Selective Laser Melting DMG Mori Additive and Festo boost 3D printing productivity.

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FAULHABER Drive Systems

Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA)

DMG Mori Additive has a very productive 3D printing machine with the Lasertec 30 Dual SLM. Festo, as a partner, automates the inert gas management.

The Lasertec 30 Dual SLM by DMG Mori Additive is considered a flagship in terms of additive manufacturing through selective laser melting (SLM) in the powder bed. It enables the production of highly complex components with functional integration, internal contour-close cooling channels, and shortened product development times through instantly available prototypes made from series materials, as DMG Mori Additive explains. Two powerful 600-watt lasers, whose scanner fields each cover the entire build space, enable build rates of up to 90 cubic centimeters per hour.

SLM powder module quickly and safely replaceable

In addition to the build performance, further advantages include that the Dual-Laser system increases productivity by 80 percent compared to a Single-Laser system and that the powder module, called Replug for rapid material change, automates powder handling. The reprocessing of the powder under a protective gas atmosphere ensures greater efficiency and occupational safety due to the closed material cycle. Thus, the powder module designed in this way allows for contamination-free switching between different materials in less than two hours. Another innovation is the permanent filter system, which operates independently of the material and represents a new level of durability and occupational safety due to the automatic passivation of metal dusts, it is said. The active cooling of the build space allows users to remove finished components earlier and thus prepare new orders faster - further increasing productivity.

Festo brings the process gas under full control

In SLM, as DMG Mori Additive points out, the process gas atmosphere also plays a crucial role. To achieve high component quality, it is important for the pressure and oxygen content to remain within narrow limits. An automation system from Festo has helped achieve a breakthrough, as emphasized. It is a unit for filling the workspace with protective gas. Only a secure protective gas atmosphere ensures stable processes in additive manufacturing. The prerequisite for this, however, are innovative products for flow and pressure control, which can now be provided by Festo. The ready-to-install complete system from Festo, the experts describe, consists of a mounting plate equipped with the valve terminal Vtug including EtherCAT bus connection, the pinch valve Vzqa, the service unit MS4, and the proportional pressure regulating valve Veab. The valve terminal is ideally pneumatic and control-technically. The pinch valve precisely controls the inert gas argon as well as the evacuation of the gas mixture during the so-called purging process (cleaning).

More details about the technology of the Festo control system.

The proportional pressure regulating valve Veab has precise and dynamic control characteristics despite its compact size. For flows up to 20 liters per minute, the valves regulate with high precision and low hysteresis, high repeatability, and low energy consumption. The proportional behavior of the so-called piezo bender with direct actuation ensures stable and reliable control behavior and a smooth pressure increase. The service unit MS4, with a modular design and freely combinable components of the compressed air supply, includes pressure regulating, power-up, and pressure build-up valves with safety functions, filters, pressure and flow sensors, in addition to dryers, sensors, and oilers. This allows for assembling the right system for every task. All Festo automation products used are suitable for inert gases. In sum, the system maintains pressure and oxygen content within narrow limits. Moreover, it halves the cycle time by reducing the time needed to fill the workspace.

Here too, nothing works without software and simulation.

Festo's services are not limited to the provision of automation capabilities. The experts from the automation specialist were also involved in machine development, it is said. For example, with the suitable software and engineering tools from Festo for simulation, the automation components could be embedded into the machine and the processes in development at an early stage to become an integral part of the whole, according to the explanation. Festo thus supported the DMG Mori philosophy, under which the engineering leadership of the machine builder is to be continuously expanded. Last but not least, Festo is also a player looking to the future in terms of pneumatic and electrical automation. Consider bionic grippers and the digitalization capability Festo AX.