AMCM/ArianeGroup
AMCM has announced the development of the M 8K 3D printer, which it says pushes the boundaries of metal 3D printing. AMCM’s M 4K offers a build envelope of 450 x 450 x 1000 mm and supports four 1kW lasers, whereas the new M 8K will be equipped with eight lasers and a 800 x 800 x 1200 mm build volume.
The development of the M 8K is supported by a national grant to AMCM to improve the competitiveness of the Ariane 6 program at ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran based in France. The first application will be the printing of the combustion chamber of the aerospace company's Prometheus rocket engine.
Printed in CuCr1Zr, a low-contained thermally aged copper alloy, with a height of over 1,000 mm and a maximum diameter of 800 mm, the combustion chamber will be a benchmark in terms of dimensions and quality according to the company.
“We needed to find a partner who was willing to work with us to push the boundaries of what’s possible. This is literally AMCM’s DNA, who have already built an excellent reputation having multiple M 4K systems in this industry. ArianeGroup projects must meet ESA’s strict requirements to be approved for launch. As a result, we place the greatest value on part quality, e.g., material microstructure and surface roughness,” said Jan Alting, Head of Future Propulsion at ArianeGroup.
Alting continued: “We do acknowledge that AMCM was awarded this Federal grant. We are confident that we will be able to solve this challenge in a short period of time and help the company enter new markets. Promoting cutting-edge technological innovation is an integral part of our mission.”
“Designing a system of this size involves a whole range of challenges. The excellent laser, scanner and optics design with our tried-and tested beam sources is based on decades of process expertise from EOS,” said Martin Bullemer, Managing Director at AMCM. “The build volume is four times that of the M 4K, which also means mass. Therefore, the z-axis of the system must be able to move up to five tons of powder with the highest precision.”
ArianeGroup
ArianeGroup's Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci Thrust Chamber
Bullemer claimed that the importance of material supply is often underestimated, explaining: “For printing up to 1.2 m tall parts with high productivity and quality, powder management is key. Reliably feeding tons of metal powder over several days is no walk in the park. You do not want to interrupt the process in any case.”
The company says that with larger parts and longer print runs, process control and validation become increasingly important. According to AMCM, with SmartFusion and EOSTATE Exposure OT (optical tomography), it will integrate the latest technology from EOS Group in to the M 8K system to further improve in-process quality assurance and process monitoring, helping to reduce testing effort.
Bullemer added: “Metal printing offers the potential to make the rocket engine manufacturing process more flexible, less expensive, and faster. Our new M 8K system will be operational within a year. We have promised ArianeGroup the first printed combustion chambers before the end of 2024.”
