Bharat Fritz Werner Group announces the launch of India’s first commercially available Laser-Directed-Energy-Deposition (L-DED) machines with Hybrid and Robotic configurations – The Photon 1000H and the Photon 1000R – powered by the Meltio.
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Ravi Raghavan, MD and CEO BFW explains the functioning of Laser-Directed-Energy-Deposition (L-DED) machines with Hybrid and Robotic configuration to Minister Dr. Ashwathnarayan
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 Additive Manufacturing 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, now the Photon 1000H and Photon 1000R hybrid and robotic configurations. The entire product range of Photon platform is among the most commercially attractive yet highly capable technologies with strong validation in academia and industrial applications for aerospace, Defence, Medical, Die and Mold, Energy segments. BFW also prides itself in its capability, commitment, and track record to provide world class customer support for installation, commissioning, training, and expert consultancy to any customer within India and worldwide.
The formal launch ceremony for the Photon 1000 series took place in Bangalore at BFW/M2NxT headquarters on June 1, 2022, at the hands of Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N, Minister for Higher Education, IT &BT, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Dr. V.K.Saraswat, Member Niti Ayog, was the Guest of Honor and the event was felicitated by Mr. T.R. Parasuraman, President and whole-time Director, Toyota Industries Engine India, Dr. S. Devarajan, Sr V.P. TVS Motor Company, Mr. Jaspreet Sidhu, CEO, National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Mr. Brian Mathews, Chief Technology Officer, Meltio, Spain and several senior government/industry officials and experts.
During his address, Dr. Ashwathnarayan C N, Minister of Higher Education, IT, BT, Science and Technology and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, said that the Karnataka Government is aiming to make the state – the national capital for additive manufacturing, which is a USD 35 billion market globally and Karnataka is targeting to be at least USD 1 billion market. He congratulated BFW and promised all support from the government for the future endeavors of the company.
Minister assured that the government is ready to collaborate with BFW for establishing a center of excellence in additive technology. Robotics, IoT, He said that the State government is committed to working closely with the government and promised all support for research and development of modern technologies. Stating that skill development is the government’s topmost priority he said that the state will have a huge manpower bank and will be the supplier of skilled manpower to the world. The government is aiming to make the future generation job-ready, productive, and familiar with the best practices in the industry. He said that the industry can look up to the institutions in Karnataka for all their skilled manpower requirements. The engineering curriculum of Karnataka is upgraded and is on par with IITs and all undergraduate courses are aligned with the national skill development program embedding technology in their curriculum.
Congratulating BFW for the launch of the Photon 1000H and the Photon 1000R Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog and Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that today we have shown the world that we are capable of manufacturing such sophisticated machines for which we would have had to depend on imports a few years back. Additive manufacturing uses data computer-aided-design software or 3D object scanners to direct hardware to deposit material, layer upon layer, in precise geometric shapes. Additive manufacturing’s ability to generate almost any 3-D shape allows designers the freedom to create parts that perform better or cost less than conventional alternatives. Additive manufacturing can simplify the maintenance and support of products in the field, reducing the need for spare-parts inventories by enabling on-demand production of items from digital files. According to him additive manufacturing can change the fundamentals of manufacturing, and hence needed to be adapted rapidly.
The Photon 1000 series are available immediately, and boast, among many other advantages:
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Photon 1000H: Fully integrated L-DED head from Meltio into any BFW CNC machine platform
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Photon 1000R: Fully integrated L-DED head from Meltio onto any industrial grade robotic system.
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Industry first co-axial feed dual-deposition head from Meltio – for Powder & Wire deposition
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Dual wire and hot wire deposition are available optionally
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3-axis, 5-axis and 7-axis deposition configurations are available
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Standard offering is with “open atmosphere” and inert gas shielding
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Inert atmosphere chambers as well as customized chambers are available optionally
Printing small, medium, and large parts in the Photon 1000 machines will be significantly more economical than other similar L-DED machines currently offered by overseas manufacturers. Such compelling economic business cases bring game changing opportunities, competitive advantages, and technical capability to potential users for freeform fabrication, hybrid manufacturing and repair applications for the aerospace, defence, oil and gas, power, mining, and heavy industries. BFW has already installed Photon 1000H and Photon 1000R machines in its Dr. Abdul Kalam Centre of Excellence in Bangalore for contract manufacturing, R&D, alloy development, as well as to market & support the machines in India and globally.
“BFW and m2nxt have introduced market disruptive high technology products for the last six decades. Photon 1000 machine series is one more such product line which will not only bring technology differentiators but would be the First IoT enabled Smart AM machine,” adds Ravi Raghavan, MD BFW.
The fact that this world leading metal AM machine is being manufactured entirely in India is a testament to the Indian Government’s “Make in India” initiative and will address very commercially attractive applications in the Defence/Space/Aerospace/Heavy Industries/Energy/Academia and advanced R&D sectors.
BFW specializes in cutting edge advanced manufacturing technology platforms, with more than 50,000 machines and systems installed worldwide. BFW sensed the industry need and opportunity for cost effective and large format metal additive manufacturing in the Laser-Powder & Laser-Wire Directed Energy Deposition (DED) segment. It entered the DED metal AM industry in September 2021 with a mission to industrialise additive technology and has a very Technology driven Global team to drive this business.
