Industrial part and powder management

The inert machine concept of the TruPrint 2000 with powder preparation station, provides extremely easy powder and parts handling under shielding gas. The closed circuit means that contact with the powder is effectively avoided, and a high level of occupational safety provided. The material also does not degrade due to the minimal contact with oxygen. The powder preparation station can be used for several machines from the TruPrint Series at the same time.

The compact powder handling station for the TruPrint 2000, 3000 and 5000 is the perfect solution for straightforward metal powder sieving – all in a space of just 1 m². In addition to the sieving machine, a vacuum conveyor with an integrated 70-litre buffer container is included to ensure the requisite flexibility within the powder process chain. The integrated powder storage system automatically refills the two supply cylinders on the TruPrint 3000 as needed, enhancing overall efficiency. Vibration and ultrasonic excitation deliver optimal sieving performance, while the tare function prevents any risk of overfilling. The station can be used for both powder feeding and sieving, and can draw up powder from any container. The closed powder circuit ensures that the production environment remains clean. With intuitive touch panel operation and seamless integration into existing production lines, this station is the perfect solution for powder handling in a compact space. For maximum safety and quality, optional operation under shielding gas is available.

The sieving station provides a highly productive, automatic sieving process with ultrasonic cleaning for industrial metal powder applications. The high degree of automation means the station can be operated unattended. You benefit from a high sieve throughput rate with consistent powder quality thanks to the large sieve surface and the automated supply of powder on a vacuum conveyor. With the integrated vacuum conveyor, you can also sieve from any container and fill the desired container as required using the weigh-in function. If you need to reliably extract or add large volumes of powder, the vacuum conveyor is the ideal solution for you. It can quickly be attached to the sieving station. What's more, the integrated auxiliary HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter ensures a very high level of safety for operators and the environment. For customers with greater requirements when it comes to powder management, sieving with (inert) shielding gas is available as an option – either with argon or nitrogen with 1%, 3% or 5% residual oxygen. Here you are provided with an installation kit including oxygen sensor, as well as the expansion of the user interface for the control and monitoring of the change in the shielding gas over time during the sieving process. Thanks to the modular periphery, you can also retrofit the option at a later point in time.

Our depowdering station with hydraulic lifting and manual swivel and rotary axis allows you to reliably remove powder from components outside the machine. As a result, you benefit not only from high machine availability, but also high cleaning levels of the build job through vibration technology, even for components with complex geometries. Operator involvement is low. We also offer optional depowdering under shielding gas, including shielding gas flow control and monitoring.

The powder removal station reliably supplies new metal powder to the 3D printing circuit without any contact with the operator. Components without any contact with the powder can also be separated from the powder bed outside the machine, which improves machine availability. Thanks to the exchangeable cylinder principle on the TruPrint machines (TruPrint 3000 and TruPrint 5000) the build cylinder can easily be moved into the unpacking station directly after the LMF process. The suction nozzles are optimised to meet requirements and actuated using gloves. They enable even complex components to be cleaned easily. This avoids direct contact with the powder. Optimal access to the station is also provided thanks to the rotating build cylinder and an electrical lift drive.

With the powder silo, you can reliably and efficiently store, transport and fill large powder quantities in a standard container. You can tailor the volume to your needs and select from three sizes (30, 80 and 130 litres). The powder silo can be flexibly adapted to meet the needs of your specific application. The basic container can easily be expanded by fitting clamps, which can quickly be removed for cleaning purposes. Furthermore, the powder silo is easy to transport using the standard pallet jack. The vacuum conveyor can also be attached to the powder silo in order to easily and reliably extract and add large quantities of powder. Powder storage under shielding gas is also optionally available. This way, you can regulate and inspect the change in the shielding gas over time during storage. Up to three silos can therefore be monitored in parallel using the testing log. Due to the modular periphery, you can also easily retrofit the option at a later point in time.

Our separate cooling station for cooling parallel to production after a 500°C build job gives you many advantages: you reduce machine downtime and ensure consistent powder quality through an inert process chain that effectively prevents oxidation of the powder during cooling. The powder can simply be reused. The cooling station is available with the 500°C preheating option.