Wayland Additive to highlight post-processing abilities of Calibur3 at Formnext
November 9, 2022
Wayland Additive, Huddersfield, UK, has announced it will display the Calibur3 metal Additive Manufacturing machine at Formnext 2022, in Hall 12, B139. The Calibur3 features the Neubeam® process, an Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) process unique to Wayland Additive.
Beyond showcasing the machine itself and parts manufactured on it, Wayland intends to emphasise the immediate commercial availability of the Calibur3, the alloys and metals suitable to the machine and information on the efforts the company has made to address post-processing within the price of the machine.
“The nature of the NeuBeam process results in easier powder removal, no requirement for post build heat treatment to remove residual stress, and no requirement to wire erode the part off the start plate,” stated Will Richardson, CEO. “Subtractive post-processing of the part is also simplified. Despite the fact that the Calibur3 system therefore radically reduces traditional metal Additive Manufacturing post-processing issues, the nature of the eBeam Powder Bed Fusion process still requires further steps once the build is complete, specifically around powder removal and management.”
“Wayland Additive firmly believes that an investment in Calibur3 should include — at no additional cost — the ancillary equipment necessary to post-process parts and components and we will be emphasising this point at Formnext. To achieve this, and to ensure that an investment in Calibur3 is an investment in an AM process that facilitates the production of end-use parts quickly and cost-effectively, supplied along with Calibur3 is the CaliburDPR (Depowdering & Recycling) system and/or a mobile vacuum cleaner and cyclone,” Richardson concluded.
When using the Calibur3 metal AM machine, a small amount of local powder sintering occurs near the part due to the nature of the ‘hot part’ process. This sintered powder can be broken down and fully recovered and re-used in the next build. The CaliburDPR provides an enclosed environment that accommodates the whole Calibur3 Build tank on a moving table within the enclosure. The moving table displaces the loose powder, which flows through the CaliburDPR system to be used as blast media to blast the locally sintered material free from the part’s surface.
CaliburDPR also features an integrated sieving system, to remove large particles that cannot be re-used. The refined metal powder flows directly into the Calibur3 powder hopper, ready for re-loading onto the Calibur3 system.
Regarding materials compatible with the machine, Peter Hansford, Business Development Director, added “The Calibur3 produces fully dense parts in refractory metals such as tungsten and also highly reflective alloys. Being a hot part rather than a hot bed process, NeuBeam® creates parts that are free from residual stresses because the high processing temperatures required are applied to the part, not the bed, ensuring free-flowing powder post-build (no sinter cake) and stress-free parts with reduced energy consumption. This opens up the ability to process a range of metals that are difficult or impossible to process on traditional metal AM machines such as titanium alloys (including titanium aluminide), copper alloys, nickel-based alloys, nickel-based super alloys, high carbon steels, stainless and duplex stainless steel, tungsten alloys, and cobalt-based alloys. This opens up a raft of applications across a range of industry sectors hitherto unable to benefit from the use of AM as a production process.”
