Lincotek Additive completes Additive Production Center for medical devices
July 16, 2020
Additive Manufacturing solutions provider Lincotek Additive, Trento, Italy, reports that it has completed development of its state-of-the-art Additive Production Center for medical devices in its Trento facility. The centre was completed with the addition of a high-vacuum furnace and validated heat treatment process designed specifically for the post-processing of titanium additively manufactured parts, expected to triple the capacity for thermal treatment at the site.
Lincotek reports that it has been working to improve its AM processes for fifteen years, drawing on the expertise of a team said to have a deep understanding of metallurgy, AM design and processing. Reactive metals such as titanium pose specific challenges, and the high-temperature heat treating of AM parts involves a great deal of complexity, but Lincotek Additive stated that it is mastering these challenges, and has achieved very good scrap rates and high reliability in its production.
The company’s investments in its new Additive Production Center are said to have led to a reduction in lead times as well as a robust back-up strategy, both of which are expected to benefit the company’s customers. The company also stated that it is continuously innovating, in collaboration with its customers, in the field of heat treatments designed to improve material properties.
In addition to its significant investment in heat treatment at the centre, Lincotek Additive has added a range of instruments to its Trento Laboratory which it states are essential to understanding and mastering AM Powder Metallurgy. This expansion of its laboratory capabilities is expected to boost new project development and validation capability to support the company’s global expansion.
“We’re delighted that so many OEMs are now taking advantage of our complete additive service offer,” stated Winfried Schaller, Lincotek Group CEO. “Our outstanding performance is based on a profound technical mastery of the AM process, building on R&D and validation capability, led by additive experts who support the OEMs in their serial AM needs.”
“Today, we’re globalising our reach, by having invested in an AM facility in our plant in Memphis, Tennessee [USA] to best support our US medical customers,” he continued. “In 2019 we have moved to the next step, by opening an Additive Innovation Center in Switzerland, Europe, focused on the IGT and aviation market. We are already working on the next step of growth, looking at expanding our AM capability in China too.”
