Harlow to employ Gefertec 3DMP for AM of parts for aerospace
September 17, 2018
From left to right: Alan Pearce, CEO Harlow Group Ltd, Tobias Röhrich, CEO Gefertec, David Gordon-Smith, CFO Harlow Group Ltd (Courtesy Gefertec GmbH)
Harlow Group Ltd, headquartered in the UK, will install a new arc605 machine from Gefertec GmbH, Berlin, Germany, at its recently-founded US subsidiary, Harlow FastTech LLC. The new facility is set to focus on job shop services for the aerospace industries, and will use Gefertec’s 3DMP® technology for the cost-effective production of aerospace parts.
Harlow was established in 1975 and has full aerospace accreditation and approval across a number of industry sectors. The company has until now provided primarily sheet metal fabrication services out of the UK, but stated that it is committed to investing in the latest technology, including metal Additive Manufacturing.
Gefertec’s 3DMP technology uses electric arc welding or Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), using wire as the feedstock. Near-net-shaped parts are formed welding wire layer by layer in a process said to be faster and more cost-effective compared to powder-based Additive Manufacturing technologies. It can be used to produce parts in steel, nickel-based alloys, titanium or aluminium.
The five-axis arc605 is reportedly able to additively manufacture parts up to a volume of 0.8 m3. The company’s 3DMP CAM software calculates data out of a CAD model which enables the CNC unit to position the welding head with high precision, producing the part automatically. The machine cost is comparable to that of a small CNC milling centre, significantly lower than other metal AM machines.
