Tag Archives: Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM)

TRUMPF Inc. Exhibits Welding and Marking Technology, and Additive Manufacturing at IMTS 2022

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TRUMPF to exhibit automated arc welding, 3D laser welding, 3D laser marking, and additive manufacturing technology

FARMINGTON, Conn., July 6, 2022 – TRUMPF will show the latest in automated arc welding, 3D laser welding, 3D laser marking, and additive manufacturing technology at the 2022 IMTS show taking place September 12 to 17 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. In booth 236217, TRUMPF will highlight the TruArc Weld 1000, an automated arc welding system designed for easy and affordable high-mix, low-volume production. The booth will also showcase laser technology for 3D processing, including the TruLaser Station 7000 fiber, a versatile, compact and fully-equipped low-investment 3D laser welding system, and a TruMarkStation 7000 with a TruMark 6030 marking laser for high-performance 3D laser marking.

TRUMPF will highlight laser 3D printing technology at a second exhibit in the Additive Manufacturing pavilion. In booth 433037, TRUMPF will feature the TruPrint Green Edition, a highly productive metal additive manufacturing laser machine designed for specialized applications, including the 3D printing of copper, copper alloys, gold and other precious metals. TRUMPF’s Additive Manufacturing (AM) booth will also a virtual showroom for participants to take a deep dive into the variety of laser technology and AM applications offered by TRUMPF and to help determine the right equipment for different application and part requirements.

TruArc Weld 1000: Automated arc welding


The TruArc Weld 1000, TRUMPF’s automated arc welding system, makes it easy for fabricators to get started in automated welding. For affordable high-mix, low-volume production, the TruArc Weld 1000 is the perfect solution. A collaborative robot, or “cobot,” makes it easy to program and weld in just minutes. Even first-time operators can program by simply guiding the cobot by hand. Programming is greatly simplified by the operating unit on the welding torch and factory settings for different materials and sheet thicknesses. Thanks to the rapid programming, fabricators have a cost-effective means of tackling short production and single-part runs. Overall, the TruArc Weld 1000 creates a process that is more efficient than manual welding and produces a high-quality weld seam.

TruLaser Station 7000 fiber: Cost-effective and versatile 3D laser welding



The TruLaser Station 7000 is a versatile, compact, and fully equipped low-investment 3D laser welding system. The higher power laser enables a broad range of applications. The TruLaser Station 7000 facilitates efficient and ergonomic 3D laser welding of small assemblies, such as sensors, rotationally symmetrical components, and medical devices. The large work area also makes it possible to integrate fixtures and process larger components in a small installation area. Fully integrated image processing ensures reliable weld seam positioning.

TruMarkStation 7000 with TruMark 6030: high-performance 3D laser marking


TRUMPF will demonstrate laser marking of 3D metal printed parts with a TruMark Station 7000 laser marking station that features a TruMark 6030 marking laser and VisionLine 3 feature recognition capability. The TruMark 6030 is a high-performance marking laser with 3D functionality. The laser’s outstanding beam quality and high power densities ensure clean material removal and high-contrast markings. The TruMark 6030 can be integrated into production systems quickly and easily.

TruPrint Green Edition: highly productive 3D printing of copper, copper alloys and precious metal


In the Additive Manufacturing pavilion, TRUMPF will show the TruPrint Green Edition, a highly productive metal additive manufacturing laser machine designed for specialized applications including the 3D printing of copper, copper alloys, gold and other precious metals. With a wavelength of 515 nm, the TruDisk 1020 green laser makes it possible to 3D print highly reflective materials such as copper, which can be extremely difficult or impossible to process with infrared wavelengths. The TruPrint Green Edition can also manufacture parts made of copper alloys such as CuCr1Zr with a larger process window and higher productivity than traditional infrared laser metal fusion laser systems. TRUMPF’s Additive Manufacturing (AM) booth #433037 will also feature a virtual showroom for participants to take a deep dive into the AM products offered by TRUMPF and help to determine the right equipment for different application and part requirements. In addition, TRUMPF will display parts that demonstrate their laser metal deposition (LMD) and laser metal fusion (LMF) applications for the aerospace, space, medical industries.

