“The cost of post-processing can account for up to 30% of the 3D printed part. If you’ve got this not so little secret at the back end, then you’ve got a big problem.” “Here you are with one of the most exciting technologies in the world but when you scale, you need to put bodies at the end of the line to be able to finish the parts.”

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AMT CEO Joseph Crabtree and PostProcess Technologies Managing Director Bruno Bourguet speak to TCT four weeks apart. Between them, they sum up the frustration that many a manufacturer has had with additive manufacturing (AM) technology. The perception of AM is that of a digital technology, where a part is designed in a CAD programme, a file uploaded to a printer and the part subsequently built-up layer by layer. What comes after – depowdering, support removal, surface treatment, surface sealing, part identification, transportation, sorting, packaging – is typically anything but digital. “These processes take a significant amount of time, labour and can be harmful to operators’ health,” summarises Benjamin Hlebec, Addiblast, AM Post-Processing Specialist at FerroEcoBlast . “For these reasons, the automatisation of post-processing is a key factor for higher efficiency, cost […]

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