Chicago, IL (PRNewswire). Sciaky Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) and provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, announced today that Airbus will take delivery of a state-of-the-art Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) 110 System this month. The aircraft manufacturer will utilize Sciaky’s industrial-scale metal 3D printing system to produce large structural parts made of titanium.
Sciaky’s EBAM process combines CAD, additive manufacturing processing principles, and an electron beam heat source. Starting with a 3D model from a CAD program, Sciaky’s fully articulated, moving electron beam gun deposits metal via wire feedstock, layer by layer, until the part reaches near-net shape. From there, the near-net shape part requires heat treatment and post-production machining. In the end, there is minimal material waste.
Sciaky brings quality and control together in one step with IRISS—the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System. The company says that IRISS is the only real-time monitoring and control system in the metal 3D printing market that can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky’s EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.
As mentioned, EBAM utilizes wire feedstock, which can accommodate a variety of metals and refractory alloys, such as titanium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, Inconel, and stainless steels. Sciaky’s EBAM 110 System has a work envelope of 70″ (1,778 mm) x 47″ (1,194 mm) x 63″ (1,600 mm).
“Sciaky is very proud to partner with a world-class innovator like Airbus,” said Bob Phillips, vice president of marketing for Sciaky, Inc. “We all know that metal 3D printing technology is going to revolutionize manufacturing in the aerospace industry, and Sciaky is committed to being at the forefront of this movement.”
Sciaky’s lineup of EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from eight inches (203 mm) to 19 feet (5.79 meters) in length. EBAM features a gross deposition rates ranging from 7 to 20 lbs. (3.18 to 9.07 kg) of metal per hour.
