Page 12 - 3D Metal Printing Spring 2017

3D Tech Update
New Metal Printer Ready to Take on MiM Parts
Admatec Europe BV pre- sented its Admetalflex 3D metal printer at the recent Additive Manufacturing User Group conference in Chicago. The new 3D-printer delivers metal printed components with high-quality material properties and, compared to industry standards, low sur- face-roughness values, fine features and no residual stresses, according to compa- ny officials.
The machine uses digital light processing (DLP) tech- nology to 3D-print metal from a resin formulation. It’s designed to produce relative- ly small, precise metal com- ponents typically manufac- tured by traditional shaping technologies such as CNC machining and metal Injec- tion molding (MiM).
Adamtec Europe: www.admatec.nl/nl/
Sculpteo Brings Artificial Intelligence to 3D Metal Printing
France-based service provider Sculpteo (with U.S. offices in San Francisco, CA), has introduced Agile Metal Technology, an online agent-based system that helps design-
ers and manufacturers analyze and eval- uate metal AM projects. The technology promises to help engineers find and fix problems, automate complex proce- dures, evaluate best-fit processes and techniques, and offer predictions and recommendations about how to opti- mize design elements including lattices, supports and post-processing work- flows.
“Metal 3D printing offers ability to build new parts with complex geome- tries that are not possible with tradition- al methods,” says Sculpteo CEO Clement Moreau. “However, as the complexity of AM grows, it is difficult to get the necessary information to make a project go smoothly. Experts and specif- ic software exist, but they are extremely expensive and add to production time.”
Sculpteo Agile Metal Technology comprises six modules:
• Business Case, a self-learning tool that evaluates whether a CAD file is opti- mized for metal AM. It is a decision-sup- port and planning tool that takes basic inputs from the user and provides an eval- uation of whether AM is an appropriate process for producing the part, and calcu- lates possible risks.
• Design Optimizer, which provides a deeper analysis of the design compati- bility for metal AM, and assesses the best way to handle thermic constraints.
• Lattice Generator, which helps meet cost- and weight-reduction goals by rec- ommending the best structural configu- ration.
• Support Optimizer, which displays the supports necessary to meet the requirement of the part (tolerance, yield assessment).
• Post-Processor, which analyzes the post-processing features and required metrology to meet the project require- ments.
• Batch Controller, a replica of the Sculpteo batch control tool for metal 3D printing.
Sculpteo: www.sculpteo.com/en
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