The results of the joint R&D project between Solukon and Rivelin will be on show at Rivelin’s stand at Formnext 2023. The companies invite interested parties to assess the comprehensive solution and to engage fully ahead of commercialisation.

Sheffield, UK & Augsburg Germany; 27 September, 2023: Rivelin Robotics is delighted to announce it is working in partnership with Solukon for the progression of advanced automated solutions for the post processing of metal and metal additive manufacturing (AM) applications.

Rivelin and Solukon have identified areas where the two companies can collaborate and combine their expertise to develop autonomous post processing solutions that many metal AM users are demanding. The key goals identified by the two companies will align Solukon’s large automated powder removal solution, the SFM-AT800-S, with Rivelin’s precise and reliable robotic solutions for support removal and finishing, featuring Rivelin Netshape software and Yaskawa EU robots.

Robot tasks in the Solukon system

This system is being driven by customer demand. Both companies have identified specific challenges cited by customers, specifying the need for robotic compressed air blasting, localised and targeted vibration to assist with depowdering large parts, robotic sensing solutions to inspect air flow in cleared channels, powder blasting and various media  blasting for surface enhancement (eg glass, grit, sand, nitrogen etc).

Presentation at Formnext 2023

This reality, in the form of a full concept, working system will be introduced at Formnext 2023, taking place in Frankfurt November 7-10. Rivelin and Solukon will be neighbours on the show floor, at stands E41 and D42, respectively, in Hall 12.0. Interested visitors can view this new and exciting solution at Rivelin’s Stand E41.

“We’re thrilled to hit the ground running at Formnext with our partner, Solukon. This isn’t just another trade show for us; it marks a year since we debuted, and we’ve made some significant strides. Our Rivelin NetShape Robots have gone from blueprint to reality, and alongside Solukon, we’re crafting automated solutions for post-processing metal AM parts—exactly what the industry’s been calling for. It’s all about delivering real value, and we’re doing it in spades.” said Robert Bush, CEO of Rivelin Robotics.

According to Andreas Hartmann, CEO / CTO at Solukon Maschinenbau: “One trend that is emerging in additive manufacturing is that the internal channels and cavities of parts are getting even more complex. Our aerospace customers in particular have exceptionally high requirements and often work with sticky behaviour materials like copper that require advanced automated depowdering. With programmable rotation, targeted vibration and thanks to our SPR-Pathfinder® software without any human programming efforts, we also get the aerospace parts powder-free with our Solukon technology in a reliable and repeatable way. A very useful task for an integrated robot in our SFM-AT800-S is a channel cleanliness check with blowing or the removal of powder deposits from the surface of the components. We are very glad to have found this experienced partner for automated finishing in Rivelin.”

Rivelin Robotics will be exhibiting in Hall 12.0 booth #E41. Solukon can be found neighbouring Rivelin, in the same hall on booth #D42.

Repeatable and reliable postprocessing plays a key role in New Space. This is why RFA relies on Solukon’s depowdering systems.

Rocket Factory Augsburg is a German New Space company. Its mission is to revolutionize the market for commercial satellite launches into space. The demand for satellites in space is on the rise – modern forms of communication, navigation or smart farming are just a few examples of applications for which more and more satellites will have to be launched into space.  

RFA is committed to producing launch vehicles at low cost. Central rocket components, such as the Helix engine or the combustion chamber, are manufactured using additive manufacturing. This makes it possible to produce individual and complex parts quickly and easily. “Rocket parts need to be free of any powder to guarantee the functionality of the additively manufactured parts”, says Vasyl Kashevko, Team Lead AM at Rocket Factory. To achieve this, RFA trusts in automated depowdering by Solukon.

Solukon makes depowdering of rocket parts reliable and repeatable

The depowdering of rocket parts is quite challenging as parts often have complex inner structures, such as cooling channels. Before acquiring a Solukon system RFA did the depowdering manually or half-automated. “Here, however, we had no guarantee that the parts were fully cleaned”, says Vasyl Kashevko. “In contrast, depowdering with the Solukon SFM-AT800-S enables repeatable and reliable cleaning results.”

