Prima launches additive manufacturing solutions in the UK

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Prima Power UK has launched a completely new range of machinery solutions for additive manufacturing, produced by Prima Additive – the specialist division of the global Prima Industrie Group.

From a purpose-built innovation centre at the Prima Power Headquarters and Technical Centre in Turin, Prima Additive offer a range of solutions for both powder bed fusion and laser metal deposition technologies that draw from the group’s long-established experience in manufacturing laser cutting and welding machines for industrial applications.

A rapidly emerging technology, additive manufacturing allows the production of complex components, utilising metallic powders fused via the thermal energy delivered from a laser. Powder bed fusion uses the laser to melt specific points on a layer of metallic powder, which is built up during the process to form the finished component.

In laser metal deposition, an alternative approach of directly applying the powder at the focal point of the laser is used, thus allowing the manufacture of much larger pieces that are only limited by the machine capacity, rather than the size of a powder bed.

For powder bed fusion processes, the Prima Additive Print Sharp and Print Genius models feature a compact and easy to use solution with build volume capacities of up to 262mm x 262mm x 350mm. The Print Sharp 250 utilises a single 200W or 500W power laser for a build rate of up to 30cm³ per hour, whereas the more powerful Print Genius 250 uses twin 500W power lasers to achieve a faster build rate of up to 50cm³ per hour.

Components with complex geometries can be produced with an excellent degree of accuracy and quality for a wide range of applications. Operation is via an easy to use, intuitive HMI; Prima Additive offers its own 3D Printing Suite software with a range of powerful functions for quick file preparation, design change, part creation and slicing, reducing the time from design to manufacture.

Laser metal deposition manufacturing is undertaken on several already well-established Prima Power machine models, the Laserdyne 430, Laserdyne 795 and Laser Next 2141 – all of which have been thoroughly proven in 3D laser cutting and welding applications across the highly demanding aerospace and automotive sectors.

Featuring a specialised head to provide the powder spraying and fusion at the focal point of the laser beam, the machines offer working volumes starting from 585mm x 400mm x 500mm up to an impressive 2,100mm x 4,140mm x 1,020mm.

Laser power options range from 1kW up to 6kW and deposition rates are possible up to 70cm³ per hour. The large working envelope of these machines offers considerable versatility for applications ranging from R&D, rework and prototyping fully through to part manufacturing.

Prima Additive is able to offer both technologies into many industrial sectors such as aerospace, automotive, motorsport, rapid prototyping and medical. For optimum versatility, the machines can be used with a wide variety of metal powders that include aluminium, nickel, steel, cobalt-chrome and titanium alloys.

Complementing the machinery, Prima Additive also provides a host of additional services, tailored to suit the individual needs of each customer. Offering advanced expertise in process and application consulting, training, support, process monitoring and certification, Prima Additive takes a customer focused approach, ensuring that the often complex demands of each application are fully met.

Prima Power www.primapower.com

Prima Additive www.primaadditive.com

Company

Prima Power

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