Sweden-based companies Höganäs and Piab join forces to advance automation in AM. Höganäs is known for developing metal powders for AM while Piab is evolving automation through progressive gripping, lifting, and moving solutions.
Through this partnership, both companies ambition to make AM more sustainable. Both companies introduce a new range of solutions that will enable customers to implement improved automation and optimised printing processes in order to save time, reduce waste, improve efficiency and secure a safer working environment. In a nutshell, their solutions aim to minimise metal powder waste while improving process efficiency and safety.
Challenges raised by metal powders (e.g. the high bulk density) and other material characteristics could be addressed using Piab’s existing products, such as the piFLOW® range of vacuum conveying solutions designed for optimising material handling processes.
Today, the partners are offering bespoke solutions for metal powder management which are based on existing piFLOW® technology. These solutions are printer agnostic and can be used in multiple applications during the printing process, including filling the 3D printer with the virgin or reclaimed metal powder, filling the sieve or hopper, or reclaiming the excess metal powder for reuse.
Not only is waste disposal reduced, but the amount of powder used is maximised, allowing manufacturers to make more with less. This new line of standardised technology will help further industrialise AM production and facilitate large scale manufacturing and Industry 4.0 plans.
The solutions cater to a range of Additive Manufacturing technologies, including powder bed fusion, binder jetting and laser sintering. This means they can be integrated into almost any metal powder-based production process.
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