A customer from the safety-critical field of fire protection technology has fundamentally revised the manufacturing process for a central component of its fire extinguishing systems. Instead of relying on a cast bronze impeller as before, the company is now using metal 3D printing with Meltio‘s Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process. This is the company’s response to challenges such as long delivery times, high storage costs and the increasing wear and tear of previous components.
The impeller, which maintains the system pressure, is exposed to high mechanical loads during operation. When starting up, it has to accelerate to full speed in fractions of a second and absorb high torques. During continuous operation, abrasive media and vibrations continuously affect the component. Wear is inevitable – which is why a reliable and rapid supply of spare parts is essential.
By switching to 316L stainless steel, it was not only possible to improve corrosion resistance, but also to increase the service life of the component. The component design was specifically adapted to the 3D printing process with the help of the radial 360 build-up strategy. Dispensing with casting molds significantly shortens the production time, and the targeted use of support structures reduces post-processing costs.
However, the geometry of the impeller placed high demands on the post-processing. In an optimized process chain, the pressure is now interrupted in two phases. Intermediate machining allows better access to the internal blades and enables tighter tolerances. The positioning system developed by Meltio ensures precise alignment between the two printing stages.
This change reduces the customer’s dependence on external foundries, shortens response times and enables demand-oriented production directly at the point of use. The combination of material optimization, design adaptation and flexible process design is an example of how additive processes can be used in safety-relevant applications.
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