PTB Industry News

URI's Rapid Manufacturing Center to
Install Optomec LENS System

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, Aug. 25 -- The University of Rhode Island's Rapid Manufacturing Center (URI RMC) will receive an Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) system from Optomec Design Company, courtesy of funding from the URI Foundation. Developed at Sandia National Laboratories, Optomec's LENS system builds fully dense metal parts from a CAD file, addressing a wide range of metalworking applications.

The LENS system includes a high-powered laser (nd:YAG), which is focused onto a substrate where metallic powder is injected under computer control to build 3D parts, layer by layer, until the part is complete. Optomec says that due to LENS's novel direct metal deposition additive process, new applications and enhancements to traditional metalworking applications are being developed.

"The purchase of this new equipment will enable us to significantly accelerate the pace of our research," said Dr. Brent Stucker, URI RMC director and associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering. The RMC's stated goal is "to improve upon and create new links between product design and product manufacture by developing advanced materials, processes, and techniques that will directly benefit industry."

"Optomec is looking forward to working closely with URI's Rapid Manufacturing Center to enhance LENS's capability in the emerging Laser Free Forming market," said Doyle Miller, president of Optimec. Miller -- along with LENS inventor David Keicher -- left Sandia to commercialize the LENS technology. Optimec has become a member of the URI RMC.

The LENS system is designed to mix material in a layered or gradient deposition. Optimec says that this allows production of intricate material combinations in complex geometries, out of hard-to-machine materials. The technology is being commercialized for a variety of applications including:

• Tooling: Optimec claims that LENS's thermal-management capabilities can improve cycle times by 50 percent.
• Repair and Overhaul: LENS's small heat affected zone (HAZ) allows for higher yield and superior part repairs, says the company.
• Functional Prototyping and Short-Run Production: According to Optimec, the LENS system produces parts with outstanding mechanical properties (high strength and ductility).
• Materials Research: Optimec intends to address a wide range of current and emerging aerospace and automotive applications.

"LENS technology will help the RMC to develop breakthrough materials and process technology to manufacture rapid, low-cost production tools, which will perform to -- or exceed -- the exacting standards of conventional production tools," said Dr. Stucker. "We also plan to utilize LENS technology to develop production die-cast tooling that will improve tool life for die-casting of aluminum and magnesium, and will hopefully lead to die-cast tooling for higher-temperature materials, such as steels and titaniums."

URI RMC provides its Industrial Members with a wide range of services, including the production of parts at reduced costs. LENS technology will be available to RMC members and non-members for a fee. Laser Fare -- a laser-based materials processing group -- has already awarded a contract to the RMC for work on LENS equipment and will supply engineering support for it.

"This is a great addition to RMC's capabilities," said Terry Feeley, president of Laser Fare Advanced Technology Group (ATG). "We believe this technology is of immediate value to our aerospace and medical customers."