BEYOND SURFACES

This procedure was also applied in the project team: The very first meeting between Oerlikon Barmag developers and Oerlikon AM tech- nicians produced initial ideas for improvements. The first components were produced shortly afterward, and these were further optimized until fin- ished test samples were available — all within less than two months. Heating sleeves, which ensure a constant temperature in dosing pumps, used to consist of three individual parts that were welded together. Optimizing these in a new design would require discussion with heating and welding experts and various suppliers — meaning an enormous planning effort. It was easier to “completely rethink” the heating sleeves and change the design from the ground up. Instead of electrical heat, a switch was made to liquid heat, so that the flow paths could be optimized. The heat transfer now takes place over the entire surface with more efficiency. On site, only the pipes have to be connected; the complicated cabling is completely eliminated. And the new sleeve, which consists of a single compo- nent, can be fitted in just a few steps. In addition, the team looked into the AM potential of a heating plate for a polymer gear pump that was previously made of tool steel. In the end, a complete redesign was carried out here as well. “The aim was to improve the heating perfor- mance. We did this by optimizing the heating channels. This made the plate thinner, and we decided to now make it of aluminum, as weight is also a key factor in this application,” explains Ralph Merget. Flexibility from material to production Ralph Merget explains: “Our engineers are experts in co- engineering. We want to explain to our customers which parts of their products would be suitable for additive manufacturing. To do so, we start by screening the parts, and we have developed a query system for this. Consequently, we can make recommendations relatively quickly as to where the use of AM would be worthwhile. And then we’re practi- cally ready to start testing!” It almost goes without saying that Oerlikon AM and Oerlikon Barmag are working on optimizing other parts as well. Further information: oerlikon.com/am/ tooling-general-industry Oerlikon AM offers total solutions built on our foundation of metal- lurgical expertise — which facilitates the selection of optimal materials — and our command of design, manufacturing and process. This scope of knowledge simplifies integration of third-party solutions and optimization of costs and benefits, all of which we can accomplish with an extremely reduced development time. 1 PUR = polyurethane Complete package Beyond SURFACeS 02|2020 15