Tech-Labs partners with Freemelt to expand metal AM offering
In order to expand its metal Additive Manufacturing technology offerings, solutions provider Tech-Labs, Katy, Texas, USA, has announced a partnership with Freemelt, Mölndal, Sweden.
Tech-Labs has acted as a service provider for technical and vocational training for over forty years, developing into a full-service education equipment & instructional software provider working in eight US states. The organisation intends to offer Freemelt ONE as a compact solution for universities and laboratories wanting to research the Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) Additive Manufacturing process and/or develop materials for Additive Manufacturing.
Freemelt ONE’s open parameter system is said to provide uninhibited access to process controls, while its open outer structure gives access to all ports on the vacuum chamber and, if necessary, allows third-party support modifications. It has two operating sides to help differentiate the powder handling from machine operation. The interior consists of the vacuum chamber, recoater mechanism, adaptable powder feeding and the electron beam source.
The electron beam in Freemelt ONE is controlled by complex magnetic fields created by many magnetic coils acting together. This is enabled by Freemont’s Field Construct software, an approach which leverages computing power instead of complex hardware. The result is said to be the faster positioning of the electron beam to the right place.
