Additive Manufacturing technology has arrived at Ecor Research, thanks to the two new systems that will lead up to an evolution in critical components production, the company historic core business.
Pietro Pranovi, Head of Laboratory and Testing, has presented this technology at the conference “Networking Day: cases of success for the future industry” organized by the CRIT, a society that offers Technological Scouting and Innovation Development services, of which Ecor Research is an accredited supplier.
The two machines, available in Ecor Research, thanks to a high power laser beam, manufacture 3D metal objects by means of casting and overlapping of thin layers of metal powder. Therefore, unlike traditional productive technologies, the procedure does not include the removal of material, but the adding of layers.
This technology has a great development potential for Ecor Research, because the company will have the possibility to propose itself as partner in the development and production of critical components through this innovative method.
Therefore, the short-term aims are the development of Additive Manufacturing knowledge, as far as the production chain is concerned, the performance of a detailed analysis of the influence of different process parameters and the calibration of Additive Manufacturing plants.
Advantages
Thanks to rapid prototyping, Ecor Research can reduce production lead time of components: indeed, in just few hours, it is possible to produce a complex component starting from CAD model reducing the stock in the warehouse.
These products can be more complex and performing compared to the ones manufactured with traditional production techniques and, moreover, more customized.
Regarding the internal production management, processes are optimized and costs reduced, because molds and unnecessary manufacturing phases are eliminated reducing the use of tool machines.
Launch costs of new products are diminished, and investments in a single product become less dangerous, because the cost of a 3D printed object does not depend on the production volume.
The production technique
The production process starts with the PC design of the component by means of a CAD software.
Afterwards, the file is imported in the PC prototyping system. The software analyses it, divides it horizontally representing the production layers and optimizes the surface finishing and the manufacturing speed.
Therefore, after the selection of construction parameters, the production starts. At the end of the process, heat treatments and the optimization of the surface finishing are carried out.
TO KNOW
- Additive Manufacturing is a production technology of a solid object through the overlap of material layers, starting from a specific 3D model.
- Rapid prototyping is a set of techniques used to quickly produce a scale model or an object using 3D CAD models. Additive Manufacturing is one of the most common application methods.
- CAD, Computer-aided design, is the design of products by means of the use of computer software.