Effect of SLM on maintenance process

This chapter in our blog will describe what measure Promatrix currently take to maintain their machines and how this would change if they would switch from CNC milling to SLM printing. The maintenance done by companies can be divided into three categories: corrective, preventive and condition based maintenance. Which type of maintenance best fits a company depends on the impact of malfunction and the importance of an efficient production line.

First of the current process. As mentioned previously Promatrix uses CNC milling to construct their molds. CNC milling is a technique that uses a fast spinning tool to cut a mold out of a piece of raw material. At the moment Promatrix is focussed on Preventive maintenance. Precautions they take in order to keep their machines from malfunctioning are: fine tuning tools, refreshing cooling liquid & oil and a big inspection. The tuning of the tools and the refreshing of the cooling liquid & oil is done weekly whilst the big inspection is done once every 2 years.
Fine tuning the tools means the different tools with in the milling machine are check to determine whether they are still of the right quality. If this check is not done regularly operators will have no idea whether the tools are still fit to produce their molds. When unfit tools  are used there is a higher chance molds can not offer the margins of error agreed upon with the customer.
If the machines run out of cooling liquid or oil it can cause the machine to overheat or get stuck. To prevent this from happening  the levels of these liquids are regularly check and replenished if need be.
When the big inspection is done once every 2 years the machine s are taken apart by the operators of Promatrix to check if there are any irregularities.

Promatrix could switch to another way of producing their molds. This is SLM printing. SLM is a printing technique that used a high-powered laser to fully melt and fuse metallic powder together (Nano Today, 2017). To stick to the current preventive maintenance strategy Promatrix can undertake the following action: periodically getting rid of dust dirt or other harmful debris in & on the printer and checking the lasers characteristics. (dddrop, sd)
Getting rid of debris will ensures that the platform of the printer is level. If the surface would be crooked or uneven this would cause irregularities in the finished product. This has to be done every 10 production hours (Bosch, 2022).
Emptying the air channels  to make sure the printer stays on the right temperature. This needs to be done every 500 prouction hours (Bosch, 2022)If the laser is to hot it will melt more then it is meant to and If it is to cold it might not melt the metal fully. Both cases will have an uneven surface as a result.
A third precaution Promatrix could take is putting the SLM printer in a separate with little to no dirt or dust in the air. This will prevent the machine from becoming dirty. (dddrop, sd)

The big inspection done by Promatrix themselves would need to be outsourced since their operators would not know as much about these new machines. Checking them without help from the outside will therefore not have the same positive result as it had with the CNC machines. This would need to be outsourced in order to maintain their machines. However this maintenance is not necessary with a SLM printer. (Bosch, 2022)

 

Source list

Bosch, R. (2022, September 22). maintenance SLS printer. (M. Linskens, Interviewer)

dddrop. (n.d.). blog/how-to-maintain-your-3d-printer. Retrieved from dddrop.com: https://dddrop.com/blog/how-to-maintain-your-3d-printer/

Jacobs, F. R. (2020). ISE Operations and Supply Chain Management. McGraw-Hill Education.

Nano Today. (2017). topics/materials-science/selective-laser-melting. Retrieved from www.sciencedirect.com: sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/selective-laser-melting#:~:text=Selective%20laser%20melting%20(SLM)%20is,to%2099.9%25%20relative%20density).

Promatrix. (2022, september 20). Informatie bedrijf. (B. Verschuuren, Interviewer)