Kingsbury, a growing force in the Gulf's additive manufactory industry, has been appointed to represent German WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing) equipment builder GEFERTEC GmbH.

 

Already the sole sales and service agent in the UK, Ireland and the Gulf for two metal additive manufacturing (AM) machine producers in France, the European deal is the latest to be inked by Kingsbury which, in 2018, launched its Gulf operations.

 

Its regional operations - set up in recognition of the Gulf’s potential to be a worldwide leader in harnessing the power of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology and embracing a transformational approach to shaping the future of manufacturing cater to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, addressing the high demand for high quality metal-forming machines across the aerospace, industrial, medical, transport and energy sectors.

 

Richard Kingsbury, Managing Director of Kingsbury, said: "GEFERTEC's metal AM technology fits perfectly with our existing French agency lines of AddUp powder-bed laser fusion machines and production lines, and direct energy deposition equipment from its BeAM subsidiary.

 

“There are tremendous advantages with Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). Chief amongst these is that standard MIG/MAG welding wire is used as the raw feedstock to create parts rapidly within a large build envelope. Such wire is relatively inexpensive and readily available in a wide range of metals.

 

"GEFERTEC's proprietary 3DMP technology, which is a CAD to layer-by-layer arc welding process on a machine platform controlled by the familiar Siemens 840D CNC, transforms our offering to customers,” he said.

 

Tobias Röhrich, CEO of GEFERTEC, added: "Kingsbury is a perfect partner for GEFERTEC with more than 60 years of experience in the relevant markets and industries. We share the same vision of offering our customers more than just hardware but looking for a long-term cooperation. With Kingsbury’s expertise and passion for manufacturing, we will make the benefits of 3DMP a success for our customers too.”

 

The manufacturing process involves taking a CAD model of the metal part to be produced, which can be up to three cubic metres in size and up to three tonnes in weight, creating a layer-by-layer AM program in 3DMP CAM software, and 3D printing the near-net-shape component by bead-on-bead melting and deposition of welding wire using heat generated by the electric arc. The component profile is checked using a scanner mounted in the machine, after which the surfaces are 3- or 5-axis milled or turned to achieve the required shape, surface finish and accuracy, the statement said.

 

WAAM is applicable to an extensive range of metals, provided that they are in wire form. The list includes stainless, mild and tool steels as well as alloys of nickel, titanium, copper and aluminium; indeed, any metal that can be welded. Multiple materials can be combined in a single structure, internal voids may be produced as with other types of AM, and there is very little material wastage.

 

Parts produced have high density and strong mechanical properties comparable to those manufactured by traditional subtractive methods. The technique is also suited to repair of worn parts, application of wear coatings and reverse engineering of legacy components, it said.

 

Target industries are aerospace, especially for producing high quality titanium and nickel alloy parts, tool and mould making, the rail sector and job shops with their small batch sizes. Compared with traditional subtractive machining, cost savings of up to 70 per cent have been reported when processing difficult-to-machine alloys and up to 50 per cent when dealing with other metals, it said.

 

Launched in 2018 with a portfolio of state-of-the-art German and French machinery and with 60 years of UK expertise, Kingsbury Gulf has since expanded its reach Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman from its base in Dubai. 

 

The suppliers’ extensive portfolio includes leading industry manufacturers such as Burkhardt + Weber, Waldrich Coburg, Haas, Index Traub, SHW Werkzeugmaschinen, Hermle, Zimmerman, and AddUp, a leading manufacturer of additive 3D printing machine tools.  - TradeArabia News Service