Metalworking company significantly reduce manufacturing lead time with One Click Metal 3D Printing

Learn how an innovative metalworking company, Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik, is using the potential of One Click Metal BOLDSERIES metal 3D printing to develop customized solutions while reducing manufacturing lead times.

Key Facts / Summary

The Challenge

For a customer, safety-relevant pipe bends have to be manufactured, for the production of which only orbital welding is approved as a manufacturing process. Due to the geometry, however, the components cannot be clamped in the standard fixture of the welding machine..

The Solution

The use of metal additive manufacturing enables the economical development and production of adapted clamping jaws for holding the pipe elbows. Compared with conventional production, the lead time for manufacturing the components can also be reduced by more than half.

The Advantage

• Reduction of workload
• Optimally adapted component design
• Significantly reduced lead time in the company

One Click Metal Clamps

The Company

Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik is an innovation-oriented production company with an engineering office and aims to play a decisive role in shaping the technological issues of our time. The company supports its customers with manufacturing know-how in the development and realization of ideas and products.

Decades of experience

Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik has more than 85 years of experience in the field of metal and sheet metal processing. As one of the first companies, Hoedtke has been involved in laser cutting, welding and hardening of three-dimensional components since 1979.

In addition, Hoedtke has been using various additive manufacturing processes with plastics and metals for more than ten years now. The company focuses on technology and application development. This includes systematic process parameter studies for the processing of various materials as well as the testing of new types of hardware and software components and the development of various applications for the industrialization of additive manufacturing.

Metalworking company

As a contract manufacturer, Hoedtke supplies prototypes, individual parts, assemblies and systems and offers the development and qualification of manufacturing processes. Its customers include companies from a wide range of industries, such as the automotive industry, aircraft construction and medical technology.

The Challenge

For a customer, safety-relevant pipe bends have to be welded. However, due to the component geometry, the welding process approved by the customer is not readily suitable for the production of these pipes.

“The challenging aspect of this order is that the pipe bends with a linear portion of only 20 mm are not suitable for an orbital welding system. At the same time, however, the components are safety relevant parts that are exclusively approved for production with such a system.”

— Kai Flechsenhar, Design engineer at Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik

The company is therefore faced with the challenge of resolving the conflict
of two opposing boundary conditions:

1. The components ordered by the customer have to be manufactured on an orbital welding system, as they are only approved for this manufacturing process.
2. Due to the tube geometry, the components cannot be clamped in a standard orbital welding system and are therefore not suitable for production with such a system.

The linear part of the curved tube sections is too small for the existing clamping devices of the orbital welding system. The pipe sections can therefore not be picked up and welded gas-tight. Since the welding process is determined by the customer‘s requirement, the welding device must be adapted in order to be able to process the customer‘s order successfully.

3D print metal part

The Solution

The use of metal additive manufacturing enables the economical development and production of adapted clamping jaws for the tube components. In addition, the lead time for the production of the components can be reduced by 64%.

The experts at the company opt for the additive manufacturing of individualized clamping jaws that reflect the curvature of the customer‘s components. The developed components act as adapters and thus enable the clamping of the pipe sections in the existing welding fixture. Thus, the customer‘s specifications can be met with regard to the manufacturing process.

The manufacturing process can be started directly by the design department on the company‘s own MPRINT metal 3D printer after the CAD model and the data and print preparation have been created, without having to go through the process chain with a usually upstream classic work preparation.

Metalworking 3D printed clamp

After a printing time of about 46 hours for both clamping jaws and with a total powder consumption of about 0.6 kg, the components are completed. Since the necessary support structure and thus also the amount of post-processing were minimized by intelligent design as well as optimal positioning in the installation space, the assembly of the components in the orbital welding system can take place within the shortest possible time.

Overall, it is possible to reduce the lead time from data creation to the finished clamping jaws by about 64% by using metal 3D printing. This reduction is achieved particularly in data preparation and production. In addition to accelerated work preparation in metal 3D printing, the process chain is shortened primarily through reduced waiting times. These arise in machining production, for example, due to limited material stocks and machine capacities in the company.

Metal clamp and pipe bend

The clamping jaws show a high mechanical and thermal load capacity in use, due to the material used. Thus, the pipe bends can be reliably fixed and welded gas-tight by the developed device, which enables a successful completion of the customer‘s order. The two clamping jaws are now also available for the customer‘s next order series.

“Within a few days, the entire process chain from design to final use of the components could be run through – this was significantly faster compared to conventional manufacturing.”

— Dr.-Ing. Vanessa Seyda, expert for additive manufacturing technologies at Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik

The Advantage

Optimally adapted component design

The layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process enables an as yet underachieved degree of geometric freedom. This means that components that could not be manufactured using conventional production methods can also be realized using metal 3D printing. The functional surfaces of the manufactured components could be optimally adapted and produced to the tube components due to the design freedom. This ensures reliable and long-term use of the components.

Reduction of workload

The fast and efficient production of the two clamping jaws in the metal 3D printer reduces both the process chain, which is significantly shortened, and the amount of work required from CAD creation to the ready to use component. If additional or customized clamping jaws are required, they can be printed in just a few days with minimal preparatory work. The company is thus in a position to produce the customer order‘s pipe sections without complications with each new series order.

Significantly reduced lead time in the company

Within a few days, the technology experts at Hoedtke Metall- und Lasertechnik were able to develop a component-specific welding fixture and manufacture and test it using metal additive manufacturing. The lead time in the company was reduced by more than half for this application due to lower waiting times and a shortened process chain compared to conventional manufacturing.

Made with One Click Metal

Founded in 2019, One Click Metal is an industrial B2B company and a subsidiary of INDEX Werke, based in Tamm near Stuttgart. One Click Metal believes that technologies can be made understandable and usable for everyone. That‘s why they simplify their product solutions so that anyone can use them successfully.

With the One Click Metal 3D printing system, they primarily serve small and medium-sized enterprises and thus ensure that metal 3D printing technologies become accessible to the general public. One Click Metal are working on this with a strong team and a lot of motivation. For more information about One Click Metal please visit www.oneclickmetal.com

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