manufacturing the parts, the build plate with parts is automatically transported to the heat treatment furnace for a stress relief cycle before storage by a robot. The MetalFAB1 system is designed to run autonomously 24/7 without the need for multiple shifts, substantially reducing cost.
SMS group is also responsible for the heat treatment of the printed components for setting of improved material characteristics for product destined largely for the automotive industries.
