Rohde & Schwarz has been in the field of mechanical and electronic assemblies for the past 90 years. It has a production plant at Teisnach, Bavarian where its Additive Manufacturing division produces heat exchangers, RF components, and other applications using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF).
As you may guess, with the LPBF process, thorough post-process care must be undertaken and this involves depowdering which consists of removing excess powder from the interior channels.
Solukon is famous for its depowdering systems for metal and polymer Additive Manufacturing. The company offers several industrial powder removal systems for handling reactive materials like aluminum and titanium.
To address their powder removal challenges, Rohde & Schwarz will rely on the SFM-AT350 depowdering system which has recently been installed within their production unit.
The use of Solukon’s SFM-AT350 at Rohde & Schwarz
This depowdering solution from Solukon works well with parts up to nearly 100 kg. It offers high-quality cleaning. There is minimal consumption of inert gas and sufficient freedom of movement. The components of Rohde & Schwarz include a high-frequency knocker that scatters powder clumps and an adjustable pneumatic vibration.
The SFM-AT350 tracks and summarizes the depowdering data in a protocol file. Rohde & Schwarz 3D print parts made of stainless steel and an aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg). According to Solukon, they could complete two to four cleaning jobs a week with their SFM-AT350.
As aluminum is a reactive material, the SFM-AT350 chamber is inerted with protective gas before the cleaning process. The current challenge in depowdering is to remove the powder from the interior channels and support structures.
SFM-AT350 does not disappoint here as Peter Scherer, Head of Additive Manufacturing at Rohde & Schwarz in Teisnach enthuses: “We are very pleased with both the cleaning quality and the quality of the Solukon system itself. The system is easy to operate and we have not had any malfunctions or problems yet.”
Rohde & Schwarz looks to incorporate German manufacturers with high system quality and safe concepts.
Author: Nagarjun M
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