Creating advanced materials for Additive Manufacturing to support the 4.0 industry and decrease its carbon footprint
Referring to the fourth industrial revolution, the term Industry 4.0 encompasses the advances made during the 21st century in automation, connectivity, advanced material manufacture, analytics and processes as well as advanced manufacturing technology.
Creating advanced and high-performance materials for Additive Manufacturing to support industry 4.0 expansion and decrease its carbon footprint, Luxembourg based AM 4 AM have patented a cold plasma process using AcXys Technologies TKS equipment, that provides extra properties to conventional materials thereby extending the range of AM (Additive Manufacturing) materials used mainly in the 3D printing sector.
This product called “HiperAl” is processed by additive manufacturing and generates crack-free parts with best-in-class mechanical properties and has been designed at first for space, aeronautic and automotive lightweight applications.
Monsieur Maxime Delmée CEO and Founder of AM 4 AM commented : “We are really pleased to announce that our first production unit is operational in Luxembourg since few weeks. We are fully ready to answer customer demands and provide HiperAl to the Additive Manufacturing market. First batches of powder are already in production! Thanks a lot to our trusted partner AcXys Technologies for the development and conception of this first production equipment”.
Ecological responsibility should also be counted as one of the advances covered by the term Industry 4.0. Only requiring electricity and compressed air ULS technology answers these ecological concerns.
The Atmospheric Plasma Solution
The principle of plasma technology is to pass a gas, such as compressed air across an electric arc. The gas then becomes a plasma which is blown directly onto the material to be treated. The energy contained in the plasma causes a chemical reaction which, firstly, eradicates any surface organic residues then, at a molecular level, grafts new properties into it or even removes material, depending on the application or process. These new grafted properties are mostly polarised, inducing an increase in surface energy and therefore adhesion.
AcXys Technologies TKS equipment
By integrating atmospheric plasma ULS technology with add-on tools such as an adaptor for powder activation, powered syringes for precise thin layer deposition or co/robots for precise parameter control, AcXys Technologies’ TKS atmospheric plasma equipment provides solutions to many of the challenges faced by manufacturers in their search for Industry 4.0 compatibility.