Norway’s Industrial AM acquires RoboWAAM system from WAAM3D

Industrial AM, a metal 3D printing service provider based in Norway, has acquired a RoboWAAM Advanced metal 3D printing system from WAAM3, a company founded in 2018 by a research team from Cranfield University This brings the number of deposition systems sold by WAAM3D since 2020 to 19, reaching as many as ten countries globally. Industrial AM is owned by MOMEK Robotics, Testpartner and Kunnskapsparken Helgeland and works with petroleum, process and mineral industry, aquaculture, and power industry customers to deliver more sustainably produced large-scale metal components.

Dr Filomeno Martina, CEO and co-founder of WAAM3D commented: “We are delighted to work with Industrial AM and be their first choice for large-scale metal AM capabilities. Their use cases are incredibly varied and interesting, and the Norwegian market is an exciting one. The incredible wealth of experience in related technologies brought by Industrial AM and their backers matches perfectly with our pursuit here at WAAM3D for non-stop innovation. We look forward to working with them on industrial projects with real end-use applications.”

Thomas Borgen at Industrial AM added: “We are excited to be collaborating with WAAM3D. The purchase of their RoboWAAM Advanced platform will be game-changing for our work with world leading clients in the oil and gas, process and mineral, aquaculture, and renewables industries. We are very pleased to be a pioneer in the growing industry of large-scale 3D metal printing here in Norway and with WAAM3D we are buying not just a machine, but the company’s leading-edge processes and expertise as well.”

RoboWAAM Advanced is WAAM3D’s prime technology demonstrator platform. Since its award-winning launch in April 2022, it continues to be developed further, and has received high levels of market validation, thanks to the many innovative solutions it features:

• Real time ShapeTech: this is a brand-new interferometric sensor which reconstructs the 3D profile of the deposited structure, extracting the layer height value all around the component. It gives immediate confidence in the consistency of deposition and in the achievement of key geometrical targets, whilst printing is in progress, eliminating the need for lengthy laser scans or touch-probe quality checks.
• Double-point temperature measurement capability: leading the deposition to ensure consistent printing conditions; and trailing the deposition for in-process parameters checks.
• Electronic wire positioning for increased process stability.
• Dual wire feeder for increased deposition rates.
• Fume Management System (FMSTM) with onboard fume confinement, filtration, and treatment.
• Global shielding for deposition of reactive materials with fully automatic purging, atmosphere maintenance, and evacuation cycles, with the alternative of a new local shielding option for out-of-chamber deposition.
• Process camera for remote melt-pool imaging, combined with CCTV for safe machine supervision.
• Bulk wire storage and large spool capability (70 kg), for longer uptimes and reduced operator’s intervention.
• Standalone plug and play installation on shopfloor with full health and safety compliance.

Industrial AM has also chosen the full suite of WAAM3D’s software, including WAAMPlanner, WAAmKeys, WAAMSim and WAAMCtrl.