 

About TRUMPF

TRUMPF is a high-tech company offering manufacturing solutions in the fields of machine tools and laser technology. The company drives digital connectivity in the manufacturing through consulting, platform products and software. TRUMPF is a technology and market leader in highly versatile machine tools for sheet metal processing and in the field of industrial lasers. In 2020/21, the company employed 15,000 people and generated sales of about $4.2 billion. With over 80 subsidiaries, the TRUMPF Group is represented in nearly every European country as well as in North America, South America and Asia. The company has production facilities in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Mexico and China. Find out more about TRUMPF at www.trumpf.com

 

Press contact:

Catherine Flynn, APR
Public Relations & Communications Specialist

860 255-6518

catherine.flynn@trumpf.com

TRUMPF Inc.

3 Johnson Ave. Farmington, CT 06032

LIA Invites You to The 2018 Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference

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By Ron D. Schaeffer, Ph.D.

 Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) is one of the most exciting potential growth areas for the laser industry. The market has been watched for a few years and every year there are gains in the revenue generated by this market segment, but so far the revenue curve has not started rising dramatically. This can be viewed as both good news and bad news. The “bad” news is that the market has not exploded…yet! According to Alan Nogee from Strategies Unlimited, the industry can be broken down as follows:

• Stereolithography – Reasonable growth but the industry depends on more non-laser solutions.

• Laser Sintering (DMLS/SLS) – This area is growing strongly. There are two main application areas – plastics and metals. Plastics suffer from the availability of a variety of materials and usually use CO2 and Diode lasers, usually with under 300W of output power.

• High Speed Sintering (HSS) – This is a newer technology and is used primarily for plastics. This technique is 10 – 100 times faster than SLS and can manufacture many tens of thousands of units per day. At the time of this writing, metals are not yet there, but time may change that. 

The good news is that the LAM market is set to really ramp up and could spike in the next couple of years. Therefore, it is a great time to investigate LAM (and thereby the LAM® Conference) to get in on the “ground floor” of the technology. While this conference has been around for 10 years, this year the venue has moved to Schaumburg, IL, for the first time and is co-located with the Lasers in Manufacturing Event® (LME®) with overlap on Wednesday, March 28th. The conference takes place at the Schaumburg Convention Center on March 27–28, 2018.

Why attend LAM?

•Interact with laser industry experts – the Program chairs in particular are a very recognizable and highly
respected group.

• Find out if Laser Additive Manufacturing can help with your manufacturing problems.

• Network not only with the exhibitors but other attendees as well.

• As part of the registration fee for LAM, entry to the LME show is also included! Take advantage of both events and all of the associated benefits.

• Find a job in the photonics industry – or find laser experts to bring onto your team if you are thinking about ramping up laser processing.

• Increase the bottom line by increasing profits! In a manufacturing world this is what it is all about.

 

Program/Agenda

The LAM chairs will return to build on its successful program from last year. Milan Brandt of RMIT University will continue as the General Chair, with John Hunter of LPW Technology, Inc. and Minlin Zhong of Tsinghua University serving as Conference Co-chairs.

 

Day One

A representative from America Makes will give the first keynote address of the conference, titled “Smart Collaboration: A Public-Private Approach to Advancing the Additive Manufacturing Industry.” America Makes strives in additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation to increase global manufacturing competitiveness.

Other presentations range in topics from laser cladding to laser welding. Prabu Balu of Coherent, Inc. will discuss recent advances in laser cladding. Balu is the senior application engineer at Coherent. His talk will provide a set of guidelines to successfully deposit highly reflective materials using powder-based laser cladding (LC), high deposition rate (up to 10 kg/hr) with minimal dilution (as low as 1%) using hot-wire based LC and thin coating thicknesses (varying from 25 µm to 500 µm) using ultra-high-speed LC process.

Paree Allu of Flow Science will give a presentation on “Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling for Additive Manufacturing and Laser Welding.” Allu is a computational fluid dynamics engineer at Flow Science. Allu will explain how CFD modelling can help with the widespread use of AM technologies by providing a framework to better understand AM processes from the particle and melt pool scales.

