Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) is to speed up automated post-processing with the help of Japanese electronics manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric.

Joseph Crabtree, co-founder and CEO of AMT states “Mitsubishi are becoming increasingly active in the AM space and AMT feels that the synergies between the two companies can be leveraged to unlock the true potential of AM through automation.”

Post-processing automation

The company recently expanded its market to Europe and North America. For this reason, the post-processing AMT needed a system with parts are accredited according to American and European standards. Its new partner, Mitsubishi, offers products accredited according to health and safety standard set by the Illinois-based safety organization UL LLC, and European Economic Area standard known as CE marking.

It was important to form a partnership with a globally recognized player and once that could meet all of our worldwide certification requirements from CE to UL. This is very important given the industrial end users that AMT works with.”

.Joseph Crabtree, co-founder and CEO of AMT 

Powered by Mitsubishi Electric

AMT’s PostPro3D system is equipped with various components provided by Mitsubishi. These include, power supply, FR-D700 frequency inverter drive, used to control motor speed and torque, and an optional MELFA RV series robotic arm.

With the help of Mitsubishi’s GOT2000 HMI touch screen system, an operator can set finishing parameters and monitor the process using a supervisory control and data acquisition software, also known as SCADA. Furthermore, the machine is connected to the internet via an inbuilt 3G network for cloud updates, automated reordering, and maintenance and diagnostics.

The post-processing system uses AMT’s proprietary Boundary Layer Automated Smoothing Technology (BLAST), a physiochemical process to smooth thermoplastics, including nylon, ULTEM, TPU, and TPE. It takes between 90-120 minutes to smooth the parts, with a surface finish close to injection molding techniques.

Parts processed with PostPro3D can be used for medical application as the parts are certified, according to ISO 10993-5, 10993-1 and 10993-12.

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Source: Umair Iftikhar, 3D Printign Industry Nov12, 2018, https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/additive-manufacturing-technologies-speeds-up-automated-post-production-with-mitsubishi-electric-143029/, published on Nov13, 2018;