OR Laser, Dieburg, Germany, introduced its new hybrid metal additive and subtractive manufacturing platform, the ORLAS Creator Hybrid, during formnext 2017. According to the company, the ORLAS Creator Hybrid brings together the benefits of both metal Additive Manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing within a single platform, offering a comprehensive manufacturing solution.

The platform, which combines the advantages of AM for complex metal components with advanced milling capabilities for precision finishing, is said to be available at a price affordable to SMEs, making it an attractive solution. In addition, OR Laser states that the new hybrid enables structures and surfaces not normally reachable by traditional milling/machining to be milled effectively.

The ORLAS Creator Hybrid offers the same AM capabilities as the original ORLAS Creator, launched in 2016, including the full laser power of 250 W at a spot of 40 μm; laser processing speeds of 3500 mm/s; and a build platform 110 mm (diameter) with a maximum Z axis of 100 mm.

During formnext, OR Laser also announced that it will launch a new cloud manufacturing service. This cloud manufacturing service will monitor machines in real time as well as providing preventative maintenance reports that aim to avoid downtime by providing monitoring and analysis of multiple systems from one location.

Source