Project Campfire: 5 UK Companies Team Up to Find Solutions that Allow Manufacturers to Automate Finishing of 3D Printed Parts
The collaborative, innovative project, led by Rivelin Robotics, is working to deliver a complete digital post processing solution for the automated finishing of flight parts, orthopaedic implants and gas turbine components produced using metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes.
Designated Project CAMPFIRE (Certified Additive Manufactured Parts Finished with Intelligent Robotics Engine), Rivelin is collaborating with five partners. Three are specific to post processing applications for regulated industries using metal AM, namely Attenborough Medical, GKN Aerospace and Materials Solutions (a Siemens Energy Business). Two further partners are supporting with the delivery of key hardware technologies, namely YASKAWA EU and Saint-Gobain Abrasives.
Rivelin Robotics at CAMPFIRE collaborator GKN Aerospace for deployment training in Bristol, UK. [All photos courtesy Rivelin Robotics.]
Starting with the Project Leaders, Rivelin Robotics was founded to directly address the challenges of post processing metal AM parts. Born of painful experience as an engineer tasked with removing metal supports from AM parts and achieving various levels of surface finish, Rivelin's CEO, Robert Bush, established the company to develop a real and repeatable solution to the problems he faced, knowing that he was not alone.
The challenges with post processing metal parts are many, not least the labor-intensive, time-consuming, filthy and sometimes dangerous activities involved in removing metal supports with hand tools. Believe it or not, this approach is the prevailing standard for post processing most metal parts when they come off an AM system.
Moreover, there are additional operational considerations of this manual approach that also pose challenges such as repeatability, quality control, long lead times and high costs. These considerations are fundamental, indeed critical, for regulated industries that have to adhere to stringent standards of compliance.
VIDEO: Post processing metal parts with Rivelin Netshape
Since it was founded in 2018, the Rivelin team developed and commercialized a solution -- delivered to the market in the form of its Netshape Robots -- that can provide truly autonomous post processing capabilities. The Rivelin "magic" comes through its Netshape software and the company works with hardware partners to deliver a complete solution.
Three such companies have been keen to work with Rivelin to test and implement the NetShape robots for their own applications. Project CAMPFIRE is providing a creative and collaborative way for this to move forward. Attenborough, GKN and Materials Solutions are all companies that have been dealing with the challenges of post processing metal AM parts for many years.
Recognized as leaders in their respective fields these companies have adopted metal AM processes to harness the many benefits of the technology for the production of end use metal AM parts in their respective industries. While the parts -- and the application of them -- are very different in specification, there are many factors that unite these companies, not least their frustrations with the traditional options available to them for post processing their parts.
GKN Aerospace
GKN Aerospace is a world leading Tier 1 supplier to the aerospace industries, with customers including Airbus, Rolls Royce and GE. GKN Aerospace has been maturing metal AM for over a decade working to develop and exploit the technology on both civil and military aerospace programs, and the company has achieved many milestones in this process.
Rivelin Robotics NS1.0-700 post-production cell
Project CAMPFIRE extends this expertise further down the AM process chain. The post processing phase remains a barrier on a number of fronts, specifically productivity and reliable quality assurance for higher volumes of parts.
Through the CAMPFIRE program, GKN Aerospace is exploring the use of robotic systems to automate the process of removing support material from complex aerospace products. The Rivelin technology offers many attractive features to aerospace end users: the opportunity to remove human interactions, improve repeatability and productivity.
Working with Rivelin we will assess the performance of their current system on site at GKN Aerospace's Global Technology Center in Bristol, UK, and through feedback we will specify upgrades and modifications that can be incorporated into future systems. This will ensure the technology has a route to scalable adoption in the aerospace sector, meeting the needs of end-users.
Materials Solutions
At Materials Solutions (a Siemens Energy business), the mission is to empower customers to meet the growing global demand for energy while transitioning to a more sustainable world. Materials Solutions has been pioneering the use of metal AM in the UK and globally for over a decade, to help achieve that mission. The company's production facility in Worcester is a state-of-the-art digital manufacturing facility with other similar facilities in Germany, Sweden and the United States.
Rivelin NetShape® software recognizes variability and generates intelligent finishing paths to compensate.
The use of metal AM as a production method for industrial gas turbine components is increasing rapidly. Materials Solutions is on the cutting edge of industrializing metal AM. They have a print process that is very much standardized, certified and optimized, whereby the focus has shifted to streamlining and digitizing the company's wider manufacturing operations, which includes the post processing of parts as a priority.
Post processing is both time consuming and not particularly efficient -- it has long been the major bottleneck in the overall AM process. In Project CAMPFIRE, the goal is to utilize the Rivelin Netshape Robot to reduce the number of operations in the process chain and demonstrate an improvement in the leading-edge quality to routinely meet certification requirements and increase productivity -- without any additional rework on the surface.
Attenborough Dental and Medical
Founded in 1913, Attenborough Medical is a leader in the UK medical manufacturing sector. Today, the company offers expert capabilities in 3D medical imaging, scanning and custom implant design & manufacture.
Ed Attenborough is the company's CEO and a vocal proponent of metal AM for the production of parts. "There are many advantages for using AM to manufacture the implants. AM enables personalization and mass customization of complex implants as well as reduced material waste and freedom of design. Thus, using AM for manufacturing the individual implants is the best option for us."
A maxilla facial plate from Attenborough Medical
However, "the post processing phase of metal AM implants is a major bottleneck in our overall process. Finding a solution to overcoming this bottleneck is imperative. Being part of Project CAMPFIRE is a no-brainer and potentially a game-changer for us. We are working collaboratively within this project because we need a full digital post processing solution."
YASKAWA EU
As a world-leading industrial drives and robot arm manufacturer, YASKAWA is a key partner for Rivelin and can also bring system integration capabilities to the collaboration. Through its European robotic manufacturing and system solution capabilities YASKAWA is delivering robot and positioner cell solutions directly to Rivelin. This allows Rivelin to focus on the integration and implementation of their state-of-the-art sensors and processes to bring dexterity, versatility, and ease of operation as a complete customer focused solution for their customers. These are the capabilities that are being deployed for Project CAMPFIRE.
Saint Gobain Abrasives
In a similar way, Saint-Gobain has more than 100 years of experience as a global leader in grinding technology and tool solutions. These solutions have been used for countless applications including the manual finishing of metal parts. Now, however, the company is fully aware of the transition to automation and the commercial potential that it offers.
Rivelin uses standard finishing tools like belt sanders, micro grinders, ultrasonic polishers, nippers and pneumatic hammers -- only manipulated by a robot.
Gabriele De Blasio is Robotics Manager for Abrasive Applications EMEA and is the person who can advise on the right abrasive, burr and bit for the finishing job. While the robot and tools get all the attention, his toolbits are the unsung heroes of successful post-processing whether automated or otherwise. He commented on the company's involvement in Project CAMPFIRE: "Automation is absolutely the key for post processing. We have several customers worldwide working in the field of turbine blades processing, and traditionally all of those have been finished manually. That's changing now and we are excited to be involved in this project as we witness the transition to fully automated post processing."
As Project CAMPFIRE moves forward, Robert Bush, CEO of Rivelin Robotics is excited by the progress that is being made: "Users of metal AM for production are unanimous in their demand for an automated solution for support removal and finishing. Regardless of the parts and how or where they will be used, the shared pain in getting those parts from the AM machine to the point of use is prevalent and engenders collaboration to solve the issues. This is exactly what Project CAMPFIRE aims to do."
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