piab helps businesses in additive manufacturing with automated powder handling

Vacuum conveyors by piab are recommended for the additive sector.

Firing Industries Ltd. supplies leading powder-handing solutions by piab, whose vacuum-conveyor technology is a boon to metal-powder handling in additive manufacturing. This application is potentially hazardous to employee health, and metal powder has high value as an ingredient, so handling this powder needs special attention. It is important to ensure the purity of this powder and avoid cross-contamination or segregation. piab vacuum conveyors offer the perfect solution.

Compliant with ATEX, noise requirements

These vacuum conveyors comply with the additive industry’s requirements for building height, noise levels, and ATEX certification. piab vacuum technology is perfect for transferring metal powder, due to a contained and enclosed system that minimizes exposure to dangerous dust. It also prevents contamination by impurities from other particles, maintaining the structure of metal-powder units. piab has configured specific setups of its premium piFLOW^®p vacuum conveyor for varying pure metal and alloy type and production types.

Using a piFLOW^®p conveyor requires a few easy steps. The device transports virgin or reclaimed metal powder from a sieve, metal barrel, or hopper to the printer, in a direct way that increases productivity and worker safety. The piFLOW^®p also feeds this powder to sieves or hoppers from the original container, which results in automated process and higher productivity, as opposed to manual operation, which is dangerous and relies on the operator. Finally, this conveyor from Firing Industries can transport this expensive, hazardous metal powder from the printer to a sieve or barrel through an enclosed system.

piab has run many tests with additive materials to find suitable conveyor setups. The testers assumed that the powder container was stored at a different location from the printer’s location; for quantities from 200 to 500 kilograms, distances of up to 50 metres were achievable, as well as height differences of up to eight metres. Based on internal tests and designs, piab recommends a PLR02 filter and 32-millimetre conveying line with a 200 pump, or a PLR04 filter and 32- or 38-millimetre conveying line with a 400 pump, both with a three-litre piFLOW^®p.

To learn more, contact Firing Industries’ application-sales engineers at ddubuc@firing.com or (877) 688-0974.

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