SPbPU: Technology of arc cultivation using a metal wire

2020: The announcement of technology of arc cultivation using a metal wire

On March 5, 2020 it became known that engineers of Laboratory of light materials and constructions of Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed technology of arc cultivation which allows to use a metal wire instead of powder for creation of different products. This technology is capable to reduce considerably the cost of additive manufacturing, and for products with simple geometry competes with turning and milling production. Researches are conducted within the Science national project.

According to the company, in the developed technology for printing the industrial robot is used. Scientists of Polytechnic University developed the special software for production of products of the big sizes. In the program, on the set product 3D model, the digital model of movement of the robot at printing is under construction (SAM - the model), at the same time a part breaks into layers, then in each of layers the trajectory of the movement is under construction. Thus, a part of the digital double of a product is under construction.

Industrial enterprises already became interested in this development. By means of technology of arc cultivation using a metal wire the scientific group of the Polytechnical university at the request of the industrial partner printed a ventilating blade with height of half-meter and weighing nearly 60 kg. Such blades are used in large-size fans on industrial facilities.

We print such blade from a wire during the day, at printing on it would leave powder more than a week. This blade hollow inside that is unattainable for foundry and milling technologies. The developed technology does not impose technological limits on a form of an end product. Oleg Panchenko, the head of the laboratory of light materials and constructions (SPbPU) told

Metal powder – the material, main for March, 2020, for cultivation – costs much and requires the scrupulous relation and a large number of the additional hardware for its contents. By turning and milling production material is spent uneconomically. The problem of turning production is that often procurement weight at 8-10-30 times more, than the weight of an end product, thus, goes to waste from 87.5% to 97% of initial material. For an example, the cost of an aluminum wire is about 1,000 rubles for kilogram while the price of aluminum powder is higher in 10, and sometimes and by 20 times. Besides, use of a wire allows to create more large-size constructions.

Foundry production in which the economic feasibility appears on condition of serial production when the casting mold prepared for big money is reused. In the developed technology of cultivation production not only products in a single copy, but also serial production is possible. At the same time unlike foundry production where in case of defects all procurement is thrown out, at cultivation process can be stopped, deleted defect and to continue from the place of a stop.