Day One will wrap up with presentations on Process Monitoring, featuring John Lehman from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and his talk on Laser-based Manufacturing; Novel Developments in Process Monitoring at NIST. Lehman is the leader of the Sources and Detectors research group at NIST and a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. The research group provides laser power and energy meter calibrations to the U.S. and much of the world.

Day Two

Keynote speaker Ehsan Toyserkani from the University of Waterloo will kick off Day Two with an overview of Canada’s additive manufacturing initiatives. Toyserkani is the founder of and research director for the MSAM lab at the University of Waterloo, the university research chair for additive manufacturing, and a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. His presentation will cover the challenges and opportunities related to a research program on novel in- and off-line quality monitoring of selective laser melting along with assurance protocols.  

The following session will feature Warwick Downing of Rapid Advanced Manufacturing Limited and his thoughts on how to grow the metal additive manufacturing industry. Downing is the chief executive of Rapid Advanced Manufacturing. He established Rapid Advanced Manufacturing Ltd (RAM3D) in 2013 with a group of like-minded shareholders to grow the commercial opportunities created by the growth of the metal 3D printing sector.

In the final session of the conference, Mohsen Seifi from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International will discuss the standardization of additive manufacturing. Seifi is the director of Global Additive Manufacturing programs at ASTM International. Previously, he was a doctoral researcher in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

 After the final session, there will be a reception on the show floor in conjunction with LME starting at 4 pm. Since LAM attendees are welcome to fully participate in LME, there are also many more talks, tutorials and classes available. Please see the information on LME for details. LIA will provide attendees with an enhanced experience by co-locating LAM and LME.

 

Sponsors

The premier LAM conference sponsor is Alabama Laser. Alabama Laser has been involved in laser materials processing for many years and is one of the pioneers of LAM in the U.S. Alabama Laser provides a range of advanced laser services, such as cladding, welding and heat treating, as well as process development, laser research, and custom laser systems. Working in conjunction with their affiliate company, Alabama Laser Technologies, they are also able to offer customers additional services such as laser cutting, punching, forming, welding, and precision machining services.

 The other generous sponsors of LAM are Trumpf, LPW and Laserline. Trumpf is a German manufacturing company with not only a large laser division, but an even larger traditional machine tool presence, and they are making a big push for LAM as part of their strategic future planning. LPW Technology Inc. is a metal powder manufacturer that aims to improve additive manufacturing. Its quality powders are compatible with all additive manufacturing systems. The company also offers a PowderLife lifecycle management program for quality assurance. Safe-handling, storage, measurement, and testing solutions are available to ensure proper powder usage. Laserline is a company delivering high power diode lasers. Laserline is a longtime LIA supporter and has been in the LAM industry for many years. Laserline offers industry-appropriate laser solutions for laser materials processing – from beam generation to the work piece. 

 In addition to their sponsorship, all of the above companies are also exhibitors and will have experts at both LAM and LME ready to answer any technical or budget-related questions that may arise. 

 Registration is now open! For more information and to register, visit www.lia.org/lam. 

Ron D. Schaeffer is a technical consultant to PhotoMachining.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explore the Possibilities of Laser Additive Manufacturing at LIA’s 2018 LAM Conference

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ORLANDO, FL (February 16, 2018) – The Laser Institute of America is pleased to announce that the 2018 Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) conference will be held at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL, March 27–28. For the first time in its 10-year history, the conference will be co-located with the Lasers in Manufacturing Event® (LME®). LAM attendees will be granted free access to the LME exhibit, which takes place March 28–29.

The LAM conference is an excellent networking and educational opportunity for anyone interested in working in the additive manufacturing industry or discovering laser additive manufacturing solutions for their company.

Last year’s conference chairs will reprise their roles, with Milan Brandt of RMIT University continuing as the General Chair, and John Hunter of LPW Technology, Inc. and Minlin Zhong of Tsinghua University serving as Conference Co-chairs.

The first keynote speaker, a representative from America Makes, will address the benefits of public-private partnerships in the additive manufacturing industry. On the second day, keynote presenter Ehsan Toyserkani of the University of Waterloo will discuss recent developments in additive manufacturing in Canada.

