Delivering best-in-class productivity for lower overall cost
Increased part quality and consistency
Increased productivity
Enhanched usability and maintainability
GE Additive unveiled the Concept Laser M2 Series 5 at formnext. This latest iteration of the popular M2 machine meets the high expectations for part quality and consistency from customers, especially in the highly-regulated aerospace and medical industries, as they move to serial additive production. The Concept Laser M2 Series 5 will be manufactured at the GE Additive Lichtenfels facility, is available for order now, with delivery expected in Q1 2020.
Continual and Collaborative Portfolio Evolution
“As our customers evolve and start to ramp up high volume production, we will also continue to evolve our machine portfolio to meet their needs for repeatability, usability and quality,” said Chris Schuppe, general manager – engineering, GE Additive.
“Over the past year, teams from GE Additive have worked closely with colleagues at GE Aviation - which operates a fleet of M2s - to get direct feedback. Co-located teams collaborated on the critical characteristics needed for the next iteration of the M2 and to make a good part, but also on input on the mechanical operations, performance and productivity of the machine, and on improvements in reliability and quality,” added Schuppe.
This collaborative work, incorporated an extensive machine design, system and component review, and an extended testing period, which has resulted in the GE Additive Concept Laser M2 Series 5 – a robust machine, configured to meet the exacting requirements of highly-regulated aerospace and medical industries and delivers best-in-class productivity for lower overall cost.
Enabling repeatability at scale
The M2 Series 5 is the system of choice for organizations wanting to unlock the potential of volume additive production, empowering customers to take full advantage of design for additive, and achieve design performance targets, consistent material properties and productivity.
Designed for maximum performance, the M2 Series 5 offers optimized system speed, uptime, productivity and reliability, part-to-part and machine-to-machine consistency, quality control, as well as process validation.
Key new features and benefits include:
Increased part quality and consistency
Improved part quality with reduced surface roughness and better stitching
More consistency across the whole build plate, accommodating several build jobs and machine-to-machine
Improved part consistency build to build and machine to machine based on machine architecture, calibration and control
Upgraded gas flow system: closed gas circuit with redundant oxygen monitoring for part quality and minimized filter changes
New optical cooling, featuring 10+ internal sensors and a More tightly controlled build environment
Increased productivity
2x increased build speed and laser on time
Dual laser system with up to 100% coverage per laser
Larger build volume thanks to increased surface area and z-axis travel. Build volume: 350mm z-axis for taller parts 245 mm x 245 mm heated build area
Higher productivity potential enabled by machine architecture (# of lasers, 3D optics, software, gas flow)
Utilization and reliability (operating time + corrective maintenance downtime)
Part yield
Up to 20% finer feature resolution
Small spot size: 70-500 microns. Multiple exposure strategies within a single part
Enhanced usability and maintainability
Upgraded software and system design
Unique safety system, incorporting a glovebox system for non-contact handling of reactive materials, better filter change and inerted sieving and powder exchange
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