PERFORMANCE W
hen your first release turned out to be such a big hit, it’s only natural to experience classic second album nerves. It’s a feeling DyeMansion founders Felix Ewald and Philipp Kramer are now familiar with after the highly anticipated launch of their next-generation additive manufacturing (AM) post-processing technology. “We have a reputation in the market and need to fulfil that,” says Kramer, DyeMansion’s CTO, of the extensive testing the new systems have undergone in preparation for the big reveal. “Pilot testing is essential.” That reputation has been built on a wealth of successful adoption stories from customers like Daimler, ic! Berlin and ProGlove which have used DyeMansion’s technology to add color and injection mold-like finish to their powderbased polymer parts. Even Oprah’s a fan. The Munich-based company is now building on that momentum with three new products, launched in March, including a new Powershot Performance series and the next generation of its classic Powershot C & S post-processing systems. The centerpiece is the new Powershot DUAL Performance which, in a first for the company, provides both depowdering and surface treatment processes in a single system. It’s laser focused on industrialization according to Ewald, DyeMansion's CEO, built for the socalled “factory of the future” and high-volume production. Launching alongside it are the Powershot C Performance for cleaning and the Powershot S Performance for surfacing, which the company describes as the “next-level” in blasting technology. The series is the first to feature DyeMansion’s integrated wide trough Multi Belt, which allows users to automate the loading and unloading of parts and is capable of processing full-sized build jobs with an increased load capacity of 150%. For reference, you could process around 500 eyewear frames in a single job. Despite this bigger capacity, DyeMansion says the DUAL actually takes up 60% less workspace compared to the current Powershot models, while efficiency has also increased with process times now up to 20% less than that of previous systems. Parts go in, excess powder is removed, surfacing automatically starts and once finished, parts can then be rolled out from the belt and onto a tray, ready for any additional post-processing steps.
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Also new are the “PolyShot Cleaning” process and plastic blasting medium, an alternative to the industry standard glass beads, which have been engineered to deliver the optimum shape, size and weight for powder removal without causing damage to parts. The process is expected to enable a wider range of process parameters and improve the depowdering of challenging materials such as TPU. PolyShot Cleaning is compatible with the next-generation Powershot and Performance series and can be used with all common powder-bed technologies.
AUTOMATION-READY
The primary focus for the Performance series is around the requirements of industrial production environments: quality assurance, traceability, connectivity and automation. With those factors in mind, DyeMansion says these new Performance models will enable traceability throughout the complete production chain through connectivity to MES and ERP systems, and full integration into automated production setups. The series has been designed for flexibility, to allow machines to easily slot into real, dynamic manufacturing spaces and complement current automation setups. Ewald explained: “There are different automation concepts and we want to make sure that our systems perfectly fit into all of those systems. So, it’s really about being automationready and our goal is just to have machines that customers can easily integrate into their automation concept.” Building on an existing collaboration, the launch also sees DyeMansion working with Siemens to equip the new line-up with new features which aim to “set the stage” for automation in AM. Karsten Heuser, VP Additive Manufacturing Siemens Digital Industries described the Performance series as, “the next milestone in the strategic partnership between DyeMansion and Siemens towards industrialized additive manufacturing.”
FUTURE-READY
Ewald says the classic series is “a perfect entry level product” for the automation of manual post-printing steps, while the Performance series brings additional capabilities which
