MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Prweb | May 30, 2023
Quintus Technologies will supply a high pressure fluid cell press to France’s LAUAK Group, a Tier 1 supplier to the aerospace industry. The press will be installed at the LAUAK Aerostructures factory in Grandola, Portugal, in September 2023.
Reaffirming its continued commitment to productivity enhancement, LAUAK selected the Quintus model QFC 0.7x1.8-800 press with high pressure technology to bolster its manufacturing efficiency.
“The forming press is undoubtedly at the heart of sheet metal production,” says Mikel Charritton, LAUAK Group Managing Director. “Especially in the context of the current aerospace ramp-up, in particular the A320, A350, and B737 programs, LAUAK’s capital equipment investments are strongly influenced by the imperatives of competitiveness. This press significantly increases and secures our production capacity.”
Quintus’s proprietary hydroforming process requires only one rigid tool half, an innovation that not only generates significant tool cost savings but also eliminates several forming operations, intermediate heat treatments, and operator dependencies.
The Quintus press will operate at a high forming pressure of 800 bar (11,600 psi) over a work area of 700 mm x 1800 mm (27.6 x 73 inches) in the Grandola facility.
“Moving to a new, more powerful press will reduce manual rework times, thus improving our competitiveness, especially given the current challenges recruiting personnel experienced in sheet metal forming,” Mr. Charritton observes.
The equipment purchase was also influenced by LAUAK’s previous experience with the press manufacturer. “We own a three-meter Quintus Flexform press in France, and we are very satisfied with it,” he adds.
LAUAK is complementing its press investment with the Quintus® Care Program, a rigorous agreement that ensures flawless press operation and equipment maintenance. The program provides for application support, high availability of spare and wear parts, and guaranteed and prioritized technical support. It also includes annual press inspections, training, and recertification of LAUAK personnel to maintain and elevate their skills.
“We are pleased that LAUAK has chosen to reinforce its cooperation with Quintus since the purchase of its first fluid cell press,” comments Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies. “We appreciate the opportunity to once again work with them to help strengthen their competitiveness.”
About Quintus Technologies
Quintus Technologies is the global leader in high pressure technology. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and supports high pressure systems in three principal areas: densification of advanced materials; sheet metal forming; and high pressure processing for food and beverage innovation, safety, and shelf life. Quintus has delivered over 1,900 systems to customers within industries such as energy, medical implants, space, aerospace, automotive, and food processing. The company is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, with a presence in 45 countries worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.quintustechnologies.com
About LAUAK Group
From its origins supplying sheet metal components to Dassault Aviation in 1975, the LAUAK Group has grown to become a major manufacturer of primary parts, sub-assemblies, assemblies for aerostructures and aero engines for the global aeronautics industry. A Tier 1 supplier to Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, and Dassault and a Tier 2 supplier to Spirit, Liebherr, and Safran, LAUAK is active in technology niches such as cold and hot sheet metal forming, welding, surface treatments, NDT, assembly, and piping. A tailored fleet of equipment extends its manufacturing capabilities to all types of materials, from aluminum alloys to hard metals, including stainless steel, Inconel, and titanium. LAUAK factories are located in France, Portugal, Canada, Mexico, and India. To find out more, go to http://www.groupe-lauak.com/en
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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Businesswire | May 31, 2023
NUBURU, Inc., a leading innovator in high-power and high-brightness industrial blue laser technology, today announced that multiple units were delivered to Essentium, a worldwide leader in industrial additive manufacturing (AM). In May 2022, Essentium and NUBURU jointly announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreement to develop and manufacture a blue laser-based metal AM platform. The deliveries announced today signify the initial execution of this agreement. Essentium expects strong growth across new applications and markets as a result of this technology integration.
NUBURU has begun delivering and Essentium has begun integrating NUBURU’s proprietary blue laser technology with its High Speed Extrusion (HSETM) 3D Printing technology. The new AM platform is designed to deliver breakthrough throughput for extremely high part quality and broad-scale use in major industrial markets, including automotive, aerospace, and defense.
