Laser Metal Deposition 3D Printing Mixing Manufacturing Process, Realizing Large High-strength Steel Gear Box Component

Additec is a founded partner and distributor of famous 3D printer equipment manufacturer Meltio. Antarctic bears learned that it cooperates with the US NASA (NASA) to engage in Amorphology, a derivative of advanced materials, to develop special 3D print gearbox components.

The two companies have printed a 6-inch diameter strain gear flexible line as part of cooperation. Photo from additec

It is reported that the original intention of these two manufacturers cooperate with the use of additive manufacturing to develop large steel strain gear flexible lines. The strain gear is a special type of gearbox for robotic arm and precision motion system. They are compact, with the characteristics of zero orientation, and transmit torque through a gear thin wall cup called a flexible wire.

When using conventional manufacturing techniques, the flexible line is the reason for the manufacturing cost of the strain gearbox. This can be attributed to an accurate gear teeth and flexible walls such as a refractive portion of the strain gear into an important part of the hexafa (6DOF) robot arm cost.

Dr. GlennGarrett, Chief Technology Officer, Amorphology, said: "Traditional processes can reduce the original 10% in the process of processing diameters 6 to 8 inch, large steel raw materials may be 10%. From the perspective of cost and sustainable development, this is a Unfavorable factors, because energy and materials are wasted to produce a part of only original stocks.

3D printing process

By selecting additive materials, it is possible to print the cost of printing these gear flexible lines with greatly reduced 3D, simplifying the traditional manufacturing workflow, and makes the use of high-performance steel cost effective.

Amorphology and AddITEC have jointly developed a 6 inch diameter strain gear flexible wire using 17-4 precipitated hardened steel. The component prototype is 3D printing, and then digital control processing on the Has CNC hybrid system running the Meltio device (a modular directional deposition DED printhead).

In addition to cutting the amount of materials and production costs, the method can also manufacture a variety of specifications of flexible lines. This means that users do not have to maintain inventory of each diameter at any time, thereby reducing warehousing and logistics costs.

Dr. Yashbandari, Business Development Manager, said: "We are very happy to work with Amorphology, providing them with a significant reduction of expensive machining, and we look forward to working together and promoting innovation."

Processing flexible lines and mixed 3D print flexible lines. The picture comes from Additec.

Meltio laser metal deposition technology

Additec's success of the demonstration part in the success of Meltio's laser metal deposition (LMD) technology. The DED process is compatible with wire and powder material, melting metal raw materials into weld beads using laser beams. These welding beads are laminated, producing a completely dense, close to mesh metal parts, such as flexible lines. The Meltio Engine laser head can be installed into a variety of control systems, including CNC machine tools, robots and gantry systems.

Aditec Company CEO BrianMatthews added: "Meltio and CNC machine integration ability make it a mixed system. Hybrid manufacturing is a one-stop solution produced by seamless metal parts, which combines adding materials on a common platform. The overall cost and time of the manufacturing part are reduced. "

Amorphology and Additec have expressed its plan to advance their partnerships to flexible lines of multi-material and functional grading materials, which are not possible to produce traditional manufacturing technology.

Meltio's LMD tool head is integrated with CNC. Photo from Meltio.

Ded 3D printing is widely used. At recent recent, a newly mixed manufacturing alliance, including Airbus, Saifeng Group landing system and the Scottish National Manufacturing Institute (NMIS), started to study a new mixed DED 3D printing process for aerospace sectors. This technique will be used for 3D printing critical aerospace components, such as components that make up the landing gear, and MRO applications.

Other places, developers with metal arc DED technologies have recently announced the "WAAM clips" of their portion 3D printed. This mixed industrial component is an example of a pipe clamp and a component for sealing chemical and oil gas departments. It is an integral part of the pipe repair, but also to improve the service life of the device before repair.