Serial cleaning of complex parts: MT Aerospace trusts in Solukon

Leading international aerospace company MT Aerospace is investing in intelligent and automated postprocessing of 3D-printed components with a Solukon SFM-AT800-S.

MT Aerospace, an OHB company, has had an additive manufacturing division at its headquarters in Augsburg since 2017 and produces highly complex components for the aerospace industry and other leading sectors. The company can map the entire value chain of all necessary process steps: from development and production to finishing, assembly and qualification.

High precission in production and postprocessing

Increasing demands on production have led, among other things, to the decision in favor of Solukon as a partner for automated depowdering: “In the production of series parts for the aerospace industry, we sometimes have to deal with tolerances of just a few microns (µ). Logically, maximum precision is also required for the postprocessing of these highly complex components,” says Markus Axtner, Senior Vice President and Head Program Additive Manufacturing at MT Aerospace.

With the Solukon SFM-AT800-S, MT Aerospace has acquired the flagship among powder removal solutions. It can be used to remove powder from the most complex components with maximum dimensions of 600 x 600 x 600 mm (alternatively: 800 x 400 x 550 mm) and a maximum weight of 300 kg fully automatically and efficiently. The postprocessing system is based on the unique Solukon Smart Powder Recuperation technology SPR®. The optional Digital-Factory-Tool, a sensor and interface kit, makes the entire depowdering process transparent by tracking all relevant depowdering data and summarizing it in a log.

The SFM-AT800-S is also compatible with the unique SPR-Pathfinder® software. It can be used to automatically calculate individual movement patterns for each component based on the component’s CAD file. Markus Axtner explains why this is a decisive factor when depowdering series orders in the following video.