Additive manufacturing

The GE MLab 200R is a type of laser metal additive manufacturing machine. It is designed for use in various research, manufacturing and production environments and offers high accuracy and fast printing speeds. It supports a range of metal powder materials and is compatible with a range of software platforms for file preparation and control.

The GE Concept Laser M2 is a high-performance industrial-grade 3D printer. It is designed for the production of complex metal parts and components using the process of laser powderbed fusion. The machine features a pair of high-precision lasers, a variety of recoater types, an optionally heated build plate and advanced software that allows for customizable layer thickness and optimized material usage. The M2 is widely used in industries such as aerospace, automotive and medical devices for production of functional prototypes and production parts.

The GE A2X - Electron Beam Melting machine is a manufacturing process used to produce high-quality metal parts. This process uses an electron beam to melt and fuse metal powders in a heated chamber high vacuum environment. The electron beam heats the metal powder to a high temperature, causing it to melt and fuse together. This process can be used to produce parts with very good chemistry, accuracy and consistency. It is often used in aerospace and medical industries to produce complex and critical components.

The GE Spectra H - Electron Beam Melting is a manufacturing process used to produce high-quality metal parts. This process uses an electron beam to melt and fuse metal powders in a heated chamber high vacuum environment. The electron beam heats the metal powder to a high temperature, causing it to melt and fuse together. This technology is used for applications in aerospace, defence, and medical industries as it provides high quality and consistency in the end product. This process can be used to produce parts with very good chemistry, accuracy and consistency. It is often used in aerospace and medical industries to produce complex and critical components.

The Stirweld FSW head is a unique attachment that allows existing 3, 4 or 5-axis CNC machine tools to perform friction stir welds using a spring-loaded tool holder that protects the spindle against loads and vibrations. When these springs are compressed by bringing the head a set distance from the workpieces, the resultant forging force pushes the rotating tool into the material, generating the friction, heat and compression required to make a successful weld. 

The Lithoz Cerafab 7500 is a high-precision digital ceramic 3D printing system.  Using the Light Curing Method, it is capable of producing ceramic parts with exceptional accuracy, surface quality, and strength. The Cerafab 7500 is used in a wide range of applications including biomedical implants, opto-electronics and high-tech industries.

The Delta WASP 40100 Clay is an FDM professional system for ceramic 3D printing. Accurate and reliable, it is successfully used in prototyping and small-scale manufacturing.  It can print directly on the floor or on an intermediate removable steel surface (60 cm from the ground).

The Noztek Pro Extruder is a is a filament extruder that converts pellets or chips of plastic into a melted, extruded filament that can be used in an FDM 3D printer. The Noztek Pro Extruder features an advanced design that includes temperature control, a powerful feed motor, and a flexible, easy-to-use interface.

The Noztek fusionX Extruder is a single screw hot melt extruder used for exotic manufacturing. It has interchangeable blending blades to help refine the mixing process, three independent temperature sensors, and the ability to connect to a computer for accurate real-time monitoring.  It has a maximum temperature of 450^oC.

The 200 Series 3D Platform Work Bench is a large format dual nozzle Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) machine. The 200 series workbench is designed for large format 3D printing, meaning that it is capable of handling prints that are significantly larger in size than standard FDM 3D printing equipment. It features a durable construction, designed to withstand the demands of 3D printing, and it is built to meet the needs of professional and industrial users.

The Prusa i3 MK3S is an FDM machine that allows the user to create three-dimensional objects from digital models by depositing successive layers of material. The MK3S is an updated version of the Prusa i3, and it features improved hardware, software, and print quality compared to its predecessor. The MK3S is also equipped with features such as automatic bed leveling, filament run-out sensor, and improved cooling system, making the printing process easier and more efficient.

The AON M2+ is a high chamber temperature FDM printer, for manufacturing strong, high-performance polymer parts in materials such as PEEK, PEKK or ULTEMTM. The machine can achieve parts with high crystallinity, reduced part porosity by using advanced process controls such as water-cooled hot ends and an actively heated build volume. It is equipped with independent dual extruders.

The FUNMAT HT is a single nozzle high chamber temperature FDM printer with a build volume of 260 x 260 x 260 mm. Achieves 50-micron high-resolution industrial quality 3D printing.

