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Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is a quickly emerging industry with a strong technology focus. As a new industry, there is a continual improvement in productivity and efficiency while maintaining health and safety standards. The raw materials used in Additive Manufacturing, such as metals, and sand/ceramics, offer challenges for which we have created high-quality solutions.

FAQ Explore Products

What is Additive Manufacturing?

<p>Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, an all-encompassing term for any manufacturing process in which material is deposited layer by layer to produce three-dimensional objects (workpieces).</p> <p>Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has evolved from being used mostly as means for early prototyping and potentially short series to being an accepted manufacturing method in many industries. Few amongst these industries are aerospace, automotive, medical technologies, tooling, turbomachinery and oil and gas.</p>

Piab & IB’s solutions support KSB's growth

KSB, a premier provider of pumps, valves and systems across diverse applications reduced their powder handling setup time from half a day to less than 30 minutes, using IB sieving station MPS30. KSB also uses piFLOW Conveyors to increase productivity and efficiency, reducing the need for manual labor.

KSB

Additive Manufacturing

Powder management in additive manufacturing

Powder transferring solutions must ensure operator health and safety, be printer-agnostic, and fit various 3D printing production line setups. Bearing these challenges in mind, we bring our expertise in powder management and vacuum technology to the additive manufacturing ecosystem. We have developed a range of vacuum conveyors that are recommended for different applications in the industry.

Made for scale

Productivity is greatly enhanced with automatic powder handling. The material doesn't degrade, and powder mixes don't segregate during conveying process. The risk of contamination is eliminated due to a closed loop and the conveying equipment can be easily cleaned and sanitized. Piab's conveying equipment is also compliant with industry certificates while having a minimal footprint . piFLOW® conveyors can easily integrate to existing machine parks and production lines.

Automate your processes

Instead of loading lots of small containers, use automation! The flexbag solution of Höganäs contributes to sustainable operations, and Piab's piFLOW®am conveys the metal powder to the binder jetting machine, selective laser melting machine, or any intermediate vessel.

Ergonomic powder handling

It is common practice that operators of additive manufacturing plants are required to lift heavy powder bottles. They often feed the printers with 1-2 liters of 5-10 kg (10-20 lbs) metal powder multiple times a day, even on weekends. Direct interaction with the powder should be avoided; therefore, protective gear is a must. Working places can be dramatically enhanced with automated powder handling solutions where operator interaction with the powder is minimized.

In partnership with a powder producer

Piab has set a partnership with Höganäs, a Swedish company producing a variety of metal powders.

Through this partnership, we offer more sustainable ways to work with metal powders, contributing to industrialization, removing manual handling, and optimizing the amount of powder used in industrial processes.

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Metal additive manufacturing and the automation of powder handling

Shortened development cycle

Metal additive manufacturing is a method used both for prototyping and increasingly for serial production of metal parts. It gives the possibility to design and produce previously impossible components or use custom alloys. Component delivery gets faster due to a shortened development cycle. Metal Additive manufacturing reduces supply chain disruptions and contributes to reduced part weight.

Powder handling automation

Given the high growth rates and increasing opportunities in the additive manufacturing industry, powder handling automation is key to establishing the technology as a standard production process. However, many process steps are still manual. This includes the loading of the production equipment with the appropriate metal powder. Furthermore, the use of vacuum conveying technologies can help protect people, products, and the environment.

Ideal vacuum conveyors for additive manufacturing

With our extensive experience in material handling, Piab's vacuum conveyors have long been an efficient solution for the AM process. Piab's premium conveyors are equipped with a stainless steel (ASTM 316L) housing and feature Piab's patented and highly efficient COAX® vacuum technology. They are ATEX dust and gas certified and have built-in automatic filter cleaning. Piab has conducted in-house tests on various metals and alloys, which have shown that our vacuum conveyors can handle powders with a bulk density of 8 kg/liter [500 lbs./ft3] and an impressive throughput.

A variety of additive manufacturing technologies

Working with a variety of Additive Manufacturing technologies, such as Powder Bed Fusion and Binder Jetting, Piab offers the greatest flexibility in integrating automated vacuum conveying solutions into any powder-based manufacturing process.

Piab Group Acquires IB

Piab Group has acquired IB Verfahrens- und Anlagentechnik GmbH & Co. KG, a company specializing in customer-specific systems for bulk material handling. IB is a respected partner in the additive manufacturing industry, known for their ultrasonic sieving and reclaim machines. IB also develops and builds customer-specific, turnkey systems for filling, emptying, metering, and conveying bulk materials.

IB Sieving Stations

MPSX1
MPS5
MPS30

FAQ

What metal powders can be transported by Piab vacuum conveyors?

Piab vacuum conveyors are capable of transporting a wide range of metal powders. Piab has conducted conveying tests with various powders, including: Aluminum, SS316L, Inconel, Wolfram Carbide, Titanium, and others.

Do you provide inert conveying/sieving?

Inert conveying is often required for Titanium and sometimes for Aluminum, while other materials mentioned typically do not necessitate inert-gas conveying.

Piab offers inert conveying solutions, and the sieving solutions are inherently equipped with inertization.

What conveying capacity can be achieved by using Piab solutions?

The conveying capacities achieved with Piab solutions greatly depend on the specific segment of the AM production process. Piab has conducted extensive testing with various powders and distances. Our systems have demonstrated the ability to maintain conveying capability over distances of up to 50 meters [164 feet], with a capacity of up to 1.9 t/h at 20 meters [65 feet] for Aluminum and Stainless steel powders.

What equipment can be supplied by Piab?

Piab offers a comprehensive range of equipment for additive manufacturing applications. Our offerings include powder discharge stations, single or multiple conveying lines, and sieve stations. Piab excels in providing customized solutions and turn-key systems to effectively handle the entire powder handling process.

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4 VARIANTS
piFLOW®am

piFLOW®am - additive manufacturing vacuum conveying

Additive Manufacturing

Filling Printer | Filling Hopper | Reclaim

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