Formnext is a showcase for automated workcells from Acme Manufacturing and Optomec.
Optomec Inc. Acme Manufacturing have partnered to produce an “industry first”. The two companies have created a fully automated cell that was initially designed to repair titanium aviation compressor blades.
The two-year collaboration between the companies resulted in the creation of the turnkey work cell. It was based on input from the US Department of Defense repair centres for aircraft engine engines and commercial maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO).
The automated work cell has a repair capacity of 85,000 titanium compressor blades per year and according to the company, provides a “compelling” ROI when compared with traditional CNC machines and manual TIG welding. Optomec and Acme say that the technologies used in the cell can be purchased and have been certified worldwide by civil authorities.
The entry level work cell has three stations that allow robotic blade tip grinder, 3D additive las cladding, or robotic post clad finishing. The cell also includes an automated pallet load/unload station and a pallet flipping station. It also has a robotic material handling system.
According to the companies each machine in the work cells adjusts tool paths to account for blade-to-blade variations due to normal wear and distortion during service. Optomec’s CS-250 5-axis laser-cladding machine produces precision welds for titanium compressors blades using its proprietary LENS Directed Energy Deposition technology (DED) as well as AutoCLAD advanced vision, adaptive tool-pathing technology and AutoCLAD advanced visual technology in controlled argon.
Acme Manufacturing MRO blade repair machines can be used for weld blending, polishing, and blade tip grinding. The system boasts what Acme Manufacturing claims is the first-ever auto path generation. This allows for high mix and low volume environments. It is also claimed to be three to four times faster that traditional CNC machines.
Mike Dean, VP of Marketing at Optomec, said: “Our collaboration with Acme Manufacturing has brought together complementary technologies that provide a compelling business case for customers. Demanding repair requirements, driven by commercial and DoD repair centres, has led Optomec to enhance our DED capabilities to enable high volume, high yield repair for compressor blades, an especially challenging objective for titanium parts.”
G.A. “Fritz” Carlson III, President and CEO of Acme Manufacturing, said: “Acme has delivered over 200 robotic material removal systems to the aerospace industry in the past 35 years largely for new part manufacturing. We can make it possible for MRO engine repair centres (MRO engines) to improve component quality and lower unit costs by using repeatable robotic finishing technology. I am excited about our teams’ developments in auto path generation, which allows us to enter a new market of automated material removal systems.”
Dean spoke to TCT Earlier this year, we discussed the application opportunities for Direct Energy Deposition 3D Printing.
Have a question? Join the conversation on the Additive Manufacturing Global Community Discord.
Gain 3D printing insights from Boeing, Jack Wolfskin and more at the TCT Conference @ Formnext. Get your pass here.
Get your FREE print subscription to TCT Magazine.
