Rivelin to showcase the automated post-processing of AM parts

Rivelin Robotics will be showcasing its Netshape robots for the fully automated post-processing of metal AM parts, at this week’s Formnext 2023, taking place 7-10 November (Hall 12, Stand E41). With AM now being widely adopted as a production technology, all links in the AM process chain are being scrutinised, with the focus now on speed, cost effectiveness, efficiency and accuracy.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the area of metal AM post-processing, which has up until now been predominantly a manual job, with all this implies in respect of cost, time, safety issues, and lack of repeatability. Rivelin syas it ‘stands at the vanguard of innovative solutions to bring metal AM post-processing from the analogue age into the digital age’.

Rivelin CEO Robert Bush said: “It is fair to say, standing at the epicentre of the revolution that is taking place as AM works to become a fully automated production technology, that we are acutely sensitive to the chatter going on in the sector — chatter that we feel will dominate Formnext 2023. The AM sector stands on the cusp of unprecedented growth and potential, but to fully realise this promise, the integration of fully automated post-processing technologies for metal AM like the ones Rivelin has developed is non-negotiable.

“As AM scales up to meet the demands of a whole range of industries, the post-processing phase — which includes tasks like support removal and surface finishing — becomes a bottleneck, causing inefficiencies in production timelines and compromising on part consistency. Automated post-processing not only streamlines workflows, enhancing throughput and reducing lead times, but also ensures repeatability, consistent quality, and lowers operational costs, making it the linchpin for the AM sector's transition from prototyping to full-scale production.”

Enclosed micro-factories
Rivelin produces various metal AM post-processing cells, including the NS0, the NS1 and the NS2, each of which contains robots from partner Yaskawa Europe, which are controlled by Rivelin’s Netshape software. Visitors at the show will be able to see an example of the cells which are effectively enclosed micro-factories that combine an industrial Yaskawa robot equipped with a variety of tools, ‘state of the art’ sensors and processes to ensure dexterity and driven by the powerful NetShape control software that the company has developed.

“The intelligent software uses both machine learning and traditional deterministic control theory to optimise the quality and repeatability of support removal and finishing. The result is an automated support removal and finishing solution that reduces defects in parts by up to 90%, results in a significant reduction in operational costs, and the elimination of human risk and variability.

Mr Bush added: “We invite all Formnext visitors to come and see us at the show. Not only are we exhibiting our Netshape robots, but we are also showing a working full-scale concept of a solution for the depowdering of internal channels and cavities which is being developed in partnership with leading innovator in this space, Solukon.

He concluded: “This is another example of the innovative developments that are taking place in the area of automated metal AM post processing. As the technology becomes more sophisticated and parts produced become more and more geometrically complex, so the post-processing issues become trickier and trickier.”