Page 30 - 3D Metal Printing Summer 2016

3D Add and Subtract All in One
Laser Addition Plus Finish Machining in One
The Integrexi-400AM hybrid machine from Mazak, with U.S. headquarters in Florence, KY, is ideal for small-lot production of difficult-to-cut materials, using its additive capability to gen- erate near-net-shape component features and then completing them via precision finish-machining operations. If needed, the machine also can laser-mark parts.
Fiber-laser heat melts the metal powder and the cladding heads add the molten material layer by layer. Also, the machine can join different types of metals together, allowing for repair of existing worn or damaged components such as aerospace turbine blades.
Its full five-axis machining capability enables processing of AM parts, prismatic parts from solid billets or castings, round parts or highly contoured parts.
The Integrex i-400AM features dual laser-cladding heads that
provide options for high-rate and fine-metal deposition. The two cladding heads complement each other much like roughing and finishing tools work together in chip making, according to Mazak officials. The cladding heads reside in the tool magazine with the machine’s automatic tool changer ready to load/unload them into/from the milling turret as needed.
Specific part examples ideal for this equipment include ribs, tubular extensions, fan blades and flanges. It is also possible to generate new part features in a material that is harder or lighter than the parent workpiece material.
Furthermore, the cladding heads can be used to coat chosen sections of the part with metal, allowing the machine to repair worn or damaged high-value components such as turbine blades.
Mazak Corp.: www.mazakusa.com
Robot-Programming Research Targets AM/SM Combination
UK-based Delcam has added an ABB robot fitted with a Fronius CMT welding head at its headquarters in Birmingham, to be used mainly for research into the pro- gramming of robots for the AM of metals with Delcam’s PowerMill Robot software.
Cold-metal-transfer welding initially developed by Fronius can join materials with different properties, in particular for welding aluminum to steel. The process uses very-high-frequency movement of the wire for clean, spatter-free material transfer, and provides a stable, reproducible depo-
sition of material that Delcam believes has excellent potential in metal AM.
The ABB robot arm acquired by Del- cam offers six axes of movement, with an additional two axes, tilt and rotation pro- vided by the table holding the material. This additional flexibility allows parts to be oriented into the optimum position as they are being built, thus enabling com- plex shapes to be created with lesser need for extra support structures.
PowerMill Robot simplifies program- ming of a robot for machining, and via
an application inside of the software, users have access to all the multi-axis machin- ing strategies within PowerMill Robot and can use all the system’s project manage- ment options to manage, store and retrieve data.
As well as making it possible to pro- gram robots for AM, the software can be used for tool-to-part applications, espe- cially for machining large parts or for part- to-tool applications such as grinding or polishing.
Delcam: www.delcam.com
28 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SUMMER 2016
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