Vacuum cleaners for safety in additive manufacturing

Works safely in additive manufacturing with Dupuy industrial vacuum cleaners.

Additive manufacturing has revolutionized the field of prototyping.

In the last years, in the field of research and development, there has been an exponential increase in the use of 3D printers with additive technology. Where before there was a need to create a mould for the realization of prototypes and models, now a printer with laser technology builds the object level after level, using powders of various kinds.

The technology of “Powder bed fusion”

The processing consist of a first level of deposit of metal or plastic powder in the working room (powder bed); then the powder is heated and melted grain by grain to create solid material that will then compose the object.
When the printer finishes scanning and melting the dust of the level, the worktop will be lowered to allow the deposit of a new level of dust in the same amount as the previous one.
This step-by-step procedure will be carried out until the complete realization of the artifact.

How it works

There are several techniques to heat and melt the powder, below the most used:

Thermal fusion
Laser fusion
Electron beam fusion
Fusion with agents and energy

Powder bed fusion

Where DUPUY Industrial vacuum cleaners intervene

It is therefore clear that at the end of the process the working chamber will be full of residual dust that will have to be removed after each cycle to avoid:

Cross contamination between different production cycles, resulting in loss of product quality and integrity;

Hazards to the health of employees, fine dust can be inhaled with consequent health problems while metallic dust could damage the skin;

Risk of explosion, where the processing is carried out with conductive metallic or plastic powders, the latter must be treated after aspiration;

The creation of a dirty environment, keeping the working area clean and healthy;

A good industrial vacuum cleaner also allows the recovery and reuse of the dust. Depending on the printer, up to 70% of the remaining dust from the previous cycle can be used. It is also essential for accurate final cleaning of the printer.

Kind of powders

In order to choose the right vacuum cleaner, it is necessary to analyse the powders used during the process. The values to be taken in consideration are the following:

Morphology
Density
Composition
Smoothness
Thermal properties
Combustibility
Conductivity

The values of conductivity and combustibility are the most important in the choice of the type of aspirator.
In the case of non-conductive combustible dust, the ideal vacuum cleaner will be equipped with antistatic filter, earth grounding and brushless motor, certified ATEX zone 22 for cleaning in total safety.
With combustible and conductive powders DUPUY has instead designed a special version with inertizing bath inside the container.

Our vacuum solution

The W2 certified ATEX zone 22 (Ex II 3D tc IIIB 135 and C X Dc) IP55 is the industrial vacuum cleaner suitable for the collection of non-conductive combustible plastic powders:

1 powerful brushless motor
Large antistatic polyester star filter cat. “M”
Additional Hepa H14 absolute filter available (optional)
Stainless steel container
Earth Grounding
Compact size for the best ergonomics

Du-Puy has developed a version of this vacuum cleaner suitable for working with combustible and conductive metal powders. The collection concept has been completely reconsidered by equipping the container with an immersion system to neutralize dust.

W2 XR MDI

Container with inertizing oil bath

When the dust is vacuumed, it is immersed in an inertizing oil bath and filtered by a PPL filter. Even in the event of an accidental explosion, due to incorrect use of the vacuum cleaner, there is an overpressure valve inside the container that conveys the force limiting the effects in total safety.
It is also available the filter separator with inertizing bath to connect to other models of vacuum cleaners with larger capacity and power.

SEP FILTRANTE

The advantages are:

Simple disposal of vacuum dust
Simplified oil discharge
4 filtration stages
Reusable oil
Exchangeable container or filtering preseparator suitable for matching with any industrial vacuum cleaner