Optomec, Albuquerque, N.M., announces that the Center for Remanufacturing and Resources Recovery (C3R) at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York is restoring legacy components with the Optomec LENS 3D Hybrid Vertical Milling Center system. The hybrid system utilizes LENS 3D printing technology integrated within a conventional CNC vertical mill, providing additive and subtractive capabilities in a single machine tool. With this system, engineers are restoring metal components not possible with other repair methods such as thermal spray.
C3R is considered one of the world’s leaders in remanufacturing, which involves restoring worn or damaged in-service parts to extend their useful life. At the end of life, complex components within modern machinery contain significant value in the form of raw materials, material processing, logistics management, and intricate machining. Remanufacturing of components provides a method of capturing the intrinsic value of a part and sometimes an entire machine if parts cannot be sourced.
The LENS 3D Hybrid VMC is a way to remanufacture complex components in equipment. The LENS process, combined with a traditional mill, allows damaged parts to be removed, their surfaces prepped, and their structure restored by machining, all within a single setup. Current projects at C3R involve investigating application of the LENS system for restoring the original capability of cast iron and steel parts for another lifecycle. Preliminary results have shown minimal modification of the substrates’ subsurface microstructure, low porosity, and quality adhesion.
The LENS process enables either fully building 3D metal parts, when replacement parts are no longer available; or selectively and precisely adding materials onto an existing metal component of almost any three-dimensional shape – making it ideally suited for repair/remanufacturing operations. The process leverages LENS Directed Energy Deposition technology, which is an industry-proven method to add metal directly onto an existing metal part. The LENS print head delivers powdered metal and a highly focused laser beam to the damaged part area, enabling repair of components in a way not possible with traditional repair methods such as welding and thermal spray. The highly focused heat input of the LENS process minimizes the heat affected zone in the part under repair, and reduces the chance of distortion, while also improving adhesion.
http://www.rit.edu/gis/remanufacturing/
