SBOT expands Additive Manufacturing capabilities for highly complex metal components
October 10, 2024
Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Technology GmbH (SBOT), based in Ternitz, Austria, has completed the first expansion stage of its metal Additive Manufacturing competence centre. One year after installing a Velo3D Sapphire XC metal AM machine, the company reports that it is now able to offer an even wider range of highly complex metal components for a variety of industries.
SBOT can additively manufacture components with dimensions of up to 600 mm in diameter and 550 mm in height. This new capability opens up a range of possibilities, particularly in the oil and gas and aerospace industries, as well as in other demanding business areas.
Potential applications include the production of lightweight housings, elements for rocket engines for unmanned space flight, turbines, and heat exchangers for the oil and gas industry. Complex internal geometries with low angles, high aspect ratios or large internal diameters can be produced with minimal support material, which is impossible to achieve using traditional production methods.
SBOT offers its customers a diverse range of metal powders. The company also employs advanced depowdering systems to ensure efficient and thorough removal of powder residues—crucial for complex components such as multi-layered cavities or channels.
SBOT has more than 100 years of experience in metal processing at the site and has been using Additive Manufacturing for ten years. “Based on our expertise in processing difficult-to-machine materials for the oil and gas industry, we develop 3D printing technologies even further and have successfully transferred them to new application areas. With the expansion of our machine park for Additive Manufacturing, we are once again setting a milestone,” stated Franz Wurzer, Managing Director of SBOT.
In addition to Additive Manufacturing, SBOT’s competence centre has extensive precision post-processing capabilities such as CNC turning, milling as well as heat and surface treatments. Material tests are carried out in the in-house laboratory. Customers are closely supported all the way from consultation and feasibility studies to prototyping and serial production.
The company added that it plans to further intensify its global strategy in the field of metal AM. The aim is to significantly expand the product range and make optimum use of existing capacities.
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