The scalable, industrial-grade post-processing solution enables the fully automated, reproducible unpacking of additively manufactured parts from the HP Jet Fusion 5200 3D printing system in an end-to-end workflow. In addition to a significant increase in productivity and greatly improved cost efficiency, a much higher powder recycling rate is achieved compared to manual unpacking, depending on the part geometry. The 3D Automatic Unpacking Station is produced at AM Solutions - 3D post processing technology in Germany.

HP recognized early on that the industrialization of 3D printing will only succeed if printing and post-processing are mapped in an automated, scalable process chain. The cooperation with AM Solutions has laid the foundations for this. While solutions that meet industry standards are already available for 3D printers, post-processing has so far usually involved a lot of manual work. This is changing with the 3D Automatic Unpacking Station for the HP Jet Fusion 5200 series. The first joint machine development incorporates HP's printing and software technology as well as material know-how and Rösler's more than 80 years of experience in surface processing and mechanical engineering for industrial applications.

Reproducible, fast unpacking and high powder recycling rate

The automatic unpacking process starts immediately after the print job has cooled down in the HP Natural Cooling Unit. The cooling unit is transported to the 3D Automatic Unpacking Station with a lift, placed on top, automatically unlocked and the complete print job loaded into the station. All print job data is transmitted to the unpacking station controller via RFID tag. This ensures that the job and process-related data can be tracked and the process can be monitored remotely using the HP 3D Center software. In addition, the automated, part-specific unpacking process allows significantly more powder to be recovered, depending on the respective geometry. The removed powder is continuously extracted in the station and collected in an external container. The unpacked parts are discharged into an unloading box. The full powder container is replaced by an empty one, and the collected powder can be fed back into the HP Build Unit via the 3D Processing Station.

The 3D Automatic Unpacking Station not only minimizes manual intervention, but also reduces the process time for certain applications, as the unpacking process can begin immediately after the recommended minimum cooling time has elapsed. "New solutions for scalable, efficient post processing and workflow automation are key to fully exploiting the potential of additive manufacturing and bringing it to industrial volume production," explains Ramon Pastor, GM and Global Head of HP 3D Printing & Digital Manufacturing. "With Rösler/AM Solutions, we have a partner that is very familiar with the industry standards of a wide range of sectors and has the necessary expertise in both surface processing and mechanical engineering."

Stephan Rösler, CEO of Rösler Oberflächentechnik GmbH, notes: "HP's extensive expertise in 3D printing, software and digital manufacturing enables us to accelerate industry-ready innovations for 3D post processing and to adapt product developments to the requirements of industrial users in a targeted manner".

Matteo Rigamonti, founder of Weerg, confirms that this is the case: "The HP 3D Automatic Unpacking Station has really fulfilled our expectations of an automated unpacking solution. Not only has our unpacking process become much faster, but we can now recover more powder. The process is precise and works even with small and delicate parts." The company, which is based in Scorzè, Italy, produces around 2,500 parts a day using 3D printing and has put the new machine through its paces on site in trial operation. "As our business expands, these improved capabilities should help us to meet customer demand and improve our lead times for series production," adds Matteo Rigamonti.