Open Mind’s hyperMILL Additive Manufacturing opens up an array of flexible options for DED (directed energy deposition) and WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing) processes in terms of 5-axis simultaneous processing. Both laser-based powder nozzle machining heads and wire arc additive manufacturing can be controlled using the software for selective material deposition, as well as conveniently programmed and automatically simulated for collision avoidance.
The hyperMILL suite now allows the potential of additive manufacturing to be exploited using powder-bed fusion (PBF). If 3D-printed parts do not offer the desired precision, or support structures have to be removed, the components can be machined afterwards by means of 5-axis machining. Even hard-to-reach areas can be machined in a secure manner using hyperMILL, says Open Mind. As an integral part of the process chain, the CADCAM system supports reworking of this nature. The printed components are analysed, milled to size and examined.
Increasingly, additive and subtractive manufacturing processes are being combined in a single machine tool for hybrid manufacturing. With this in mind, hyperMILL now enables users to program the cladding and the milling routines together. True-to-detail application and removal simulation, as well as stock tracking between individual machining steps, assure process reliability.
“Our early work on industrial additive manufacturing processes is now bearing fruit,” says Volker Nesenhöner, CEO at Open Mind Technologies AG. “hyperMILL Additive Manufacturing allows us to boost the efficiency, precision and process reliability of additive and hybrid manufacturing. We want to integrate these procedures in established process chains, thereby increasing their efficiency and opening up potential applications.”
Important applications include repairing damaged components, such as in mould making and tool making, or repairing turbine blades in the aerospace industry.