The educational sessions following the keynote speeches will feature industry experts from companies including GE Additive, Flow Science, Caterpillar, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology. The presentations will cover laser cladding and welding, laser metal deposition, powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, process monitoring, quality assurance, sensor technologies, additive manufacturing standardization and strategies for growing the metal additive manufacturing industry.

At the end of the LAM sessions, attendees will be invited to attend a reception on the LME show floor and to explore all of the laser manufacturing technology solutions LME exhibitors have to offer.

LAM is made possible by sponsors Alabama Laser, TRUMPF, LPW and Laserline. Each company will have representatives available at both the LAM and LME events to answer any questions attendees may have.

For more information and to register, visit www.lia.org/lam.

 

About LIA

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Suite 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.

Quality Assurance of Selective Laser Melting Applications

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By Thomas Gruenberger

Key differentiation criteria for Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are freedom of design, cost advantage, customization, and time to market.

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) AM technology is ideal for serial production for industries like aerospace.

Setting up a process means mapping the input parameters (e.g. machine and process parameters and part geometry) to output parameters (part properties like density, tightness, surface quality). An in-situ non–destructive measurement of part properties like density is not possible, so indirect measurements have to be performed. Information from the process – process emissions, melt pool size, melt pool dynamics, and temperature distribution – can be used for this indirect measurement enabling the user to find a correlation between features of these measurements and the resulting part properties. Additionally, a shorter process development time can be achieved by avoiding destructive tests during development learning reading the extracted features (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Quality inspection – the challenge

As mentioned above, several pieces of information from the process can be used for the detection of irregularities, so different sensor technologies can be used. Consider a manual in-situ inspection of the process, where the user looks at the visible process emissions in the process chamber. Differences in brightness, size, color, and number of sparkles can be detected with the human eye. This can be automated using photodiode based meltpool monitoring systems like the plasmo fast process observer, a hardware developed by plasmo with up to 4 channels at sampling rates up to 300kHz.

So the system measures the brightness of the process emissions over time (blue curve in Fig. 2), using CAD data, the data can be mapped easily to an image of brightness of process emissions over the building platform (see Fig. 2 right plot), layer for layer, in pseudo color representation.

Fig. 2: Feature map of the building process

Running an OK process gives the baseline of the feature, provoking process irregularities yields in a change of the feature, enabling the user to set limits for the feature according to its quality needs. A pseudo color representation of a map of process irregularities can be calculated, giving the user an easy way to understand visualization and therefore, fast feedback about the quality of the process. As a note, black means no process irregularities and yellow means 100 percent of process irregularities in the given pixel in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3: Map of process irregularities

The fully automated measurement system enables a 100 percent inspection of the building process. The high sampling rate (ca. 10,000 times fa

ster compared to the human eye) enables the system not only to calculate features like signal height but the additional analysis in time, frequency and time scale domain can be performed, too. Three (3) different algorithms (features) are calculated by the system and each algorithm can be parametrized according to the quality needs for every exposure type used in the layer.

These algorithms are easy to explain. Based on physics, they correspond directly to process different phenomena.

  • Absolute limits: Influences in the size and form of the cross section of one exposure like focal position, laser power and welding speed
  • Signal dynamics: Noisy processes or less process dynamics like pollution, protective gas flow and lack of fusion
  • Short time fluctuations: Short changes in the signal caused by e.g. ejects and pollution

In cooperation with EOS, the described system was integrated with their machines. A typical layout is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: System layout – EOSTATE Meltpool

As shown in Fig. 4, two total photodiodes are used an onAxis diode measuring the process emissions at the interaction zone of the laser beam and powder and an offAxis diode giving an overview of process emissions about the complete building platform.

A heuristic model is used for setting up the system; therefore, input parameters like process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, gas flow, …) and malfunctions like loss of laser power, and material quality are varied for different building jobs. The output parameters are part properties (porosity, surface roughness, …), process emissions (brightness, temporal behavior, spectral properties, …) and undesired effects like overheating, warpage and lack of fusion. Based on this data set the system can be parametrized to fulfill the quality needs of the customer.

