Croft Additive Manufacturing Ltd (add on to 131850)

金属增材制造（AM）在接近净形状的情况下无需模具即可创建复杂的3D部件。然而，增材制造零件的表面不是光滑的，它是不均匀的，零件生产的尺寸略大。为了满足制药和食品工业的抛光标准和高度定义的工程公差，必须开发机械抛光工艺。机械加工可以处理外部表面，但复杂增材制造零件的内部特征和内部凹槽也必须完成。本项目旨在解决这些问题，1)设计和建造一种新型的流动磨损工艺，无需工具和人工。2)在旋转过程中使用不同磨损介质的新组合，我们的目标是使近净形状的增材制造零件达到所需的公差和光洁度。3)通过研磨技术去除内部构建支撑，允许构建更复杂的部件。这些创新工艺的开发能够提供所需的抛光处理和公差，这将提高增材制造零件的接受度，从而增加销售和进一步就业，同时通过采用这种通用制造工艺支持英国制造业。

Metal additive manufacturing(AM creates complex 3D components without tooling at near net shape. However the surface of the AM part is not smooth-it is uneven and the part is produced slightly oversize. To meet pharmaceutical and food industry polish finish standards and highly defined engineering tolerances mechanical finishing processes must be developed. Machining might manage external surfaces, but internal features and internal recesses of complex AM parts must also be finished. This project aims to address these problems by 1) design and construction of a novel flow abrasion process without tooling and labour. 2) Using new combinations of different abrasion media in a rotating process we aim to bring the near net shape AM parts to the required tolerance and finish. 3) removing internal build supports by abrasive techniques allowing for more complex parts to be built. The development of these innovative processes to enable the delivery of the required polish finishes and tolerances will increase acceptance of AM parts, generating increased sales and further employment while supporting UK manufacturing through the adoption of this versatile manufacturing process.