Manufacturing technologies
At PRODINTEC, we are experts in the following manufacturing technologies:
CAD/CAM systems
CAD/CAM programs facilitate the development of advanced machining tasks, shortening the time needed to present a quote, programming complex paths and enabling the simulation of all the movements of tools and the machine in order to avoid collisions and minimize breakdowns and costs.
At PRODINTEC, we are experts in the use of a wide variety of CAD/CAM systems, which allows us to offer personalised solutions, advise our customers on optimum machining paths (adapted to any geometry) and set-ups, and, in short, help our customers get the most out of their CAM systems.
Milling
The process of milling involves applying cutting and shear stresses by means of a tool acting on the raw material to obtain the end piece.
At PRODINTEC, we have a fully equipped robotic cell for automated manufacturing via the machining of large parts (measuring up to several metres), with accuracies of tenths of a millimetre and in materials such as resin, wood, expanded polystyrene, etc.
The robot`s great flexibility of movement allows us to produce complex-shaped parts (which would be impossible to obtain using other fabrication techniques) with relative ease and with a lower investment compared to a traditional milling machine.
We also have a high-speed 5-axis milling machine that allows us to produce very high precision parts with complex geometries in any material: up to HRC 65 steels, stainless steels, aluminium, copper, bronze, brass, molybdenum, super alloys, plastics, resins, ceramic materials, wood. etc.
Additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing consists in the manufacture of parts from a 3D model without the need for moulds or tooling of any kind by means of the depositing of layers of powdered material and its subsequent consolidation, which may be performed by laser sintering, ultraviolet light curing or the addition of a binder, depending on the technology employed.
At PRODINTEC, we have additive manufacturing technologies to produce parts in a wide variety of materials: metals (aluminium, titanium, Inconel, stainless steel, tool steel, chrome-cobalt, etc.), polyamide (pure and filled with aluminium), resins (with varying degrees of springiness), ceramics, etc. In addition, our technicians are experts in redesigning parts to maximize the potential of this technology and thus achieve improved performance.
The advantages of this technology include the ability to reproduce any geometry imaginable, providing an immediate response to changing market needs and meeting the increasing consumer demand for differentiation and customization of products.
Additive manufacturing is particularly popular in the fields of medicine (manufacture of medical implants, customised orthopaedic products and surgical tools, and surgical planning and scheduling), moulds and dies (manufacture of parts with internal cooling channels, inserts or hybrid moulds), aerospace and automotive (manufacturing of parts with lightweight structures or internal channels subject to frequent design changes), architecture and topography (model making) and education (model making).
Microtechnologies
At PRODINTEC, we are specialists in two complementary microtechnologies: micromachining and microinjection.
Just like machining, the process of micromachining involves applying cutting and shear stresses by means of a milling tool acting on the raw material to obtain the end piece. The difference is that this technology works with accuracies in the micron range.
As the tools used are relatively small (they may be as small as 30 microns in diameter), it is necessary to increase the revolutions per minute in order to obtain high material removal rates (while not excessively extending the required machining time). The equipment we possess at PRODINTEC can reach up to 160,000 rpm.
This technology makes it possible to obtain surface finishes close to a polished finish and very complex geometries with manufacturing tolerances of ± 2 microns.
We work with all kinds of materials such as HRC 65 hardness steel, stainless steel, ceramics ("green", pre-sintered and sintered), glass, plastics, wood, resins, copper, graphite, etc.
Microinjection technology, on the other hand, allows the injection of high precision microparts in thermoplastics, metals and ceramic materials using micromoulds. These are obtained by combining the available technologies at PRODINTEC, such as additive manufacturing and micromachining, thus allowing us to manufacture high performance moulds, minimizing the time and cost of each injected piece while improving its quality.
The moulded parts can have a maximum volume of 1.1 cm3 and contain geometries in the micron range. These technologies have applications in a wide variety of fields: biomedicine, watchmaking, automotive, electronics, telecommunications, optics, consumer goods, electromechanical systems, etc.
Incremental sheet metal forming
Incremental sheet metal forming is an automated process which consists in forming a metal sheet by applying localized deformations using a free-moving spherical tool, without the need to invest in stamping or embossing tools.
PRODINTEC´s robotic cell is equipped to work with this technology, allowing us to carry out the entire process of obtaining a part, from the CAD file to manufacturing (with and without a die) in steel and aluminium up to 3 mm thick with a tolerance of up to 0.5% of the nominal size.
Industrial robotics
At PRODINTEC, we are working on the use of industrial robotics and novel applications with a high degree of complexity employing the powerful applications we possess, both for programming using specific CAM software and for simulating facilities. This means we are able to deliver the development and automation of any process in which the use of robotics is crucial.
In addition, our robotic cell, although initially focused on manufacturing by means of machining and incremental sheet metal forming, is highly flexible, thus enabling its use as a pilot plant for process validation.
Success story
Goals: to fabricate a single-piece functional component with very complex geometry.
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