Page 11 - 3D Metal Printing Magazine Winter 2022

tleneck to wider material and process options, and capabilities for AM. Sen- vol’s program was very powerful in demonstrating an approach to AM allow- ables that leverages the digital nature of the technology and leverages machine learning, a modern data-analysis approach that has been shown to be
extremely effective in a multitude of other industries.”
Senvol’s partners on this program included Northrop Grumman, the National Institute for Aviation Research, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and Pil- grim Consulting.
Senvol: www.senvol.com
Tech Update 3D Type 420 Stainless Steel
Qualified for Desktop Metal Production System
Desktop Metal announced qualifica- tion of Type 420 stainless steel (420 SS) for use on the company’s Production System AM platform. As a result, manu-
Vacuum Sintering Furnace Delivering Bright, Clean Parts at Significant Cost Savings
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA reports impressive results after more than a month of production of a vacuum furnace used in a new metal injection molding (MIM) and AM binder-removal technology application. The furnace retrofit took place in 2021—the project’s goal: Build a vacuum sintering furnace with a new innovative hot zone and pumping technology that would mini- mize and target the deposit of detrimen- tal binders evaporating out of MIM and
new furnace were extremely bright and met their critical density and dimensional requirements.
The anticipated maintenance savings on this dedicated furnace, versus pro- cessing sintering and AM work with binders in a traditional vacuum furnace, reportedly will be considerable. Process- ing this job in a conventional vacuum fur- nace required a scheduled monthly shut- down. Solar’s maintenance team had to extract the hot zone, replace the ceram-
facturers can leverage Desktop Metal’s Single Pass Jetting technology for mass production of high-strength parts using 420 SS in medical, aerospace, defense, consumer-products and other industries, note company officials.
A martensitic heat-treatable stainless steel, 420 SS is characterized by its high strength and hardness as well as its cor- rosion resistance to the atmosphere, foods, fresh water and mild acids when in a fully hardened condition. 420 SS is a common material used extensively across a variety of applications such as surgical and dental instruments, ball bearings, gear shafts, pump and valve components, fasteners, gauges, hand tools, and high-end cutlery.
420 SS printed on Production System technology meets Metal Powder Indus- tries Federation 35 standards for struc- tural powder-metallurgy parts, eliminates the use of tooling and minimizes materi- al waste, and represents a significant decrease in production time and part cost compared to conventional manufac- turing methods, according to Desktop Metal officials.
Examples of key AM applications include valve nozzle adapters (pictured in the Production System build box), which connect nozzles with fluid systems in aerospace applications.
Desktop Metal: www.desktopmetal.com
AM parts. Thus far the furnace has pro- duced multiple high-temperature sinter- ing cycles.
The hot zone, after repeated 2400 F sintering cycles, remains “immaculately clean,” according to company officials, as problematic binders coalesced exactly where they were targeted to consoli- date, within a separate heated pumping port while keeping the primary pump and booster uncontaminated. Important- ly, the officials offer, the customer report- ed that sintered parts processed in this
ics, clean or replace the power feed through terminals, scrape the cold walls, clean the diffusion pumps, and scour all the pumping system pipes. The added labor and material costs coupled with the lost production time and degrada- tion on the life of the hot zone cost the company more than $180,000 annually. Projected maintenance costs on this newly designed sintering furnace are $10,000/yr.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA: solaratm.com
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