3D printing: Heat treatment is a necessary step to insure the physical integrity of additive manufactured parts

ECM TECHNOLOGIES, a French manufacturer betting on innovation

ECM TECHNOLOGIES, manufactures heat-treatment vacuum furnaces, and is renowned throughout the world for its innovative solutions. At the end of 2015, ECM TECHNOLOGIES will equip the Technical Centre for Mechanical Industry (CETIM) with a horizontal furnace dedicated to high temperature treatment of metal parts produced by additive manufacturing.

3D printing has many advantages for manufacturers, and the technology is used in the Medical, Automotive and Aerospace fields, where high quality standards are essential.

After the fusion of metal particles, when they are laid out or projected into required shape, the part is heat-treated to reorganize its structure. This produces excellent mechanical properties. The ECM TECHNOLOGIES furnace allows stress-relieving heat treatment to be carried out.

The ECM TECHNOLOGIES vacuum heat treatment: a guarantee of quality and reliability

The stress-relieving, solution treatment and annealing heat-treatments achieved in the Turquoise vacuum furnace range are specifically adapted to alloys prone to oxidation such as Nickel, Titanium, Cobalt-Chrome-Molybdenum, and Tungsten, which need to be treated in a primary or secondary vacuum.

The ECM TECHNOLOGIES Turquoise furnace:

• Low-pressure treatment at 600 °C for the stress-relieving: necessary phase to relieve constraints and stress due to additive manufacturing,

• Treatment under high-temperature controlled atmosphere from 800 to 900 °C for the solution-treatment of products and oxides in order to increase the mechanical strength and optimize the strain strength,

• Accelerated cooling: controlled cooling process reducing cycle time.

• Possibility to heat up to 1,800 °C for specific applications.

These technical properties make the ECM TECHNOLOGIES Turquoise range furnaces an innovative solution dedicated to cutting-edge sectors such as the Medical or Aerospace industries.

• Heat treatments under vacuum and controlled atmosphere are a guarantee for the creation of reliable and biocompatible parts.

• Flexible, it adapts to production requirements and optimizes its costs due to an efficient and robust heating process.

• Advanced and intuitive monitoring tool allowing to pilot and process data-acquisition,

• AMS 2750 and AMS 2769 compliant, this furnace is compatible with Aeronautic applications.

We offer a standard-dimensions range of vacuum furnaces and also tailored dimensions on request.