As part of a new collaboration, SLM Solutions and Honeywell will work on the qualification of new additive manufacturing parameters that enable printing at increased thicknesses. The overall goal of both partners is to reduce printing times and costs in production processes.
Honeywell Aerospace is the business unit that will be actively involved as part of this partnership. The division of the Aerospace company will first qualify the parameters for aluminum builds using increased layer thicknesses of 60 and 90 micron on the SLM®500.
The German metal AM specialist on the other hand, will provide their standard aluminium parameter sets for Honeywell. Material qualification will therefore be achieved leveraging the quad-laser systems to obtain optimal material properties.
“SLM Solutions’ latest technology will help Honeywell improve productivity while also meeting our material requirements for qualification,” said Dr. Sören Wiener, senior director of technology and advanced operations for Honeywell’s Aerospace business. “We intend to qualify these parameter sets through repeatability testing in our production environment, including build and post-processing to generate an efficient process with a set of material property data.”
It should be noted that Honeywell is a true proponent of additive manufacturing. The company believes AM is a “real technology” that has already helped them reduce working-capital requirements, save cash while helping the industrial conglomerate win billions in new business. The company has partnered with several AM specialists including Sintavia that received approval to 3D print metal aerospace parts.
Addressing productivity with SLM Solutions is well in line with the manufacturer’s capabilities that brings years of experience in the field.
Speaking of this partnership, Meddah Hadjar, CEO of SLM Solutions Group AG, said: “As the productivity leaders in powder bed fusion, SLM Solutions has been continuously working to reduce build times by combining high-powered lasers with advanced parameter sets. Our open architecture machines allow for customization, and we’ve shown over 60% reduction in build time with 170% real build rate increases compared to standard 30 micron parameters on our twin-laser machines. We’re excited to work together with Honeywell Aerospace to further advance the industry through the qualification of even more advanced parameter sets for quad-laser systems used in qualified serial production.”
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