EOS M 400-4 in the first NextGenAM facility.
EOS M 400-4 in the first NextGenAM facility.
The first pilot plant to stem from Premium Aerotec, Daimler and EOS’ series additive manufacturing-centred collaboration has been put into operation and features extensive automation.
Announced last year, NextGenAM aims to enable the volume additive manufacture of end-use parts in the aerospace and automotive sectors. The project was announced last April, and commenced a month later. Since the partners have been assessing AM workflows and their suitability to automation, and today announces the first significant development of the project, a purpose-built pilot facility at Premium Aerotec in Varel, Germany.
The facility is made up of a range of 3D printing, post-processing, and quality assurance technologies, and are fully automated and integrated. Some manual steps of conventional AM workflows have been removed entirely, and the partners say the production of complex, lightweight and robust components can now be achieved more profitably.
At the centre of this 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 Varel 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 also been automated. In this phase, a robot 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.
Birds' eye view of the NextGenAM pilot AM plant.
Birds' eye view of the NextGenAM pilot AM plant.
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 components of achieving the project goal, and as NextGenAM makes public the Varel facility, that remains so: “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 Dr. 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,” said Jasmin Eichler, Daimler AG, Head of Research Future Technologies. “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.”
“In this project we have already succeeded in significantly reducing the production cost per part, thus creating an economic perspective for large-scale digital 3D printing factories,” added Dr Thomas Ehm, CEO of Premium Aerotec.
