Grow your productivity and avoid non-compliances in metal additive manufacturing with this powerful software

Automation

Dec 5

Crafting the perfect metallic component for an application is an intense and absorbing process. Costumers don’t always see it right away. But to service their needs, manufacturers place their best resources into designing, building, and testing parts so elaborate and accurate that they might as well pass as pieces of art. At least in the industrial orbit. To create these metal products, whether they are turbine blades, fuel injectors, or anything in between, manufacturers relied on their knowledge, inventiveness, and practices such as sheet metal manufacturing. Then, in good time, came additive manufacturing (AM) to defy their traditional techniques.

Is it all sunshine and rainbows in the AM world? Are there letdowns to get over? How can you move ahead? I’ll tell you about it while informing you of the new software that’s here to make your path in metal additive manufacturing smoother.

Let’s begin!

What sets additive manufacturing apart from a traditional fabrication process?

AM is a snazzy solution. It allows manufacturers to complete a prototype or a finished product from a digital model. The process requires integration with specialized CAD software and a printing machine to create the end result.

Unlike a traditional manufacturing approach—where materials are mechanically removed from blocks to construct the final shape—in AM, products are completed one layer at a time.

Though AM offers undeniable benefits, the technology still encompasses a tight niche. By 2021, less than 250 entities (between companies and research institutions) were part of its landscape. This narrowness doesn’t imply that manufacturers aren’t ripping off the benefits of what AM can offer. As an example, automotive and aerospace giants BMW and Lockheed Martin currently use it to improve metal component manufacturing in their respective industries.

What makes additive manufacturing so alluring for manufacturers?

Inside a manufacturer’s headquarters, you’ll find research and development (R&D) engineers who are giving their all to enhance the production and testing processes. Their efforts are 100% centered on selling the perfect metallic piece to each customer and improving OPEX and other operational parameters.

One of the main focuses of the R&D engineers is analyzing the materials’ behavior and finding the most adequate process conditions to raise accuracy. Organically, their input is critical to reducing the defects or flaws that might jeopardize final quality and performance.

In this range of action, AM offers manufacturing engineers a set of advantages that are hard to find elsewhere. Such as:

ability to build complex geometries in a short time;
capacity to engage in full product customization;
capability to reduce material waste by printing exact amounts;
and opportunity to escape the supply chain delays plaguing the industry.

Prototyping or developing a metallic component has never been this easy. So it is only natural to pander:

Are there negative aspects to AM metal products?

Chances are that if you are reading this blog, you already know that the answer is ‘yes.’

AM is genuinely revolutionary, but as a newer and evolving manufacturing technology, it has been subject to serious concerns in the quality, reliability, and standardization departments.

How do you confront those issues?

First, make sure that the layer-by-layer method is clearly defined. Or else, the resulting metal products may have inferior mechanical performance to components fabricated using traditional steel manufacturing techniques. Always watch out for porosity defects, cracks, or residual stress. These are the common culprits affecting the properties of AM made metal parts.

Once your choice of material and printing method align, you can overcome any quality or reliability constraints.

On the other end, confronting standardization is a tad more delicate since AM lacks widely accepted standards and certification methods. However, if the selection process characterizes your material’s mechanical and fatigue properties based on the application and printing method, your product should be able to endure any testing. Even those specified by your client.

How can you speed up your improvements in additive manufacturing?

Whether you are a design engineer making AM prototypes or a plant engineer who uses the technology to create metal moldings or fully realized metal products, you want to know about this platform.

I’m, of course, talking about Additive Flow.

Additive Flow is an AI-based solution created to help engineers improve the fabrication of metal products using additive manufacturing operations.

How does it work?

The software bridges 3D design and computer-aided manufacturing for AM.

Engineers can dive into the platform right after the CAD work is finalized to scout the most beneficial construction parameters at each location within the final model based on material, production, and quality issues. The thorough-level assessment won’t slow down your work. In fact, it promises to do the opposite. Your productivity might grow by up to 200%.

Additive Flow’s partnership with AM Machine OEM, EOS, and Autodesk will only accelerate your results.

I’m leaving you with this example of Additive Flow in action.

And always remember, if you need support with AM, robotics, or process control, Verdusco Consulting has you covered.

We have the automation engineering manpower to support you. Contact us at: