Mazak MegaStir is now Exclusive Tooling Supplier for Meld Solid Deposition Technology

Mazak MegaStir has agreed to be the sole supplier of tools for Meld Manufacturing’s solid deposition technology. Mazak MegaStir, a leader in friction stir welding (FSW) technology, will provide its hard metal expertise as well as tooling specifically designed for the Meld process, which involves the utilisation of friction as part of its solid deposition process.

Mazak MegaStir, according to Dale Fleck, general manager, can deliver complicated tooling with the high-strength capability required to commercialise Meld’s solid deposition technology. The tooling is built of strong materials such as PCBN and carbide and can endure the process’s exceptionally high loads and stresses.

Solid deposition, like Mazak MegaStir’s FSW method, is a solid way of connecting, but as part of an additive process for combining stacked material layers to produce/build structures. As these layers are deposited, the Mazak MegaStir tooling spins and binds them together using applied pressure and frictional force. The tooling fits into deposition heads on CNC machine platforms, allowing metal material to be fed down through the centre of the head and the tooling.

Meld Manufacturing claims that its technique can print massive metal pieces at a scale not yet seen in the metal additive market. As a solid-state process, it may generate high-quality materials and parts with low residual stresses and full density while requiring substantially less energy than more traditional fusion-based techniques.

Because the Meld process takes place in the solid state, it provides materials that are resistant to porosity, hot-cracking, and other common issues that plague melt-based technologies. Meld is a one-step method that does not necessitate time-consuming subsequent operations like hot isostatic pressing or sintering to increase the quality of the deposited material.