Direct Manufacturing Takes Center Stage at Sciaky

The exclusive, groundbreaking Direct Manufacturing process remains the only large-scale, fully-programmable means of achieving near-net shape parts made of titanium, tantalum, inconel and other high-value metals.

Sciaky, Inc. (Chicago, IL), a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI; Livonia, MI) and leading provider of additive manufacturing solutions, announced that it has launched a new Direct Manufacturing (DM) video.

With the objective to save manufacturers time and money on the production of large, high-value metal parts and prototypes, the company launched its groundbreaking DM solution, which is based on additive manufacturing principles, in 2009. Now its DM solution remains the only large-scale, fully-programmable means of achieving near-net shape parts made of titanium, tantalum, inconel and other high-value metals, ranging up to 19 ft long, 4 ft wide and 4 feet high (19 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft).

The solution combines computer-aided design (CAD), Sciaky’s state-of-the art electron beam welding technology and layer-additive processing. Starting with a 3D model from a CAD program, a fully-articulated, moving electron beam welding gun deposits metal, layer by layer, until the part is complete and ready for finish machining. Deposition rates typically range from 7 lb to 20 lb per hour, depending upon part geometry and the material selected.