If there is a segment in the AM industry where supply is considerably inferior to demand, it’s depowdering. This step of the manufacturing process that we have already discussed several times (here and there for instance) is in need of players who can develop unique machines.
The latest one we discovered is AviaTOOLS, an American manufacturer who has spent the last decade designing and manufacturing tooling for the aviation industry. The company recently landed onto the Additive Manufacturing arena out of necessity for addressing a depowdering issue of a client. The solution delivered eventually opened the team’s eyes on the necessity to address this issue for other AM users.
The manufacturer who currently focuses its operations on the USA is based in Florida, and has already developed a ready-to-use machine line of depowdering systems. Its flagship portfolio is made up of DP machines 400, 500, 600,1000, and 1500. AviaTOOLS owes this fast development to its expertise in machine manufacturing and CNC especially. (DP stands here for depowdering).
“We have developed a large range of sizes to tailor the exact needs of the client for any 3D printed part up to 1 metric ton and 1.5 meters tall. We have also motorized and implemented CNC capabilities to our entire range of machines. We designed our CNC system in-house with ease of use in mind. Anybody can learn to program our machine in 5 minutes via our manual. This is what differs our product from other products that are generally complicated to operate”, the company told 3D ADEPT Media.
It also explains that it can efficiently conduct the depowdering process by means of extracting un-sintered powder from 3D-Printed parts using an optional atmospherically controlled cabin.
Ideal for the depowdering of metal 3D printed parts for now, AviaTOOLS’ technology seems the way to to go for complex parts. “Most of our clients use our machine to De-Powder end nozzles seen on rockets, one of the most challenging parts to De-Powder. We believe the biggest challenge is not yet here, However, it is only a matter of time before the ever-increasing weight/size of 3D printed parts will challenge us”, they said.
In our experience, companies that debut on the AM scene with a strong expertise in another field of manufacturing easily position themselves as strong players on the market, but as we used to say, applications are the best proof that can confirm the capabilities of a technology, and that’s exactly what we are looking to see from AviaTOOLS.
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