Dr. Mark Zediker, CEO and Co-Founder of NUBURU, said, “We are excited to have delivered our first units to Essentium, and we look forward to delivering additional units over the course of 2023 and the coming years.”
Essentium launched EPOD (Essentium Parts on Demand), an in-house production service using its HSETM 3D printing technology in March 2023. The service offers fast and cost-effective production of parts at scale and access to Essentium's open AM ecosystem of solutions. NUBURU is excited to support Essentium's growth through partnerships with existing additive manufacturing service providers and manufacturing marketplaces.
“NUBURU's unparalleled expertise and leadership in blue laser technology have been instrumental in advancing our cutting-edge 3D printing platform. The arrival of the latest units this year and our partnership with NUBURU will help us continue to drive innovation in the AM industry,” said Elisa Teipel, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Essentium.
Essentium is also leveraging access to NUBURU’s intellectual property related blue laser technology, including patents granted in the United States, Japan, China, and South Korea.
About NUBURU
Founded in 2015, NUBURU, INC. (NYSE American: BURU) is a developer and manufacturer of industrial blue lasers that leverage fundamental physics and their high-brightness, high-power design to produce faster, higher quality welds and parts than current lasers can provide in laser welding and additive manufacturing of copper, gold, aluminum and other industrially important metals. NUBURU’s industrial blue lasers produce minimal to defect-free welds that are up to eight times faster than the traditional approaches — all with the flexibility inherent to laser processing. For more information, please visit www.nuburu.net.
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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Businesswire | May 30, 2023
Mantle, the leader in metal 3D printing for toolmaking, announced today that it has won the prestigious Additive Manufacturing Start-Up Technology Award for its innovative metal 3D printing technology. SME, formerly known as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, selected Mantle and delivered the award at the 2023 RAPID + TCT conference, North America’s largest Additive Manufacturing event.
The AM Start-Up Technology Award recognizes businesses with unique technologies that solve existing manufacturing problems with a unique technical approach. Mantle was selected as the winner of the award for its groundbreaking TrueShape 3D printing technology, which significantly reduces the cost and lead times to produce precision tooling while allowing for better tool designs and solving skilled labor shortages.
The AM Start-Up Technology Award is a highly competitive award that attracts some of the best and brightest start-ups in the 3D printing industry. SME, an organization committed to promoting and supporting the manufacturing industry and the creator of critical toolmaking content such as Tooling U, screened numerous start-ups before selecting Mantle based on the criteria of:
Technical feasibility: the technology has been demonstrated or is feasibly sound Uniqueness: the technology solves an existing problem with a unique approach Market potential: the technology serves a large market and can make a meaningful impact Messaging and communication: the company has a clear value proposition and messaging
"We are extremely pleased to be selected by SME as the 2023 AM Start-Up Technology Award winner. Since its public launch, Mantle has proven significant value for our customers by automating the process of making precision tools. Through multiple case studies, manufacturers of all sizes have experienced the ROI gains that Mantle's 3D printing technology delivers by slashing the time and money needed to manufacture precision molds compared to traditional toolmaking processes.” - Ted Sorom, CEO and co-founder, Mantle
Mantle announced the availability of its production machines in September of 2022 and has quickly established itself as the leader in metal 3D printing for precision toolmaking. Mantle has already been adopted by major OEMs, molders, and toolmakers who have benefited from the reduced time to market, improved part quality and lower cost production that come from using Mantle technology.
“Mantle's win is a testament to our company's commitment to innovation and excellence. The award is a significant achievement and a major milestone for the company, demonstrating the potential of its technology and their ability to make a significant impact on the precision tooling market.” - Paul DiLaura, CCO, Mantle
About Mantle
Mantle accelerates product development by simplifying how mold tool components are made. Mantle’s TrueShape™ metal 3D printing technology delivers the accuracy, surface finish, and tool steel properties required for demanding tooling applications. Tools made with Mantle’s technology have produced millions of parts while reducing tooling lead times and costs. Mantle is headquartered in San Francisco, California. To learn more, visit mantle3D.com.
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