Technological Solutions

Tool designed to protect reactive materials at high temperatures in DED additive technologies. Attached to the welding torch, it isolates the hot area from air, preventing oxidation. It includes a micropyrometer for temperature measurement and protection adjustment. Unlike closed chambers, it adapts to parts of any geometry and size.

Repairing difficult-to-weld materials with industrial robots requires a careful methodology to ensure an efficient and accurate repair. The methodology to be implemented will be as follows.

1. Material evaluation
2. Repair strategy design
3. Material preparation
4. Robot and welding equipment configuration
5. Carrying out the repair

At LORTEK, we are actively dedicated to reducing consumption of resources, both time and materials. New materials pose challenges in our additive technologies due to parameter customisation. Our methodology is based on the group's expertise and high impact studies, identifying key parameters to optimise processes and achieve manufacturing efficiency.

The advanced rotary friction controller is an innovative technological solution that LORTEK has developed in collaboration with BERKOA, a company specialising in friction welding solutions. This controller enables high quality, high strength joints between similar and dissimilar metallic materials using a controlled application of rotary motion and axial pressure.

Algorithms to optimise complex problems, adjusting parameters such as geometry, material properties or loading conditions, with the aim of minimising or maximising target functions, such as cost, weight, performance or relevant metrics of the system to be studied.

In-house procedure to characterise incoming powders, with significant improvements in the quality of samples processed by additive technologies: Analysis of particle size distribution (PSD), quantification of powder morphology by SEM image analysis and process to quantitatively measure the internal porosity content of particles. 

There are several active thermography techniques used for defect detection. All of them are based on the same fundamentals: a sample or component is exposed to an external excitation source and the propagation of the induced heat is captured with a thermographic camera, analyzing the temperature gradients on the surface for the detection of surface and sub-surface anomalies. 

Hybrid multimaterial additive manufacturing represents an evolution in advanced manufacturing processes, integrating different technologies to produce optimized industrial components.

This system integrates several independent and interconnected modules to provide a robust solution for capturing, recording and viewing data related to the welding process:

• Data capturing
• Data recording
• Data viewing

AI application

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are networks of interconnected nodes, virtual programmes with specific functions, such as data capture, analysis in AI models or custom code, that can run on any device. They offer flexibility and adaptability to a variety of tasks, through an interface that facilitates quick switching without altering the underlying programming.