CLASCO Innovations
SYLAS Laser Macro-Polishing Head
The CLASCO project team is pleased to present the SYLAS laser macro-polishing head, a hardware component designed to reduce the surface roughness of metallic components produced by additive manufacturing. The system combines a kW-class continuous wave laser source with an optical head to create a shallow melt pool at the component surface. Driven by surface tension, material from surface peaks flows into valleys, resulting in a smoother and more uniform surface.
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Surface Roughness Reduction
- The SYLAS laser macro-polishing head is designed to significantly reduce the roughness of metallic surfaces. Depending on the material, roughness reductions of up to 93% can be achieved, even when starting from high initial roughness values such as Ra = 15 µm.
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Efficient Surface Treatment
- The laser polishing process can treat surfaces at rates of up to 5 mm²/s. This makes the technology suitable for preparing additively manufactured components for subsequent surface processing steps within the CLASCO machine.
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Preparation for Micro-Structuring
- Within the CLASCO machine, the polishing head aims to reduce the high surface roughness of directly additively manufactured parts to a level that enables further laser-based surface treatment, including micro-structuring.
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Direct Integration after Additive Manufacturing
- The innovative contribution of the SYLAS laser macro-polishing head lies in its ability to treat parts directly after additive manufacturing. By reducing the need for separate intermediate processing steps, the system can help shorten the overall treatment cycle for metallic components.
Funding
