1. 2016 Maintenance Innovation Challenge
Affordable LENS 3D Printing Hybrid CNC with Atmosphere Control
PROBLEM STATEMENT
3D metal printing, combined with convential subtractive machining as a Hybrid process, can offer significant cost and cycle time benefit to the sustainment community related to component and tooling repair, but current equipment offerings represent two significant adoption barriers:
High equipment costs
Enclosures that are laser safe, but that allow higher levels of oxygen in the presence of oxidation sensitive materials such as titanium because they are not designed as an inert gas chamber.
BENEFITS
Reduces adoption barriers for 3D metal printing capability:
Reduces equipment costs and expands work envelope options by integration of LENS Print Engine with conventional machine tools
Enables the 3D Printing Hybrid CNC processing of oxygen sensitive materials such as titanium
Accelerates realization of 3D printing cost and cycle-time benefits relating to the repair versus replacement of worn/damaged components
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION
Integrate proven LENS Print Engine 3D Printing technology with cost-effective CNC machine tool base.
Incorporate existing inert gas chamber design elements from traditional Optomec LENS product line which achieve 3D Printing processing environments of less than 10 ppm for oxygen.
Optomec has packaged these system components into an affordable LENS Machine Tool product line:
Configuration ranges from open-air, additive only to controlled atmosphere Hybrid, additive + subtractive
Price points range from $250K to $400K (less than half the cost of comparable systems on the market)
LENS 3D Printing Hybrid CNC with Atmosphere Control is Industry First!
GRAPHIC