Digital Metal® has recently unveiled an automated depowdering machine of metal binder jetted components. The announcement follows the release of pure copper in the Sweden-based machine manufacturer’s portfolio.
Named DPS 1000, the machine is described as a cost-saving option “that removes the human factor from the equation.”
Research organization Fraunhofer IAPT which is on a mission to industrialize additive manufacturing technologies has been one of the first users of this post-processing system. Dr. Philipp Imgrund, Head of AM Processes Department at Fraunhofer testifies to the capabilities of the machine:
“Metal Binder Jetting will enhance productivity and precision while at the same time reducing costs of metal additive manufacturing, which opens the door for series production,” says. “However, one major technical challenge is depowdering of the green parts and we see a huge potential in working on automation solutions in this context.”
Dr. Imgrund believes automated depowdering will be key to industrialization of AM. “To date manual depowdering and cleaning have taken up most of the work hours in the binder jetting process. Automating this step makes the whole AM process cost efficient while ensuring more consistent part quality.”
Fraunhofer IAPT has been impressed with Digital Metal® DPS 1000’s ability to precisely remove metal powder from most geometries of any parts. The added manual cleaning option makes it possible to clean even tricky geometries after the initial program has removed most of the powder. The institution is also pleased with the whole Digital Metal printing system, and how well it fits with their mission to industrialize the additive manufacturing of metals.
“With this system we can easily test multiply different powders to enhance the print quality and make more precise predictions on the shrinking of the sintering process,” says Dr. Imgrund. “It convinces with its precision, and even very delicate structures can be printed.”
“We also appreciate the collegial and professional atmosphere when working with Digital Metal. It makes it easy to find common ground for innovative projects.”
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