Pilot plant for the development and manufacturing of Net Shape parts: Powder metallurgical processes for metals and ceramics, Powder injection moulding and Additive Manufacturing.

DESCRIPTION

The pilot plant is formed by different equipments and processes:
1.- Raw material conditioning:
• Mixing-Milling: different types of mixers and milling equipments: attritor milling, ball milling turbula mixer,..
• Granulation: Spray dryer and fluidized bed for solvent and water based mixtures for raw materials mixture and granulation. Compositions can be tailored with this equipment and raw material can be granulated to different sizes optimized for further processing technologies.
• Feedstock preparation equipments: feedstocks for PIM process and materials extrusion additive manufacturing processes: Double sigma kneader for feedstock mixing, Twin Screw extruder for feedstock preparation and Extrusion Plastometer - Melt Flow Indexer from Tinius Olsen for feedstock rheology and quality control measurement.
• Synthesis: ceramics and cermets synthesis by means of SHS (Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis) process.
2.- Forming:
• Cold Pressing: uniaxial pressing
• PIM (Powder Injection Moulding): Powder Injection Moulding Equipments: Arburg Allrounder 270C-300-100 Injection Moulding (ceramics, metals, polymers and composites and/or alloys); Baby plast injection moulding machine and Battendeld– Microsystem 50 Micro-injection Moulding of micro components.
• Additive Manufacturing: Binder jetting (Innovent ExOne) equipment for production of medium size (65x65x160mm) 3D samples with this additive manufacturing technology. Material Extrusion equipment for metals and ceramics 3D.
3.- Sintering:
• Pressureless sintering: high vacuum refractory metal furnaces up to 2000ºC and air furnaces up to 1600ºC, among other small furnaces for working in several atmospheres and up to different temperatures, high vacuum tungsten furnace (GERO) and Microwave sintering.
• Pressure assisted sintering: two hot presses up to 100Tn and 2200ºC (FCT and Vacuum Industries Hot Press); Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) furnace, Electrical Resistance Sintering (ERS) equipment, pressure assisted microwave sintering.

6.2.- Most outstanding equipment and components (maximum 5 units) Acquisition Date