Part Buyers Authority Issue #5

7 Visit partbuyersauthority.com to SUBSCRIBE or CONTRIBUTE as an author. METAL ADDITIVE PART PROCESSING When processing a metal AM part it’s important to review geometrical dimensioning and tolerancing. First we determine the features that can be held by the AM machine/process; surface roughness/finish and tolerancing are the critical issues. Next we look at the features that need to be machined and which surfaces will be attached to the build plate as those surfaces need to have material added to them for post process removal. We may have to account for heat treat, stress relief and HIP. Each one of those processes’s can affect size in different ways. Finally, a review of any post process grinding and media blasting is important as they can also affect size. DELIVERY On average most parts are delivered within 1 to 2 weeks. SUMMARY Additive Manufacturing is here to stay. All large aerospace, medical and automotive companies are adopting this technology for quality and speed to market reasons. Machine work envelopes are getting larger and the development of multi-headed lasering equipment is decreasing build time making it more cost competitive. It’s not a technology that will take over mass production anytime soon but it can definitely make a lot of sense for low volume, prototypes, support tooling and fixturing. Contact: CHRIS BECK [email protected]