LSAM –
potential for your company

In the constantly developing world of manufacturing technologies, Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) offers a revolutionary solution for the production of large format parts. With its unique combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing, the ability to process a wide range of materials, and the high precision and quality of the parts produced, LSAM offers significant benefits in terms of efficiency, cost savings, innovation and environmental sustainability. In the following sections, we will detail these benefits and their impact on various aspects of manufacturing.

Manufacturing larger components with LSAM

As the name suggests, LSAM enables the production of large-format components that are out of reach with conventional 3D printing technologies and milling processes. This opens up new opportunities in industries that rely on large, customised parts that were previously unavailable due to size limitations of semi-finished products. In addition, LSAM offers other advantages that make it an attractive option for the production of large parts.

For example, LSAM’s high printing speed enables the rapid production of large parts, resulting in increased production speed and efficiency. With LSAM’s ability to handle a wide range of materials, the production of large parts from specialised or high-performance materials is possible. This would be difficult to achieve with conventional manufacturing methods. Lastly, the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing in a single LSAM system allows for high precision and surface quality, even on large parts.

Increased efficiency through LSAM

The LSAM system combines additive and subtractive manufacturing processes in a single platform. This allows parts to be manufactured and finished in a single pass, which significantly speeds up the production process and improves efficiency. Furthermore, by printing the blank close to the contour, only a minimum of material is consumed. Time-consuming milling from large blocks with considerable waste is therefore no longer necessary. In concrete terms, this means considerable resource savings in terms of the plastic used, energy, transport, tool wear and machining time. In addition to these benefits, LSAM also offers improved flexibility.

Because the entire manufacturing process takes place in a single system, changes to the design or production process can be made quickly and easily. This can help to further reduce production times and improve the properties of the component. It can also respond to changes in demand or product specifications. In addition, LSAM’s ability to process granulates can help reduce material costs and improve material availability.

Vergrößern

Unsere LSAM-Experten beraten Sie gerne

Dipl. Ing.

Sebastian Hänssler

Management and Construction

+49 (0) 621 48480-20

sebastian.haenssler@dicht.de

Material diversity and flexibility:

LSAM is able to process a wide range of materials, including high-performance plastics and composites. This allows greater flexibility in the choice of materials that can be used to produce a part.

In addition, LSAM’s material diversity enables the production of parts with specific properties, such as increased strength, improved thermal resistance or special optical properties.

In addition, LSAM can also process recycled or bio-based materials, making it a more environmentally friendly option for additive manufacturing. This can help companies achieve their sustainability goals and reduce their environmental impact. LSAM’s ability to process a wide range of materials can also help reduce costs.

By selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective material for each application, companies can optimise their material costs and improve profitability.

After all, LSAM’s material diversity can help simplify the supply chain. Instead of having to stock a variety of specialised materials for different manufacturing processes, companies can use a smaller range of versatile materials that can be handled by LSAM. This can help reduce storage costs and improve supply chain efficiency.

Cost savings and economic efficiency

LSAM can lead to significant cost savings. The ability to produce large parts in a single pass reduces the need for additional assembly or joining steps, which reduces production times and therefore labour costs.

In addition, precision manufacturing and waste reduction through the use of less material results in direct material cost savings. In addition to these direct cost savings, LSAM can also lead to indirect cost savings. By reducing the number of manufacturing steps required and simplifying the production process, LSAM can help reduce manufacturing complexity and increase efficiency. This can lead to lower operating costs and improved productivity.

In a further way, LSAM can help to reduce warehousing and transportation costs. By manufacturing parts on demand instead of keeping them in stock, companies can reduce their storage costs. And by producing larger parts that would otherwise have to be assembled from several smaller parts, transport costs can be reduced.

Innovation and competitive advantage

LSAM’s ability to produce customized, large-format parts can not only open the door to innovative product and design opportunities, but also open up new markets. This can give your company a key competitive advantage and allow you to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

In addition, LSAM can help shorten product development times. With rapid prototyping and the ability to implement design changes quickly, you can get your products to the market faster. This can give you an edge over competitors who use traditional manufacturing methods.

Using LSAM can also help improve the quality of your products. By precisely controlling the manufacturing process and being able to create complex geometries and internal structures that would not be possible with traditional methods, you can produce parts with superior mechanical properties and performance.

And finally, LSAM can help position your company as a pioneer in the use of innovative technologies. This can enhance your brand image and increase your customers’ confidence in your ability to deliver high-quality and innovative products.

Precision and quality:

Despite the size of the parts produced, LSAM enables high precision and surface quality. This is due to the subtractive component of the process, where excess material is removed to achieve the final shape and quality of the part.

In addition to high precision and surface quality, LSAM also allows improved control over the internal structures of the part. Additive manufacturing can create complex internal structures and geometries that would not be possible with traditional manufacturing methods. This can result in parts with improved mechanical properties and performance.

LSAM granulate with finished end product

Environmental aspects of LSAM

LSAM technology offers several environmental and sustainability benefits that are important to industrial companies.

Efficient material use

LSAM enables precise control of material application, resulting in only as much material being used as is required to produce the part. This reduces material consumption and minimises waste, resulting in a lower environmental impact.

Recycling and reuse

Our LSAM system can process recycled plastics. This can help reduce the need for virgin raw materials and reduce the amount of plastic waste.

Energy efficiency

LSAM systems are more energy efficient than conventional manufacturing processes from extruded semi-finished products, especially when producing large parts. This helps to reduce energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions.

Reduction of transport emissions

the LSAM process uses less material due to the nearcontour printing, the energy consumed in transporting heavy and large semi-finished products is reduced.