A first pilot plant has been put into operation since almost two years within the industrial NextGenAM project, a collaboration among Premium Aerotec, Daimler and EOS, aiming to enable automated metal additive manufacturing of end-use parts in the aerospace and automotive sectors.
Built at Premium Aerotec in Varel, Germany, the facility is made up of a range of 3D printing, post-processing and quality assurance technologies, and they are all fully automated and integrated. Some manual steps of conventional AM workflows have been removed entirely here, and the partners say the production of complex, lightweight and robust components can now be achieved more profitably.
The project has already succeeded in significantly reducing the production cost per part, thus creating an economic perspective for large-scale digital 3D printing factories.
At the centre of the automated AM workflow for series production is the EOS M 400-4 multi-laser system. The machine was designed for the manufacture of metal components, and in the Varel plant is equipped with a powder station and connected to a stand-alone setup and unpacking station. It allows loading and unloading, as well as preparing build jobs and unpacking built components, to be carried out independently of the build process. Transport of components between the individual stations is fully automated and protected in a gas container throughout.
Post-processing has been automated as well, using a a robot that places the full build platform into a furnace for heat treatment, and then removes it and takes it to be measured for quality assurance. Finally, the parts will be sawed from the build platform and made ready for further use.
The purpose of the project from the outset was to lay foundations for mass implementation of additive manufacturing in serial manufacturing settings. From the outset, automation was an obvious key component of achieving the project goal.
“The integration of the AM process in an automated production line is an important milestone for the broad application of our technology in series production scenarios”, commented Tobias Abeln, Chief Technical Officer, EOS. Going forward, the NextGenAM collaborators will continue to test the technology centre in Varel, with parts of the facility being audited. Production data will be gathered and analysed, to get better understandings of process timings and cost optimisation, while qualifying aluminium as a viable supported material remains a big target for the partners – up to now, titanium has been the sole material used to manufacture parts. It represents significant progress towards developing a facility that can manufacture highly complex aluminium parts in an economical AM process for the automotive and aerospace markets.
“3D printing is well on the way to establishing itself in the automotive sector as an additional manufacturing method with great versatility – says Jasmin Eichler, Head of Research Future Technologies in Daimler -. With this collaborative pre-development project, we are taking a significant step towards achieving cost-effectiveness in metal 3D printing throughout the process chain. The project lays the cornerstone for the future realisation of larger quantities in the automotive series production process – with the same reliability, functionality, longevity, and economy as for components from conventional production”.