Innovation is Key

Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd and m2nxt launched India’s first commercially available Laser-Directed-Energy-Deposition (L-DED) machines with Hybrid and Robot configurations on June 1, 2022, at their Bengaluru headquarters.

Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd (BFW) and m2nxt (a BFW subsidiary), India’s leading CNC and Industry 4.0 machines and solutions companies, have launched the Photon 1000H and the Photon 1000R, India’s first commercially available Laser DED-based Hybrid and Robot Metal 3D Printing machines.

The formal launch ceremony for the Photon 1000 series took place on June 1, 2022, at the BFW headquarters in Bengaluru, at the hands of the Chief Guest Dr Ashwath Narayan CN, Minister of Electronics, Information Technology - Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka and the Guest of Honor Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Member, Niti Aayog and Former Director General, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Indian Minister of Defence, who was present online.

Also present were TR Parasuraman, President & Wholetime Director, Toyota Industries Engine India Pvt Ltd; Dr S Devarajan, Sr Vice President, TVS Motors Company Ltd; Jaspreet Sidhu, CEO-NCAM; Brian Matthews, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Meltio, along with several senior government and industry officials and experts.

Tuned to market demands

BFW specializes in cutting-edge advanced manufacturing technology platforms, with over 50,000 machines and systems installed worldwide. Sensing the industry’s needs and the opportunity for cost-effective and large-format metal additive manufacturing (AM) in the Laser-Powder and Laser-Wire Directed Energy Deposition (DED) segment, it entered the DED metal AM industry in September 2021 with a mission to industrialize additive technology.

BFW’s 60 years of expertise in machine tools gives it the capability and infrastructure to develop and manufacture a complete end-to-end range of AM solutions (Photon Platform) to exacting specifications and reliability. The Photon platform includes the world’s largest and fastest L-DED game-changer Photon 4000G, which was announced in April 2022. And now the Photon 1000H and the Photon 1000R, hybrid and robotic configurations. The entire product range of the Photon platform is among the most commercially attractive yet highly capable technologies with strong validation in the academia and industrial applications for Aerospace, Defence, Medical, Die & Mould, and Energy segments. BFW also provides world-class customer support for installation, commissioning, training, and expert consultancy to any customer within India and worldwide.

Photon 1000 Series

The Photon 1000H is a hybrid machine that combines subtractive and additive technologies, whereas the Photon 1000R is an additive manufacturing machine with a robot combination. These machines are intended to address smaller components and were developed in cooperation with BFW partners, Meltio, a Spanish startup. The Photon 4000 in this range is the largest printing machine globally, which has been designed and will be manufactured in the coming months.

With a vision to bring Additive Manufacturing (AM) machines to every shop floor and to make them available to work 24x7, Ravi Raghavan, CEO, BFW and President, Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), explained, “We will match AM as a complementary product for Subtractive so that they are as fast and cost-per-piece sensitive as possible. With a strong association with the Automobile industry, we have learned to make machines using a platform-based approach. With this philosophy, we have developed the whole Photon range of AM machines, through which we want to address the maximum application size and materials. We hope that by sharing these solutions, we will be able to contribute to our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the vision of the state of Karnataka.”

Industry viewpoints

On the newly launched machines, Dr Saraswat said, “It makes India proud that today we have the capability to indigenously manufacture such complex machines which have got technologies starting from robotics, energy deposition systems, and so on. This augurs well for India’s self-reliant journey, and we are happy that this movement has come.”

He added, “From the design and engineering and manufacturing perspectives, it will help designers with fast prototyping, faster time-to-market, greater customization, new designs and functionalities, and faster, more flexible manufacturing processes with fewer production steps and dedicated machines.”

Pointing to AM’s significant benefits, Parasuraman added, “It does not need fixturing or tooling. There is no setup or change over time from one product to another. It offers flexibility, ergonomics, and sustainability. Every MSME or Manufacturing industry should consider this option.”

Coining additive manufacturing as a game-changer, Devarajan asserted, “New things are coming up in the two-wheeler segment, and probably in the next four or five years, the design of the two-wheeler itself will change. The challenge we might face as an OEM is that we should be designed for additive manufacturing. It cannot be just like replacing any part that you make by additive manufacturing, so the onus lies with us. We must design productive manufacturing work along with the function rather than the component or a combination of parts. I think the most important thing for all of us is to work together, and I think it’s a really good starting point.”

“These commendable efforts contribute to our nation’s ‘Make in India’ initiative instrumentally. As most of us probably know by now, DED is a native manufacturing process in which focused thermal energy is used to fuse materials by melting as they are being deposited when coupled with CNC machining in a single hybrid equipment,” commented Sidhu. “DED is also used for structural parts and commercial aircraft components. Several foreign private players have amazed the world with technological advances. Most of them are supported by brilliant Indian scientists and engineers, but now it’s time to build and export the technology developed by Indians.”

Getting into the specifics

Deep diving into the technical aspects of the machine, Matthews from Meltio, a disruptive laser metal deposition technology manufacturer and BFW’s official value-added partner, spoke on the prospects of the machines. He said, “I think they’ll do well in this market, given industry trends. I think DED, or directed energy deposition, will gain market share. This process is unique because we use multiple laser sources, which gives us an interesting architecture where the material feeds on the axis, which is crucial for excellent material properties and geometrical capabilities.”

“DED laser-based technology will grow in metal AM and traditional manufacturing, so you’ll see two growth curves,” he added.

Elaborating on the hybrid metal wire process, where 100 percent of the material ends up in the parts, Matthews further stated, “This technology can use more than one material in the same part, which has fascinating applications. You don’t normally see this in the industry because the mindset for design has been that you have a part, a geometry, and you build it out of one material. With this technology, you can add two materials to the same part to gain performance, cost, or both.”

Extending government support

Congratulating the BFW team on their successful launch and stating that with the latest technologies and improvisation coming up with new missions to add more value, the Minister said, “Earlier, technologies had a greater environmental impact, but now environmental protection and sustainability are the way forward to make it net-zero. Saving material, time, and technology and making better products and quality are ways to pursue excellence and ensure we are the best in the world. So in this direction, the state of Karnataka, under the leadership of our Honorable Prime Minister and Chief Minister, has been adopting industry 4.0, as the industry is moving forward simultaneously for your demand and supply.”

He also emphasized the importance of manpower in the adoption of Industry 4.0, as well as how the state has done so in various sectors. “Not only adapting, but also implementing the right platform, integrating technology, reforming governance and administration, and bringing the latest legislation to ensure the institution’s empowerment; all have been done,” he added.

Working towards a vision to make Karnataka the national capital for additive manufacturing and assuring the Dias, he concluded, “What you have been looking for will be supplemented, and will be ensured by our state institutions not only for Karnataka but for the entire nation. So, whatever the requirement, we are willing to address the requirement and will collaborate.”

Sovan Tudu
Sub-Editor
Magic Wand Media Inc
Sovan.tudu@magicwandmedia.in 

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