MT Magazine January/February 2025

FEATURE STORY

THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY ISSUE

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More importantly, it is already shaping the future. “We have had nothing but positive feedback,” says Thomas Feldhausen, one of the ORNL R&D staff members driving the project. “As a result of the ETC, we are in the process of entering into an official collaboration with a robotic 3D printing company who wants to leverage the technology. We are also building out the controls, robotic operating system, and data architecture on the backside, and we also plan to develop a larger, next-generation system in the coming years. I even heard we had people at IMTS ask if the platform was available for purchase, which is pretty flattering to an organization that doesn’t sell anything.” Process Integration To appreciate the possibilities of convergent manufacturing first requires understanding the interplay of the technologies. Here is a step-by-step description of how work flows through the platform: 1. The system retrieves a fixtured component/AM build plate (“part”) from a Fastems automated pallet tower, which can store up to 24 pallets and

Looking Into the Future Located at the entrance to the North Building of McCormick Place, the ETC occupied some of the most valuable and visible real estate at IMTS, which is owned and produced by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “Our goal with the ETC is to introduce visitors to technologies that they can’t buy today but could impact their business five to 10 years in the future,” said Woods. “When ORNL proposed the convergent manufacturing platform, we wanted to feature it in the ETC at IMTS 2024. The platform provides game changing solutions for the production of high-mix, low-volume components, demonstrates our continued efforts to advance AM, and showcases automation, which was a dominant theme at IMTS 2024.” The mission

of the MDF and ORNL is to form technical collaborations that develop next-generation manufacturing technologies. Funding comes in part from the U.S.

does all the part-moving in this workflow. 2. reduce the potential for cracking. 3. increasing flexibility and throughput. 4. using a vision system from Zeiss. 5.

The part is placed in the induction heating module. There, a robot from Yaskawa America, equipped with an induction heating end-effector from Ajax Tocco, preheats it, which is required when using nickel-aluminum-bronze wire to After heating is complete, the part moves into the AM module, which uses metal AM technology from Lincoln Electric and software from Open Mind. The WAAM systems operate independently,

Department of Energy Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and the Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program. The goals of the program are to increase energy efficiency, strengthen supply chains, and help grow the U.S. industrial base. IMTS and AMT first collaborated with ORNL for the live production of the 3D printed Strati vehicle on the show floor at IMTS 2014 (read the 10-year anniversary story at IMTS.com/story-strati). While the AM process was the star then, a decade of technology advancements requires new thinking. “Additive manufacturing plays an essential role in accomplishing our objectives, but the convergent manufacturing platform shows how we can bring in other tools, such as automation, to make something of greater value,” says Brian Post, group leader for the Disruptive Manufacturing Systems Development group at ORNL. “The ETC demonstration has a much greater relevance in the manufacturing landscape than any stand-alone system.” So that IMTS visitors would be able to relate to the system, ORNL created three industry-specific demonstrations: • A mold/tooling demonstration produced a unique mold for each day of the show; the mold was used to injection mold a daily challenge coin. • A casting and forging demonstration replicated the first article casting the Navy uses to qualify a new foundry. • A clean-energy demonstration simulated repair of a worn tooth on a wind turbine gear. The demonstrations, which ran concurrently for increased throughput, created a wow factor that defined IMTS 2024.

After printing, the part moves from the AM module to the inspection module, where it is inspected by a 3D scanning metrology station

If the part passes inspection, the part moves into an MU4000V machining center from Okuma, which uses cutting tools supplied by Kennametal and Zoller and workholding from 5th Axis. If it fails inspection, the workflow can be modified and the part transferred to the correct module based

on remanufacturing needs. 6. pallet tower. 7. undergo final inspection. 8. from its fixture. 9.

After machining, the part returns to the

The part moves back to the metrology station to

Upon confirmation of dimensions, the part is moved to an unload station, where it is removed

If the part does not pass inspection, it is returned for further additive and/or subtractive processes.