SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF METAL BINDER JETTING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING WORKSTATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

This project is funded by the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) and the procurement is dependent on the final funding agreement. The University of Birmingham invites tenders for supply of a binder jetting additive manufacturing workstation. The workstation will form part of a physical demonstrator, i.e. facilities created as part of the ESIF project, which will be used to facilitate/support the take-up of high impact manufacturing technologies by the SMEs in West Midlands. In this context, the workstation will be used to develop new applications for the technology in collaboration with technology providers and carry out feasibility studies and pilot projects to address the specific requirements of local SMEs. Therefore, it will be required as part of the project to build strong partnerships with the technology providers and define a joint co-funded R&D programme for the benefits of local businesses.

The workstation should perform metal additive manufacturing/3D printing for variety of powder materials including stainless steel, copper, tool steel and Nickel based superalloys. It should have reasonable building envelope of at least 4L (XY should be at least 35x20cm). Though, the system should allow upgrading the build envelope to bigger size in the future when needed. The system should have a separate unit for powder station unit to avoid powder contamination. The system should be able to produce various part geometries simultaneously without the need for multiple setups. The system should have very high resolution of at least 1600x1600 DPI. The system should have very high deposition/printing rate, 10 times faster than the powder bed fusion technology, of at least 700 cc/hr. The workstation should have an open access operating system where all working parameters can be modified. The system should be able to produce parts with very high surface finish.