Post-processing of AM workpieces fully automated

Things are moving in additive manufacturing. That much was clear during the past edition of the Formnext trade show. One of the most important trends has to do with post-processing. To meet the increasing demands for surface quality of 3D printed parts in a safe and efficient way, Rösler, together with partners, has developed a new system for the automatic post-processing and finishing of 3D parts. The system can be used for all common plastics, metals and alloys. It already scored highly at the Formnext.

The new S1 series is the answer for any surface treatment application. It can be integrated into an automated production line or used as a stand-alone cell.

Finishing AM parts has been recognized as one of the top 10 development trends in Additive Manufacturing this year. The new AM Solutions^™ from the Rösler Group brings different solutions together. Components made of metal usually have a support structure and contain traces of sintered metal particles when they come out of the printer. In addition, high surface roughness meets neither functional nor decorative requirements for the components. A finishing and refinement of the surfaces is therefore indispensable. It is still often done manually. This comes at the expense of the speed advantage of AM processes and thus productivity. It also increases production costs.

This new AM solutions brand M2 machine is for finishing/treating high-quality, large or heavy printed parts. Equipped with extreme power, this machine will clean and finish any dirty surface with minimal effort.

An efficient process for all shedding tasks
To overcome this shortcoming and promote the use of additively manufactured parts, Hirtenberger Engineered Surface and Rösler have collaboratively developed a solution for fully automated post-processing. The new development consists of a "plug-and-play" system in which various processing methods, such as the patented Hirtizing^®, are used in conjunction with surface machining from Rösler. The parts are fed directly from the printer or after heat treatment from the machine and machined to the specified requirements. In accordance with the specifications for functional and decorative surface quality, in the first step support structures as well as sintered metal particles are removed by Hirtizing^® and the surfaces are smoothed. This chemical-electrochemical process is also suitable for processing complex components and internal surfaces and can be scaled as needed. The complementary expertise of both partners allows the transformation of entire building panels full of workpieces hidden by support structures into individual parts with a mirror-like finish.

PostProcess, specialist in the 3D printing market from the United States has specialized not only in the automated finishing of 3D printed parts, but also in the removal of supports on plastic products.

Perfect finish benefits from smooth and glossy surface
The second step is the so-called High-Polishing, also called high-gloss polishing. This achieves not only very smooth surfaces on the surface without loss of sharpness, but also with defined roughness and realized high-gloss surfaces. After the machining process, parts leave the system and can be immediately further processed or packaged without further treatment or cleaning. This completely new solution can be used for all metals and metal alloys commonly found in additive manufacturing such as titanium, aluminum, stainless steel, tungsten and Inconell. The process media (consumables) are fully integrated into the system and easy to refill, operation is fully automatic. The finishing machine can be integrated into network and line production or used as a standalone system.

Parallel processing of different components in short process times
Depending on the system size and component dimensions, several components can be machined simultaneously in the machine. Turnaround times are significantly shorter compared to earlier available on the market methods for automatic post-processing. Compared to the previously commonly used manual processing, it offers significant time savings and also has the advantage of safety and reproducibility. The complete solution is not only available to Hirtenberger and Rösler. Both companies also offer parts processing as a service.