Solukon and Festo joined forces in a development project to enhance efficiency when it comes to the depowdering of laser-melted metal parts. An intriguing announcement when one knows that Solukon’s proprietary Smart Powder Recuperation technology (SPR®) enables its cleaning systems to remove the powder residues from complex 3D-printed metal components through an automated process of swivelling and vibration excitation.
So, why joining forces with an expert in industrial automation technology like Festo?
First and foremost, if you are well aware of this task of the manufacturing process, therefore, I am not telling you anything new when I say automated depowdering of 3D printed parts can be a real Holy Grail when the operator deals with difficult-to-handle materials like copper, complex inner geometries, or large parts.
“Fully automated and residue-free depowdering should lead to accelerated, precise and reproducible processes and ensure that manual rework is no longer necessary. This will significantly cut the manufacturing costs for different batch sizes. Up to now, we have not taken advantage of the potential of automation in many process steps. We therefore see these innovative automation approaches as great opportunities for the future topic of additive manufacturing”, explains Felix Hantsch, project manager in Innovation and Robotics Cluster DACH at Festo.
To address these issues, the two partners will not only enhance the existing processes but they will also add new features that will facilitate the depowdering task.
To support the removal of difficult-to-handle powders from component surfaces, and this, despite rotating and vibrating the component, the experts will explore the use of a light and direct blow of air that will dislodge these fine deposits. The study of various handling solutions and kinematics will be key to discover how much efficiency can be improved here.
This procedure is currently performed manually – using glove ports – in existing Solukon’s systems. By automating this procedure, not only will it possible to directly check if the channels are free of deposits, but for larger components with a height of at least 1 metre, it could drastically save time and enhance reproducibility of this task.
Furthermore, complex inner geometries are increasingly becoming part of the fabrication of most aerospace components. Solukon is well aware of this growing market, and since the beginning of the year, it has been improving its automated powder removal systems to meet the needs of this industry. Together with Festo, they will investigate the development of a fully automated and integrated process chain.
While the ultimate goal will be to add a handling system to the depowdering system so that the machine automatically moves the blowing or machining tool, it should be noted that the developers might face some challenges in the flexible adaptation of the motion profile to changing component contours and in the ambient conditions. Indeed, the most important is not only to bring more automation but to do so while taking into account pivotal aspects such as dust protection, ATEX and a safe atmosphere.
“Festo and Solukon are currently working on a concept to simulate the automation platform that provides the necessary, flexible machining possibilities. This includes a feasibility analysis of how accessible the working space is. In a visionary move, artificial intelligence could support contour detection using the CAD data of the component to be machined. We are delighted to be partnering with Festo, and to have its innovative strength and expertise in automation technology on board for this project”, says Andreas Hartmann, CEO and technical director of Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH.
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