Fabrisonic adds rotary access to expand capabilities of its ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing systems
March 16, 2016
Fabrisonic LLC, Columbus, Ohio, USA, a manufacturer of ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing machines, has added rotary access to their SonicLayer 7200. The in-house machine is the largest of three machines developed by Fabrisonic and is used to make parts for customers in industries such as aerospace, automotive and military applications.
The additional rotary axis is designed to position a cylindrical part under the welding system and enables the metal Additive Manufacturing of features on the outer diameter of a shaft, cylinder or pipe. It can be used for applications, such as cladding expensive metals onto inexpensive substrates, adding intermittent stiffeners to pressure vessels and adding 3D features to standard bar stock.
“With this new capability, the rotary will allow us to expand from orthogonal printing to axial printing,” stated Mark Norfolk, President and CEO of Fabrisonic. The SonicLayer 7200 has a work envelope of 182 x 182 x 91 cm. Other machines include The SonicLayer 4000 with a work envelope of 61 x 91 cm and the SonicLayer R200 with a build envelope of 50 x 30 x 15 cm.
Fabrisonic’s metal Additive Manufacturing process uses sound waves to merge layers of metal foil in a process that requires no melting. Building in the solid state enables Fabrisonic to join dissimilar metals and other thermally sensitive materials such as electronics. The process is used by a variety of industries to create complex components that have distinctive features and attributes not possible with traditional manufacturing techniques.
Side view of new rotary axis. The lower aluminium cylinder represents a part to which metal can be printed for building up flanges and strengthening ribs
Front view of new rotary axis. Below the Al cylinder work piece, you can see the ‘hot dog rollers’ that provide an upward force to counteract the downward thrust of the UAM welder