Learn more about the use case Rocket Factory Augsburg in this video:

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A closer look at the SFM-AT800-S

The Solukon SFM-AT800-S is an automatic powder removal system to clean complex metal parts. It is based on the Solukon Smart Powder Recuperation Technology SPR®. Using adjustable vibration and automated two-axis part rotation the powder flows out of even the smallest inner cavities. The SFM-AT800-S can handle parts with a maximum height of 600 mm weighing up to 300 kg. Learn more about the SFM-AT800-S here.

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Joint development project by Festo and Solukon boosts efficiency

Industry experts are forecasting a golden era for additive manufacturing, with annual growth rates of 24% anticipated into 2024. The automation of 3D printing processes offers further growth potential, for example in feeding or depowdering the components. When it comes to the depowdering of laser-melted metal parts, Solukon is the world’s leading supplier. It is working together with Festo, the global player in industrial automation technology, to establish whether it is possible to push the level of automation for depowdering even further and, if so, by how much.

Solukon’s powder removal systems are already considered to have the leading technological edge. Based on Solukon’s proprietary Smart Powder Recuperation technology (SPR®), these cleaning systems remove the powder residues from complex 3D-printed metal components through an automated process of swivelling and vibration excitation. With the advanced frequency system, the flow of the powder can be continually controlled so that narrow openings and channels can be depowdered.

Thanks to this technology, Solukon machines can also depowder components with complex voids and channels such as heat exchangers. The Solukon systems already offer three benefits compared with the conventional manual cleaning of components: reproducibility, cost reduction and safety. The automated process for swivelling and vibrating the components can be standardised and is reproducible.

Blowing off powder using compressed air

Automated depowdering processes can sometimes struggle to remove powder from component surfaces despite rotating and vibrating the component, particularly when dealing with difficult-to-handle materials like copper. Using a light and direct blow of air will dislodge these fine deposits. By blowing air through the channels it is also possible to check that they are free of deposits. Currently this is a manual procedure that can be carried out easily at the Solukon system using glove ports. However, larger components with a height of at least 1 metre make access more difficult and this requires automated support. A joint project between Festo and Solukon to investigate handling solutions and kinematics will show how this process can be designed with maximum efficiency.

Automated surface treatment using compressed air for residue-free depowdering. The air gun nozzle is moved using a multi-axis kinematic system.

Increasing complexity

One trend that is becoming clear in additive manufacturing is that components are increasing in size and in the complexity of their inner geometries. Solukon’s aerospace customers have particularly high requirements. It is also a sector where the demand for large components manufactured using additive methods is steadily growing. However, these large components are more complex to handle than small components with simple geometries.

The aim of the joint research project is to optimise existing automated processes for depowdering. A fully automated and integrated process chain would also be possible. Overall, the manufacturing costs for the components would go down.

Automated handling system

The project involves adding a handling system to the depowdering system. This system automatically moves the blowing or machining tool. The challenges for this automation solution lie in the flexible adaptation of the motion profile to changing component contours and in the ambient conditions, where the key issues are dust protection, ATEX and protected atmosphere.

Festo and Solukon are currently working on a concept to simulate the automation platform that provides the necessary, flexible machining possibilities. This includes a feasibility analysis of how accessible the working space is. In a visionary move, artificial intelligence could support contour detection using the CAD data of the component to be machined. “We are delighted to be partnering with Festo, and to have its innovative strength and expertise in automation technology on board for this project”, says Andreas Hartmann, CEO and technical director of Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH.

Taking full advantage of the potential of automation

Fully automated and residue-free depowdering should lead to accelerated, precise and reproducible processes and ensure that manual rework is no longer necessary. This will significantly cut the manufacturing costs for different batch sizes. “Up to now, we have not taken advantage of the potential of automation in many process steps. We therefore see these innovative automation approaches as great opportunities for the future topic of additive manufacturing”, explains Felix Hantsch, project manager in Innovation and Robotics Cluster DACH at Festo.

In an animation, the project partners Festo and Solukon visualise the potential of their project for the optimisation of fully automated depowdering processes:

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