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Volkmann GmbH

Volkmann: Making the case for the complete automation of powder handling in AM

ArticleMaterialsProcessing
July 13, 2023

Two worlds collide in Additive Manufacturing. Consider that a Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine completes its job fully automatically over many hours. Yet, before and after that, a multitude of manual tasks often still need to be completed. Employees may be required to perform these tasks while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from metal dust, compounded by the high labour costs that this manual work incurs. Is this the future of cost-efficient, 24/7 production? Christian Mittmann and Manuel Henser, from Volkmann GmbH, believe that the real solution can be found in the complete automation of powder handling. ... Read more »

Fig. 1 AM production with automatic unpacking and depowdering, powder preparation and central supply of metal powder to the AM machines (Courtesy Volkmann GmbH)

In the latest issue of Metal AM magazine

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Extensive AM industry news coverage, as well as the following exclusive deep-dive articles:

  • Metal AM in the aerospace sector: from early successes to the transformation of an industry
  • Slowly but surely: Industrialising metal Additive Manufacturing the Norwegian way
  • Hot Isostatic Pressing and AM: How to improve product quality and productivity for critical applications
  • The convergence of Additive Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence: Envisioning a future that is closer than you think
  • ADAXIS: On a mission to reduce the layers of complexity in robotic Additive Manufacturing
  • Exploiting your metal Additive Manufacturing data assets: Faster industrialisation and new revenue streams

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