Hamburg-based technology company Körber has made its additive manufacturing processes significantly more efficient. By using the Russell AMPro Sieve Station, the time required for handling metal powder in 3D printing has been reduced by around two thirds. The measure is aimed at increasing process reliability and reducing the manual workload in production.
Körber uses an SLM 280 metal 3D printer in the field of additive manufacturing to produce stainless steel components. These are used in areas such as tobacco processing, customer projects and internal research and development. Previously, the powder was reprocessed by hand. Operators had to manually sift, transport and load up to eight 30-kilogram containers per build job into the printer – a process that took up to six hours per cycle and involved workplace-related risks.
With the integration of the Russell AMPro Sieve Station, a closed system for automated powder preparation was realized. This takes over the extraction, sieving and return of the powder in an automated process. Both recovered and fresh powder is processed and fed directly into the printing process via a hose.
The automated solution not only improves work safety, but also contributes to consistent powder quality. The elimination of manual intervention also increases process stability. For Körber, the changeover is a further step towards standardized, industry-compatible AM processes, which will also be used in other production areas in the long term.
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