Rohde & Schwarz installs Solukon’s SFM-AT350 system

The additive manufacturing team at the Rohde & Schwarz facility in Teisnach, Germany, has recently commissioned a Solukon SFM-AT350. Rohde & Schwarz, through its three corporate divisions – Test & Measurement, Technology Systems, and Networks & Cybersecurity – has been redefining the boundaries of technical feasibility in developing cutting-edge technology for the past 90 years. Its products and solutions empower customers from business, government, and the public sector to shape their technological and digital sovereignty.

In Teisnach, the team led by Peter Scherer, the Head of Additive Manufacturing, produces a wide range of applications from RF components to heat exchangers using 3D printing based on the LPBF process. To ensure optimal performance of these components, meticulous post-processing is essential. An important step in this process is depowdering – which is where the SFM-AT350 depowdering system comes in.

The SFM-AT350 is designed for depowdering medium-size parts up to 100kg, with maximum dimensions of 400 x 400 x 400mm, or 500 x 280 x 400mm. The system’s compact structure ensures low inert gas consumption, ample freedom of movement, and top-notch cleaning quality. It features adjustable pneumatic vibration and a high-frequency knocker that disperses powder clumps in the components manufactured on a dual-laser TruPrint 2000. The optional sensor and interface kit Digital-Factory-Tool enhances the depowdering operation by tracking all relevant data and summarizing it in a protocol file.

Depending on workload, the Solukon system handles two to four cleaning jobs per week at Rohde & Schwarz, with increasing frequency as their 3D printing transitions to serial production. Stainless steel and aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) parts are depowdered. Since aluminum is reactive, the SFM-AT350 chamber is inerted with protective gas before cleaning. The current challenge is to remove powder from interior channels and support structures, a task the SFM-AT350 reportedly accomplishes to the customer’s satisfaction.

“We are very pleased with both the cleaning quality and the quality of the Solukon system itself. The system is very easy to operate and we have not had any malfunctions or problems yet,” said Peter Scherer. “Short coordination channels with a German manufacturer, a high system quality, and safe concepts were very important to us, and Solukon completely fulfilled our requirements in the best possible way.”