Renishaw
RenAM 500Q Ultra metal additive manufacturing system
Renishaw has debuted its latest metal additive manufacturing technology at Formnext 2023, promising build time reductions by up to 50%, alongside an update to its RenAM 500 series of 3D printers.
The UK-founded engineering firm says the new technology, named TEMPUS, ‘employs seamless communication between advanced software and hardware components’ to allow lasers to be fired while the powder recoater is moving, reducing the need to wait for each layer to be recoated. Renishaw, which teased TEMPUS last week as a 'step-change in additive manufacturing productivity', says the process removes up to nine seconds of build time from every layer, and uses advanced scanning algorithms that sequence the layer data in a way that results in no reduction in part quality. Renishaw says metal component expert Alloyed has been using the technology since 2021 for applications in consumer electronics and computing.
In a press release, the company explained that this optimisation suits some part geometries more than others, particularly those with thin, vertical features, which are likely to experience proportionally higher productivity savings.
TEMPUS is available as a paid-for upgrade on current RenAM 500 systems but is included as standard on board Renishaw’s new RenAM 500 Ultra, which also makes its debut in Frankfurt this week. The RenAM 500 Ultra includes key RenAM 500 series features such as its optical, chamber and gas-flow design, and is similarly available in one- and four-laser configurations. In addition to TEMPUS, it also benefits from advanced process monitoring software which provides operators with detailed insights and data from the build, and automated powder and waste handling systems optimised for volume production.
Renishaw
Renishaw's TEMPUS technology
“Reducing cost per part is critical to the wider adoption of AM technology,” explained Louise Callanan, Director of Additive Manufacturing at Renishaw. “The dominant contributing factor to part cost for most components today is the time spent building the part on the machine itself. Reducing the amount of machine time per part therefore results in more cost-effective production.
“That’s why we’re excited to bring TEMPUS technology and the new RenAM 500 Ultra system to the market,” added Callanan. “We believe the time and cost savings that both TEMPUS technology and the RenAM 500 Ultra system bring will open AM up to mass production applications where the technology would previously have been unviable. Meanwhile, these innovations will deliver crucial productivity gains for AM users who want full-scale production at the lowest cost per part.”
Renishaw, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year, joins a list of companies launching new 3D printing technologies in Frankfurt this week including HP, which debuted its HP Multi Jet Fusion 5600, and Roboze which is introduced its Hypermelt technology with the ARGO 1000, believed to be the largest pellet-based 3D printer in the world.
