Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), announced that Airbus will take delivery of a state-of-the-art Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) 110 System in December 2016. The  aircraft manufacturer will use Sciaky’s industrial-scale metal 3D printing system to produce large structural parts made of titanium.

The EBAM process combines computer-aided design (CAD), additive manufacturing processing principles, and an electron beam heat source. Starting with a 3D model from a CAD program, the fully-articulated, moving electron beam gun deposits metal through wire feedstock, layer by layer, until the part reaches near-net shape. From there, the part goes to heat treatment and post-production machining. In the end, there is minimal material waste.

Sciaky brings quality and control together with IRISS – the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System. IRISS can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky’s EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.

As mentioned above, EBAM uses wire feedstock, which can accommodate a variety of metals and refractory alloys, such as titanium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, Inconel, and stainless steels. Sciaky’s EBAM 110 System has a work envelope of 70 in. (1778 mm) x 47 in. (1194 mm) x 63 in. (1600 mm).

Sciaky’s lineup of EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from 8 in. (203 mm) to 19 feet (5.79 meters) in length. EBAM is a fast deposition process, with gross deposition rates ranging from 7 to 20 lb (3.18 to 9.07 kg) of metal per hour.

Sciaky, Inc.
www.sciaky.com