Metal 3D printer
Additive manufacturing at Rolls-Royce
Speed and quality are common requirements in industrial production. In the aerospace industry, the strict certification processes, which require a reliably high standard of component quality, are an additional challenge for production.
Rolls-Royce is driving additive manufacturing forward in the company with the SLM 500 Quad selective laser melting machine from SML Solutions. The machine plays an important role in the profitable introduction of additive manufacturing for components in the aerospace industry.
With four lasers thatenable a build rate of 171 cm3, the SLM 500 is the flagship metal 3D printer for high-volume processes and also offers automated metal powder feeding, recovery and sieving in a closed system. This minimizes the handling of metal powder for the operator.
Meddah Hadjar, CEO of SLM Solutions Group AG says: "Rolls-Royce is very advanced in this technology with its modern approach and a team of experts working on highly complex additive manufacturing solutions. SLM Solutions recognized the need to support Rolls-Royce with machine qualification. We work closely together to ensure certified part quality in the development of aerospace components. This allows the Rolls-Royce team to document their expertise and inspect the machines in order to adhere to strict regulations. This keeps the ambitious and innovative additive manufacturing on track."
Neil Mantle, Head of Additive Layer Manufacturing at Rolls-Royce said: "We are delighted to be working with SLM Solutions and to be using the Quad Laser machines. Rolls-Royce continues to develop its additive manufacturing capabilities. This ensures that we are at the forefront of advanced manufacturing. We knew that transferring our expertise and knowledge from single laser machines to multi-laser platforms would require close collaboration - and SLM Solutions has provided this."
Rolls-Royce needed multi-laser systems to meet productivity requirements as well as to comply with the strict quality controls previously established. This also prompted the company to introduce the SLM500 Quad.
A key factor in the choice of SLM Solutions as a supplier was the control of the gas flow to maintain a controlled atmosphere throughout the installation space.
The gas flow and control within the multi-laser machine was thoroughly investigated by the Rolls-Royce team due to the direct correlation to build quality. The gas flow of the SLM Solutions machines delivered optimal results in a compact footprint. Looking to the future, SLM Solutions has added Rolls-Royce as a beta customer for machine accessories.
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