Joining the components using laser welding
Toolcraft AG has deployed its entire process chain to serve the defence sector, producing additively manufactured components for the German armed forces. The company, based in Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, has been working with the defence and security sector for a number of years, and taps into a variety of other industries too.
Rheinmetal AG commissioned Toolcraft for the Turret-Independent Secondary Weapon system (TSWA), to manufacture components for the system's launcher. The TSWA is an unmanned weapon station mounted on the rear section of the German army’s Puma infantry fighting vehicle.
The 3D printed components include the structural support used to hold all the other parts and the gate used to load and unload the launcher, preventing the ammunition from being removed without permission. The structural support also protects the electronics in a waterproof compartment.
Additive manufacturing provided Rheinmetal AG with the ability to have long-term availability of replacement parts, develop the structure quickly and ability to shape the components as required.
Before beginning production, Toolcraft prepared the manufacturing data for the additive laser powder bed process in aluminium. The company has been using laser-based processes for a number of years. The semi-finished products for the structural support and gate were then finished using a blasting process, before undergoing heat treatment in a vacuum furnace to ensure they achieved the specified material characteristics.
“The defence and security sector has strict component manufacturing requirements. We are highly confident that our additive manufacturing process chain is capable fulfilling all of these requirements,” said Christoph Hauck, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Sales Officer at Toolcraft.
Toolcraft used a range of quality assurance measures for the entire manufacturing process and the finished assembly, ensuring that the requirements of the DIN 2303 manufacturer certification for the production of defence-related products by means of laser-additive manufacturing and the LMD process were met at all times. A special cooper nozzle for the LMD process was also produced on one of its in-house powder bed systems, using a green laser.
