Metal 3D Printing Production case
Case study Contract
manufacturing services
We will introduce actual production case.
By using secondary machining using precision microfabrication, we will make the most of the merit of shaping metal 3D printers.
Case1 Closed impeller
(Metal 3D Printing + Secondary machining(Polish))
Impeller used for pumps. In particular, "closed impeller" is a part that is highly energy efficient and used in a wide range of fields.
In particular, "closed impeller" is a part that is highly energy efficient and used in a wide range of fields.
When closed impeller is made with metal 3D printer based on drawing, it reduces the number of processes and leads to cost reduction.
However, metal 3D printing is a disadvantage of the rough surface.
We do grinding treatment, solve the surface roughness and make it finish with high accuracy. The figure below shows the CAD image of the closed impeller and before and after polishing after the 3D modeling.
- CAD-image
- Polish
Surface roughness Before polish After polish Ra 20µm Ra 0.5µm
Case2 Mold of cooling water pipe
(Hybrid processing of Metal 3D Printing＋Cutting processing)
This is a case example of making a cup mold equipped with a cooling water pipe of a spiral flow path. It is very difficult to machine a spiral flow channel (cavity) by machining.
In a metal 3D printer, it is possible to produce a spiral flow path (cavity) with one molding.
However, machining everything with a metal 3D printer increases the cost as processing time increases.
In this case, we propose the following to reduce cost.
Suggestion:
The foundation is machined and only the spiral channel is printed with metal 3D.
Hybrid modeling.
Improvement:
30% reduction in machining time achieved by hybrid modeling
Finished product
Hybrid model design
Production process
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1. Base of cup, produced with machine work
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2. Powder scooped over cup model
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3. Modeling begins!
Each layer is 20 μm. Powder is fused on with a laser.
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4. Modeling complete!
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5. 5-axle machining
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6. Cup mold complete!
