Process-integrated post-processing of high-precision additive manufactured metal parts

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Nanogrande (NG) is a solution provider in the high-precision metal additive manufacturing (AM) field, combining AM, nanotechnology and machine learning. They provide unique freedom of design and material choice for high-precision parts by their developed 3D printer combining its Power Layering technology with laser sintering. However, most of the generated micro metal parts for NG's markets require post-processing steps. As additional process steps appear to be undesired, deploying post-processing could have an additional benefit of reducing the overall manufacturing time by balancing layer height and the polishing process to reduce the surface roughness of the generated metal micro-parts. Among other methods, electrochemical polishing (EP) seems the most suitable candidate for post-processing such parts. Nevertheless, EP is still unexplored in combination with this novel high-precision 3D printing method and NG is lacking the required expertise on such post-processes.The proposed project aims to find a trade-off between layer thickness, printing speed and polishing. An optimum should be achieved to get smooth and flat surfaces to maintain high quality parts at reasonable fabrication time. Secondary, the project aims to acquire more knowledge of the printing technology and its interaction with post-processes. To solidify their unique market position it is key for NG to improve their 3D printing process-flow and to increase their expertise. The proposed project aims to support this mission by exploring post-processing integration in NG's printing process and study the deposition process. Since NG is based in Montréal, expanding and improving their patented 3D printing technology will secure their leading market position in the customized metal product manufacturing field and could lead to the creation of new jobs thereby providing a benefit to Canada overall.