Fig. 5 shows a provoked malfunction, missing powder choosing a too low dosing factor of powder, the irregularities (here red in Fig. 5) can be easily detected.

Fig. 5: Example missing powder, left image of powder bed, right calculated irregularities after exposure

Fig. 6 shows a phenomena process flipping provoked by changing the focal position, the irregularities (red in Fig. 6) can be detected successfully for the complete parts and also the embedded parts (letter F).

Fig. 6: Example process flipping, left image of building platform after complete build, right calculated irregularities

Successful detection of additional phenomena has been shown:

  • Overhanging parts
  • Dust/particles
  • Part overlap
  • Balling / humping
  • SLI pores (simulated porosity)
  • To be continued.

The presented diode based meltpool monitoring system enables the fully automated detection of process phenomena (see Fig. 7) which directly corresponds to part properties.

Fig. 7: Example stable and unstable process, top image of process emissions, middle measured brightness, bottom windowed FFT analysis

Easily understandable algorithms based on physics are applied and can be parametrized by the user according to its needs. A heuristic model for setting up limits was presented and examples of detectable process phenomena are given. The system is part of an integrated quality inspection portfolio at EOS including EOSTATE powderbed and EOSTATE system monitoring.

Further investigations in detectable process phenomena and self-healing effects of defects will be completed. Additional work is in progress in the field of statistical data processing, so information (see Fig. 8, e.g. trends, …) is extracted from data visualized in dashboards enabling the user to perform statistical process control (SPC) at one machine up to different machines at different locations worldwide.

Fig. 8: Statistical process control

About plasmo 

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, plasmo is an innovative, globally operating technology company for automated quality assurance systems in manufacturing industries. Established in 2003, plasmo leads the way in the real-time quality control of joining processes. The extensive portfolio in the field of quality assurance includes laser power measurement, the monitoring of welding processes, geometric shapes and surfaces, tailor-made solutions in the field of industrial image processing, analysis software as well as an extensive range of services.

With over 700 plasmo systems in operation worldwide, the growing list of clients includes ABB, Benteler, BorgWarner, Faurecia, INA, SMS Siemag, Hettich, JCI, Magna and Valeo to Webasto, and numerous automobile manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, GM, PSA, Suzuki, Volvo as well as various international steel manufacturers. www.plasmo-us.com

© 2017 Dr. Thomas Grünberger, plasmo Industrietechnik GmbH, Vienna

 

Laser Institute of America Announces 2018 Event Dates & Location for LAM® & LME®

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Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME®) & Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference (LAM®) to Take Place in Schaumburg, IL for 2018

ORLANDO, FL – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Laser Institute of America (LIA), the professional society for lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide, is thrilled to announce the dates and location for the 2018 Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME®) & Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference (LAM®). LAM® will take place March 27–28, 2018. LME® will commence March 28–29, 2018. Both will be held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL, USA.

Celebrating its tenth consecutive year, the Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference (LAM®) features presentations discussing where and how to apply additive manufacturing concepts, with a distinct focus on laser technology. Topics to be covered at this year’s event include Additive Manufacturing Applications, Selective Laser Melting, Laser Metal Deposition, Design for Additive Manufacturing, Process Monitoring, Metal Feedstock, and 3D Software Tools.

Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME®) is an interactive exhibit, created with the intent of increasing the awareness and application of lasers in manufacturing. At LME®, laser specific solution providers are available to answer questions and provide demonstrations to those who may be new to laser technology or are looking to source new equipment for their manufacturing needs. Attendees will also have the option to attend a complimentary education track, as part of the exhibit. Topics of interest at this year’s LME® include 3D printing, Additive Manufacturing, Cutting, Drilling, Marking, and Welding.

Details regarding registration, guest speakers, special topics, lodging, and more are forthcoming.  For up-to-date information regarding the 2018 Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME®), please visit www.laserevent.org. Updates for Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference (LAM®) will be posted to www.lia.org/lam.

About Laser Institute of America

Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. http://www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Ste 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.