WAAM3D RoboWAAM metal 3D printer
WAAM3D officially launched its RoboWAAM metal 3D printing platform at TCT 3Sixty this week.
The company, spun out from Cranfield University by a team of researchers, says it aims to increase the potential for multi-metre metallic part development in industries such as aerospace, defence, and oil and gas with an array of features that are said to be completely new to the large format metal 3D printing marketplace.
Cranfield University has been working with Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) for almost two decades, and according to Filomeno Martina, CEO and co-founder of WAAM3D, this new 3D printer – a combination of sensing hardware and software developments – takes ‘the production of large format 3D metal additive printing to the next level.’ Cementing its position, the team also took home this year’s TCT Hardware Award - Non-polymers for the machine at the TCT Awards on Wednesday evening.
WAAM3D says the machine can process virtually any wire form material and features a maximum build envelope of 2 x 2 x 2 metres. Martina adds the machine is ‘ideal 3D printing option for new as well as repaired metal components that require high structural integrity, cost-effectively.’
The RoboWAAM uses a new real time interferometric sensor called ShapeTech, which reconstructs the 3D profile of the deposited structure and extracts the layer height value all around the component to provide in-progress and immediate confidence in consistency of deposition. Additional features include double-point temperature measurement capabilities to ensure consistent printing conditions, electronic wire positioning for increased process stability, process camera for melt-pool imaging, filtration and fume management system, shielding for reactive materials with fully automatic purging.
The machine is controlled by WAAM3D’s in-house software which includes WAAMPlanner for slicing, tool path planning, and turning parts into executable code for the WAAM process. It also includes tools for eliminating defects and controlling layer height, WAAMSim simulation software which provides a virtual ‘gaming-inspired’ environment for collision detection and offline tool-path-plan validation, and WAAMCtrl operating system with digital twin capabilities and complete printing process record.
