Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Partners to Advance DED »3D Printing Media Network

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, a division of the global IT company specializing in simulation solutions, has entered into a number of collaborations with metal additive manufacturing companies including Sciaky, pro-beam, DM3D, Gefertec and Meltio. The collaborations aim to advance directed energy deposition (DED) technologies for industrial applications.

DED is an area of ​​metal AM with great potential, especially for the profitable production of large-scale parts. The process also has the ability to repair metal parts, which makes it particularly interesting for military players as well as for aerospace MRO companies. DED also has potential in hybrid manufacturing processes, as it can be used in combination with wire EDM and milling to achieve high precision metal parts.

However, for wider adoption and industrialization of DED technologies, there are still steps to be taken in terms of process consistency, repeatability and predictability. This is where Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence comes in. The company leverages its expertise in automation, sensors and software and partners with that of DED 3D printer OEMs, customers and service providers to predict the behavior of high value metals like titanium and stainless steels in the DED process. .

“We are seeing significant demand for using our technologies in tandem to create customized, cost-effective solutions that meet the needs of specific additive manufacturing technologies in a variety of applications,” said Mathieu Pérennou, Director of Global Business Development for additive manufacturing at Hexagon. Industrial Intelligence Division. “Optimizing deposit production processes may involve taking advantage of powerful simulation tools, advanced scanning technology, robust reverse engineering and analysis software, or a combination of of all these technologies to obtain the required quality and repeatability. “

As we saw earlier this week, Hexagon has partnered with Sciaky, integrating the latter’s EBAM 3D printers with Hexagon’s process simulation software for DED applications. This combination of technologies will allow Sciaky’s customers to get the most out of their metal AM systems and optimize their productivity.

pro-beam, specialist in wire electron beam technology, also benefits from Hexagon’s technology. Pro-beam’s new PB WEBAM 100 machine features a fully validated 100% virtual manufacturing design workflow based on an aerospace structural part. The validation was performed using Hexagon’s Simufact Welding solution, which was used to create a DED simulation model that takes into account all of the PB WEBAM 100 proprietary vacuum conditions, tightening locations and power settings. to predict stresses, strains and distortions.

In the validation process, the new WEBAM system printed an aerospace component made up of 35 layers of titanium wire. The resulting part was then digitized using Hexagon’s AS1 Absolute scanner and REcreate reverse engineering software. Compared to the simulated part, the printed part had a very strong dimensional correlation and exhibited bending at the baseplate, which the simulated part also had. “Having reduced the simulation time by a factor of 13 without any loss in quality of the results, it is clear that we can rely on Hexagon’s technologies for robust virtual engineering,” said Verena Uhl, product manager at pro -beam.

Other DED-focused Hexagon partnerships include service desk and machine manufacturer DM3D. The American company uses Hexagon’s portable measurement technologies to prove that a large-scale 3D printed NASA RS-25 nozzle liner (2.8 meters high) can meet NASA’s tolerance requirements for its RAMPT project (Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology).

“Hexagon’s experience and its portable metrology technology have proven to be invaluable in validating the RAMPT RS-25 coating part and generating an accurate model for finish machining,” said Dr. Bhaskar Dutta, President of DM3D Technology: “This is one of the largest DED constructions ever made, so we needed good and reliable inspection technique for part validation. It is obviously not practical to move a 2 ton rocket engine part to a CMM for inspection. By accurately and quickly measuring the part inside the machine, we also see the possibility of performing any rework on the part, if that had been necessary.

Last but not least, Meltio, a laser metal deposition company, uses Hexagon’s ESPRIT CAM software with its technological ecosystem to provide machine shops with a single, intuitive interface for preparing DED and production jobs. machining. In short, the software streamlines the Meltio Engine CNC integration system, a hybrid workflow designed for the production of complex metal components.