Furthering the industry at Formnext 2017
25 January 2018
At Formnext 2017, global engineering company, Renishaw, demonstrated its capabilities as an additive manufacturing industry leader. The company launched its new four-laser system, the RenAM 500Q, which improves productivity up to four times without increasing platform size. The company also introduced visitors to InfiniAM Spectral and InfiniAM Central, process monitoring technologies that help manufacturers develop consistent processing.
Exhibited for the first time was the RenAM 500Q, a new machine that will bring the benefits of additive manufacturing to a wider range of components. With competitive market positioning, the machine will reduce the cost per part while still offering the quality of a standard single-laser system.
A critical enabling technology for the machine is the optical system. Lasers enter the system via four channels, are dynamically focussed and then directed into a single, thermally controlled galvanometer mounting. Renishaw produced this mounting on the system itself to allow tighter packaging of mirrors and conforming cooling channels for stability.
“Additive manufacturing is now a viable series production technology,” explained Robin Weston, Marketing Manager at Renishaw's Additive Manufacturing Products Division. “The RenAM 500Q enhances the speed, productivity and capability of existing systems, by offering four lasers in a compact footprint.
“This machine marks a significant investment in technology and infrastructure,” continued Weston. “Following the launch of the RenAM 500M at Formnext in 2015, the show was the ideal platform to showcase our latest developments. Formnext 2017 had almost double the visitors of last year's show and Renishaw's interest increased by more than double the previous year.”
Renishaw also demonstrated and offered tours of its InfiniAM Central and InfiniAM Spectral process monitoring and planning software, which provide manufacturers with feedback from the additive manufacturing build in real-time. The easy-to-use tool allows manufacturers to make data based decisions on whether to adjust a process or machine settings in order to develop consistent processing.
The company also showcased parts developed as part of collaborations with Land Rover BAR and Holthinrichs Watches.
For more information visit www.renishaw.com/additive
