At RAPID-TCT, Optomec is demonstrating simultaneous five-axis additive manufacturing at its booth (#517) this week in Detroit, enabling new capabilities for building, repairing, and coating mid to large-size complex metal parts.

The new Optomec LENS additive plugin is an advanced tool path generation tool that enables simultaneous five-axis control.  When combined with the Siemens Sinumerik 840D CNC, complex geometries can be printed faster and easier, creating ROI for industry users by saving significant time and costs as well as enabling builds not possible before.

“Optomec has once again pushed DED printing capability to new heights. By leveraging the outstanding system flexibility and openness of the Sinumerik 840D CNC, Optomec adds new capabilities to its LENS solutions. With its innovative HMI, Sinumerik bridges the gap between traditional machining and additive manufacturing technologies. The 840D provides maximum control performance supporting a wide range of programming approaches that can be tailored to the exact needs of the additive machine builder in ways that others simply can't,” said Tim Bell, additive manufacturing industry manager at Siemens. 

An Optomec LENS system in five-axis configuration with the Siemens Sinumerik 840D CNC and the LENS additive plugin is a powerful framework that empowers users with new capabilities in DED printing.  The simultaneous five-axis control moves a part seamlessly beneath the laser deposition head, virtually making overhangs obsolete, eliminating the need for support structures, and minimizing the material removal required in post processing, dramatically improving build-time and saving costs.  It also opens up the possibility to capture data within the kinematics of the system during processing and tie in advanced software applications, resulting in new DED printing and repair capabilities, improved quality control and almost limitless build possibilities. 

“We wanted advanced capabilities in a system controller with room to grow. The Siemens 840D controller was a natural choice for us,” stated Tom Cobbs, LENS product manager at Optomec. 

“Siemens is well recognized by machine tool users worldwide as the industry leader in cutting-edge automation technologies, and the 840D controller is a familiar and trusted HMI used extensively in industry, from aerospace and defense to power generation and automotive sectors requiring the highest dynamic performance and additive/subtractive precision. The 840D allows for seamless and sophisticated multi-axis printing which empowers users to make builds that simply were not possible with previous configurations. For designers, the power and versatility allow new freedoms to optimize part design in DFAM efforts.” 

The Siemens Sinumerik 840D comes standard on the Optomec LENS CS 600, LENS CS 800, and LENS MTS 860 systems and the new Optomec LENS additive plugin is also available on these systems as an add-on. All systems are available for immediate purchase. The innovative 840D controller ensures the highest dynamic performance and machining precision while allowing a wide range of technologies to be addressed such as hybrid machining, which includes milling and DED on the same platform.