ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Optimum solutions for demanding, complex component geometries
Additive manufacturing (AM) has become an integral part of modern production. It enables engineers and developers to produce complex components and thus drive the innovative strength of entire industries. Therefore, it is important to make all the possibilities of the technology accessible to the end user.
the benefits of additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing opens up new possibilities in the production of complex components and structures. At the same time, however, it places high demands on the technologies and systems used to ensure quality, precision and efficiency.
Highest reproducibility and excellent long-term stability
Build jobs in additive manufacturing often take hours or days. It is therefore important that the machine remains very stable over this period, as even the smallest deviations of a few micrometers can render a component unusable.
Therefore, RAYLASE supplies beam deflection systems optimized on maximum repeatability and long-term stability.
Fine resolution, large working fields and high volume-build-rate
Components with detailed structures require an optical design with a small laser focus. However, this conflicts with the desire for large working fields and high volume-build-rates, which are important for efficient additive production.
Here, RAYLASE relies on pre-focusing beam deflection units, with which the largest possible fields can be processed, and patented zoom optics that can dynamically adjust the focus diameter.
Quality assurance and process monitoring
One big advantage of additive manufacturing is the possibility of continuous layer-by-layer quality control. With a melt pool sensor, for example, the quality of the entire component volume can be documented. This is a great advantage for critical components, e.g. in the aerospace industry. However, sensors must be optically integrated into the system and the sensor data must be stored synchronously with the corresponding position values.
For this purpose, RAYLASE offers beam deflection units with an integrated sensor interface. Additionally, with our SP-ICE-3 control card and the PROCESS DATA ANALYZER (PDA), synchronous readout of scan head data and sensors for process analysis and quality assurance is possible.
From rapid prototyping to additive production
Additive Manufacturing has come a long way. Once only used for the rapid prototyping, it is now applied to the series production of complex components. With advancing technology, greater precision and increased production speed, additive manufacturing enables efficient, flexible and customized production for a wide range of industries. However, automated production requires a holistic view on production and all process steps involved.
Products by raylase
At RAYLASE, we have therefore developed products and tools that are designed to meet the specific demands of additive production:
- The AM MODULE, which can be combined to a multi-laser layout with maximum overlap to provide for maximum productivity
- The SCAN-FIELD-CALIBRATOR, which carries out the calibration process automatically and quickly, even with multi-head systems
- The PROCESS-DATA-ANALYZER, which stores sensor and position data and thus enables automated quality assurance
Interesting applications and use cases
Additive manufacturing offers a wide range of possible applications in many different industries. Here are some inspiring examples that illustrate the potential of this technology.