2017 AMUG Conference

REM Surface Engineering is preparing for AMUG Conference 2017. Join us for our presentation on Surface Texture Anatomy of Additive Manufacturing Components: The Art of Surface Superfinishing by authors: Agustin Diaz, Rich Merlino, and Cesar Terrazas.

Abstract:

In the past years we have experienced a growing demand for additive manufactured (AM) components in the aerospace and medical devices industries. However, AM produced components have an intrinsic problem—their surfaces are extremely rough and packed with multiple layers of partially melted/sintered powder and significant defects. In order to be approved for aerospace or biomedical applications, AM-built parts need to be surface finished to remove their “as-produced” surface roughness and meet the needs of the industry. There is a clear need for new surface finishing (post-processing) techniques capable of not only improving the appearance of the AM produced components, but also that are capable of removing the surface defects while improving their mechanical strength in the process. In order to address this need, REM Surface Engineering is developing a new AM program based on their already existing technology ISF® (isotropic superfinishing) process. We will discuss how the ISF® process can be utilized to overcome the challenges to produce surface-finished components that meet the standards of the industry. We will present our recently engineered design, the Extreme ISF® Process, and our traditional ISF® Process. So far the process has been shown to improve the surface of complex components, removing the partially melted/sintered metal particles from the surface, and improving bending fatigue and tensile strength. Moreover, we will also discuss the best methods for the characterization of these surfaces using surface texture parameters that correlate accordingly with the dynamic mechanical performance of the components.