Renishaw opens additive manufacturing demo center

Renishaw, a manufacturer of advanced metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems, has opened an Additive Manufacturing Demonstration Center in Newbury Park, California. Working in collaboration with Ibex Engineering, the Demonstration Center is situated within Ibex’s headquarters and allows visitors to explore, interact with, and use Renishaw’s latest metal additive manufacturing systems.

The center will be equipped to print high-precision titanium (Ti64Al4V) parts on Renishaw’s RenAM 500 series of laser-powder-bed-fusion AM systems. Made for industrial production applications, the RenAM 500 series allows for automatic powder sieving and recirculation within the compact system, reducing the need for manual handling and exposure to materials.

To provide a complete picture of the metal additive manufacturing process, the center will also feature ancillary elements such as wet downdraft, heat treatment, support, machining and inspection technology, and part removal equipment. These components work in concert with the AM system to ensure parts are printed and finished to specifications.

Also available at the site are InfiniAM Central software showcasing AM production reporting functionality and QuantAM build preparation software which allows visitors to work through the development of an AM machine build file, including material parameter development.

Stephen Anderson (AM business development manager, Renishaw USA) stated, “It’s fantastic to be able to place a metal additive manufacturing production cell within Ibex. Not only does it allow us to showcase our latest technologies, but partnering with Ibex provides us access to an expert manufacturer of precision staging equipment who will utilize the technology to develop innovative products and drive metal AM into new markets and even wider adoption.”

Ibex Engineering CEO Andre Perrin said, “We have been a user of Renishaw’s high precision encoder systems in our products for many years and have a close working relationship. They understand manufacturers and manufacturing, the importance of quality, reliability, and most importantly, service. We are very excited about Renishaw’s approach to metal additive manufacturing and their vision to develop high precision, repeatable machines capable of serial production of parts. We look forward to developing new AM parts for our business and to sharing our knowledge with Renishaw’s visitors.”

For information on visiting the center, Renishaw’s office in Mountain View, California, or Renishaw’s USA headquarters in West Dundee, Illinois, contact AMPDSupportUSA@Renishaw.com.