System Used for the Development of Hybrid Machining Techniques
Optomec announced that the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) has purchased a Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) system for metal additive manufacturing applications. The LENS system, which has been installed at CCAT’s headquarters in East Hartford, Connecticut, will be primarily used to develop repair and hybrid manufacturing solutions for a broad range of industries.
The Optomec LENS 850-R System will provide CCAT’s Laser Applications Lab with the capability to address emerging challenges in the field of additive manufacturing. Dr. Tom Maloney, director of technology, research and applications initiative and principal investigator of the National Aerospace Leadership Initiative (NALI), states, “LENS has already proven itself as a powerful tool for use in repair and refurbishment applications. We intend to build upon this success to create solutions that will provide the means to both accelerate and validate these processes, and will, together with our Machining Applications Lab, develop hybrid machining techniques that explore how currently insular processes may be combined to provide cost, quality and time benefits.”
Optomec’s LENS additive manufacturing systems are used to cost-effectively fabricate, enhance, and repair high-performance metal components in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and Inconel. LENS systems use the energy from a high-power laser to build up structures one layer at a time directly from powdered metals.
Dave Ramahi, Optomec president/CEO, states, “CCAT is a state-of-the-art facility that is breaking new ground in the development of additive manufacturing and repair techniques. The LENS 850-R system combined with CCAT’s renowned expertise will help advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.”