The advanced thermal system design of this 3D printer includes:

90°C constant temperature chamber

160 °C heated build plate

450 °C high-temperature extruder with an all-metal hot end

The Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K is an ultra-high resolution small form factor LCD resin 3D printer.  It uses a photopolymer resin cured by UV light passing through an 8K resolution LCD mask.  The 8K LCD with 165 x 72 x 180 mm build volume creates an impressively high level of detail, with a lateral resolution of 22 microns.  This machine is useful in cases where very high level of detail is required, or for the creation of intricate parts.

The Phrozen Sonic Mega 8k is an ultra-high resolution large form factor LCD resin 3D printer. It uses a photopolymer resin cured by UV light passing through an 8K resolution LCD mask.  The 8K LCD with 330 x 185 x 400 mm build volume creates an impressively high level of detail, with a lateral resolution of 43 microns. This machine is useful in cases where very high level of detail is required for large parts.

The Formlabs Form 3+ is an advanced desktop 3D printer optimized for biocompatible materials.  The Light Processing Unit (LPU) inside the printer uses a system of lenses and mirrors to deliver accurate, repeatable prints with smooth surface finish, high detail, and incredible clarity. It has a XY resolution of 25 microns to print high details parts.  The Form 3+ is optimised for biocompatible materials but can also print with Formlabs full range of Form 3 resins including standard, jewellery, engineering, dental and medical resins.

The FormLabs 3BL features two 250 mW lasers and builds at 25-micron layers. This machine features a large format build chamber 335 × 200 × 300 mm supporting a good range of resin materials including biocompatible/FDA Certified material. Useful to 3D print adult patient-specific anatomy at 1:1 scale or large medical devices in one build. This printer is compatible with the majority of the Formlabs SLA materials library, including biocompatible, sterilisable materials for parts such as:

• Large parts requiring biocompatibility and sterilization compatibility
• Full-size, anatomical models at 1:1 scale, including paediatric and adult anatomy
• Medical device prototypes, jigs, fixtures, assemblies, and end-use parts
• Surgeon-specific or patient-specific surgical tools
• Surgical planning models for diagnostic use in FDA-cleared workflows
• Large-format research and development with advanced materials

• Turbula Shaker Mixer - Used for mixing powders and granular materials, it has a unique 3D shaking motion that ensures thorough blending and consistent results, even for complex and delicate samples. It also has speed and timer controls to allow for reproducible mixing conditions. Its design ensures stability during operation, minimising the risk of sample contamination.
• Software
  • Materialise Magics - A powerful digital model analysis software which is used to set up the 3D printing workflow for both the laser and electron beam metal powder printers. The software can also be used to repair digital models before they are used in other additive manufacturing technologies in our facility.
  • FLOW-3D - A robust simulation software that can be used to emulate the flow of liquid or gas under complex scenarios using computational fluid dynamics. This software can also be used to understand how the melt and layering processes work in various additive manufacturing technologies for research purposes. 
  • MSC Software - An engineering design simulation software that can validate and optimise a structure for additive manufacturing.
  • Solidworks - A highly capable computer aided design (CAD) software used to make complex digital designs for 3D printing.
  • Rhino - A commercial computer-aided design (CAD) software application that uses Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) to create complex shapes and surfaces. Overall, its NURBS modelling capabilities, point cloud support, and compatibility with a wide range of file formats make Rhino a versatile and powerful tool for design, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping.
  • Peregrine - A data analytics, artificial intelligence, in-situ sensing, and characterisation software technology demonstrator for powder bed Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes. Peregrine operates as a stand-alone, desktop software application. A primary objective of the Peregrine tool suite is interoperability and maintaining agnosticism relative to the printer and the in-situ sensor configuration. Therefore, it is possible to seamlessly collect, analyse, and visualise data from Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (EB-PBF), and Binder Jetting technologies within a common graphical user interface.

Abrasive blasting (glass beads & garnet), vibropolishing (plastic media/metal media), rumbling, hand tool finishing. Machining services are outsourced.

• Makino U6 HEAT EDM Machine - the controlled electrical discharge process generates a non-contact electric discharge phenomenon between an electrode and workpiece which was immersed into the dielectric fluid.  The controllable discharge power allow machine to perform high precision and fine machining process. A wire electrical discharge machine is an electrical discharge machine which performs electrical discharge machining by using a wire electrode. The range of wire electrode used from 0.05-0.4mm wire diameter based on the WEDM vertical machine models. The machine can hold a workpiece 910 L x 710 W x 420 H mm.
• Glass Bead Blaster
• Ceramic Rumbler - for finishing of parts with 3 grades of rumbling aggregate available- fine, medium & course.