Aurora Repair kit - machines
A collection of Aurora (formerly SLA) 250 machines.
At the time of writing, Aurora means little to the makers and users of additive manufacturing (AM). The word is most associated with a natural light display in the sky, typically only seen in the high latitude regions. Aurora is one of the universe’s phenomena, a real wonder that can be theorised but still not explained for certain.
Its namesake, the result of the ‘repair kit’ developed by AMUG European Ambassador, Andrew Allshorn and Materialise, couldn’t be more different. Allshorn knows it like the back of his hand, and it’s much more accessible too. Its marvel, in the context of the 3D printing industry, he hopes, will be no less.
Until now it’s been additive manufacturing’s best-kept secret. Four years ago, Allshorn and Materialise, long-term business partners, conceptualised the idea to revamp still-functioning legacy machines that 3D Systems no longer services. They started at Materialise HQ, getting to work on SLA 250 and 500 systems, before graduating to the larger platforms, like the 5000 and 7000. Soon the same service will be offered for 350 and 3500.
Aurora SLA 7000 bare frame
An SLA 5000 stripped down to its bare frame ahead of its revamp with the 'repair kit'.
“It was a joint [venture] because I’ve been servicing Materialise’s machines for years and I taught their guys how to service the SLA machines. They just wanted something better,” Allshorn told TCT. “Materialise supply the software and I re-manufacture the machine using the repair kit.
“The legacy machines do just as good a job as new machines, but the build parameters are more open. The problem is they run on Windows XP which is no longer supported. What we do is a bit like a re-fabrication. We strip the machine down to its bare frame. It’s basically built from the ground up, runs on Windows 10, and has solid state hard drives – two of them so when it’s running it backs up, and if one drive fails, the other keeps it building.
Aurora Repair Kit SLA7000.
An Aurora ( formerly SLA) 7000, the result of Allshorn’s 'repair kit.'
"It has a digital scanner with a variable optic so you can choose your beam size. This means that for the first time, the user can build Hi Res and Standard Res parts on the same platform at the same time. It comes fitted with a choice of spectra physics laser, which can either be 350mw or 1W.”
The supporting software is a build processor that fits into Materialise’s Magics suite. It allows users of the technology to ‘open the machine up’, set parameters, queue prints and re-order them.
Materialise is not only responsible for the software, but also much of the support service for customers. So far, five companies boast an Aurora platform. In addition to Materialise, who house around 20 updated legacy machines, an American company called Interpro and Dutch firm, SKM followed Michelin and Von Allmen in purchasing an Aurora system.
Von Allmen is a Swiss company specialising in mould making and was the first to have an Aurora machine up and running. For 23 years, Von Allmen has been using SLA and SLS 3D printing methods for its moulds, mainly for customers who request prototypes. Founder of the company, Michael von Allmen told TCT his business was the first in his homeland to produce parts in SLA and SLS. He first began working with Allshorn over a decade ago, and since utilising his repair kit is receiving better quality parts, and better feedback from customers. The parts and the benefiting industries vary, but there is some consistency in Von Allmen’s workflow at least.
aurora Image 4
Test part from Von Allmenn to show the capabilities of the Aurora 5000 large frame machine.
“We are faster. We have nicer sidewalls. We have really nice parts,” Michael von Allmen boasts. “We save electricity because the whole system runs on 24 volts, and the other thing, all the parts inside the machine are standard parts. It’s nothing special from 3D Systems.
“[Our customers] are impressed, because we also need [less] time for finishing the surfaces. For example, I have a client who makes lamps for outdoors and indoors, and he mostly needs parts that are transparent. That means in the past we had to sand blast parts outside until we got nice surfaces. We save about 50% of our surface finishing time now after we have installed the repair kit.”
Michelin, meanwhile, was encouraged to purchase in September 2016, the installation following in December, after confirming the quality and accuracy of parts made with the machine at Materialise: “We already had an SLA 5000, and the cost of the Aurora repair kit is much less expensive than buying a new machine,” Patrick Andanson, a Michelin manufacturer explained. “Our management team has decided to launch a project, of which I am project leader, to test the capability to build some mould tooling parts in our workshop with this process.”
Image 6 part printed with Aurora
Dental mould printed on an Aurora system.
The intricate details of this project remain confidential – Michelin reluctant to divulge for fear of losing a competitive edge. Patrick could only reveal it focuses on the manufacture of tyre moulds. He also told how Michelin is looking into the purchase of a second Aurora machine, though a final decision will only be made once the parameters are tuned, and parts can be made to maximum accuracy – and when they first purchase a legacy machine to ‘repair’. Von Allmen, too, is considering using the repair kit on its Viper S12.
One of the primary reasons these companies are exploring this avenue is cost. For the larger legacy machines, an SLA 5000 for example, with the smaller laser option (350mw) the cost is €139,000, while the larger laser option (1W) is €159,000. A Viper, should Von Allmen go through with the purchase, will cost €99,000, as will the 250 platforms. Undoubtedly the main reason, though, is the output quality: “The new technology can’t do the detail. It can’t do the surface finish,” Allshorn emphasises when Michelin’s preference to source and purchase a legacy machine to update rather than invest in a new platform is questioned.
Aurora Large frame machine with door open
Inside the controller unit of a large frame Aurora machine.
It was just after Allshorn’s most recent visit to Michelin, and while he was in Belgium with Materialise, that he decided to break the silence on the repair kit and resulting Aurora technology. Until now, there has been no marketing, no publicising, nothing. But after years of development, and now a full 12 months of customers putting it to good use, Allshorn felt the time was right. And so long as other companies keep introducing new machines, and removing support service for their older ones, the time will continue to be right for Allshorn’s product.
“The idea is that there are thousands of these machines out there and they still work and still do such a good job,” he summarises. “The cost of it is half the price of a new machine, and the customer already owns the kit. You don’t have to get rid of it, and it’s all done on-site as well. You order it, we come in, and within seven to ten days you’ve got a new machine.”
