With the launch of the UMC-5X simultaneous five-axis machining centre in early 2017, XYZ Machine Tools took a significant step to expand its product offering to customers. At MACH 2018, visitors will see further expansion of the product range as XYZ enters the world of 3D printing with global printing technology leader, HP.
XYZ Machine Tools has been selected as an official reseller of the HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solution, which uses HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology to print production-quality parts at speeds up to 10-times faster and at half the cost of comparable 3D printing systems.
“We see this as a fantastic opportunity as 3D printing is a perfect addition to the machine tools that we currently offer. HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology is taking this process to new levels of performance and productivity, making the process truly production orientated,” said Nigel Atherton, managing director, XYZ Machine Tools.
The key to the speed of this system is its Multi Jet technology, which delivers 30 million drops per second across each inch of working area. This is then combined with HP’s fusing and detail agents that allow extreme fine detail and dimensional accuracy to be produced with layer thicknesses of 0.07/0.08 mm. The quality is controlled by precise temperature monitoring during the printing process, with heat being applied or reduced automatically to ensure correct fusion of materials. Build speeds are up to 4,500cm3 per hour, which compares extremely favourably when compared to conventional material extrusion or laser sintering processes. For example, in an 82-hour cycle the HP Multi Jet Fusion process created 27,300 gear components, compared to 1,000 and 2,160 using the other techniques, making it a truly production orientated process.
In line with XYZ’s philosophy of easy to use control systems HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions are user-friendly and streamline workflow from developing component build and automatic packing of the print chamber, which measures 380mm by 284mm by 380mm, to maximise production prior to printing. Pre-packed printing materials are easily installed and mixing ratios are automatically selected, all of which is fully enclosed to maintain a clean working environment. At the end of the printing process excess material is removed, and collected to be recycled, while still fully enclosed in the unit.
HP has also developed an Open Platform approach to materials development, this in a drive to encourage new materials to be introduced at a lower cost and made available for printing, combining this with the ability to control the properties of individual voxels (a pixel with volume), HP Multi Jet Fusion technology opens the possibilities of producing parts that simply cannot be manufactured using conventional processes.
“We have looked at 3D printing as a technology solution for a while, but we wanted to be convinced about its ability to deliver production level quantities in a time efficient and cost-effective way,” added Atherton. “HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology gives us the confidence that these criteria have now been met and that 3D printing is now a truly complimentary process to sit alongside our existing machine tool systems.”
