Latest news and updates at sentenso

Laser Peening without Coating

The strengthening of fine structures such as gears or threads and sensitive geometries such as edges and thin-walled component areas is a major challenge with shot peening, as the minimum grain energy requires a shot size that can damage the aforementioned structures.

Using laser shock peening without prior coating (LSPwC) and miniature laser heads with controllable energy input, filigree structures can be specifically processed with high-frequency laser pulses and a small effective range to strengthen the surface and introduce residual compressive stresses.

You can read the whole article under the following link: https://lnkd.in/ertAdHsK

Pupils explore occupations

sentenso GmbH is present once again at the established Datteln job trade fair "F1rst Job - First Contact" on 14 March 2023. At the small information booth in the local secondary school, interested pupils will receive detailed information about the mechatronics and technical product design apprenticeships.

This year, an industrial robot will be live at the booth again, giving pupils the opportunity to actively interact with it - a tried and tested experience from the past. In addition, our technical trainee, who got to know us due to his interest at the last job training trade fair, will offer a practical introduction to the field of activity of programming by means of an Arduino construction kit.

To make the product designer's field of work more tangible, various objects and prototypes created through the adaptive manufacturing process of 3D printing will be exhibited. Here, the students will be able to see how high-quality prototypes and objects are created through the use of the latest technology and innovative manufacturing processes - from the head through the computer into the hand.

sentenso GmbH is looking forward to participating again in the Datteln training fair and to many interested visitors.

LAcubed from Japan and sentenso demonstrate mobile system at EcoMaT in Bremen

In December 2022, sentenso had a visit by a four-member Japanese delegation led by Prof. Yuji Sano from LAcubed and the University of Osaka. Prof. Sano is considered one of the pioneers of the industrial use of laser shock peening since he developed laser peening without coating (LPwC) for the Toshiba Corporation in the 1990s to combat stress corrosion cracking in nuclear reactor pressure vessels. Now he and his team have succeeded in developing an extremely compact laser shock peening demo unit that fits into two travel cases, making it ideal for mobile applications.

In addition to the Japanese demo system for flat samples, sentenso built a small demonstration system in which the laser head is guided by an industrial robot. Using an exemplary aluminium component, it was possible to show how a three-dimensional surface contour can also be processed with it. On 20 December 2022, the experts from Japan and sentenso demonstrated the two systems at EcoMaT in Bremen in front of about 30 interested spectators. Immediately afterwards, sentenso was able to prove the introduced residual compressive stresses with the help of the mobile µ-X360s X-ray stress analyser.

Mobile setup for automated laser shock peening

In addition to shot peening, laser shock peening offers another possibility to extend the lifetime of cyclically stressed components by introducing residual stresses. In this process, the component to be processed is peened with a high-energy laser pulse. Upon impact, a plasma is created which expands and thereby sends a shock wave into the material. A film of water on the surface ensures that this shock wave is confined and does not simply spread into the surrounding air.

Prof. Yuji Sano and his team have succeeded in developing a very compact laser that despite its low pulse energy of only 10 mJ, can still inject enough energy into the surface to achieve the desired effect thanks to very short pulse duration and strong focusing. With an industrial robot, sentenso is able to process even complex surface contours.

Review of sentenso Shot Peening Workshop in Datteln

The autumn edition of the Shot Peening Workshop took place from 08 to 10 November 2022 at sentenso. The 21 participants from various companies, including aviation, had the opportunity to learn and deepen their knowledge of shot peening in theory and practice.

As with every sentenso Shot Peening Workshop, the practical part was carried out in the attached technical centre under expert guidance.

During the Westphalian Dinner, there was the great opportunity to discuss various shot peening applications. Our popular foos ball tournament put a big smile on everyone's face.

During the Workshop, the participants successfully passed FAA and Nadcap-relevant training content in the form of an examination. A special congratulations applies to the two participants who were able to successfully complete the sophisticated Level 3 exam.

We had a lot of fun again and thank you for the great time!

The world's most important event in shot peening

The "14th International Conference on Shot Peening" took place in Milan from 4 to 7 September 2022. International experts from science, technology and application of shot peening and related processes met here.

In the lectures, the latest research results, new developments and process optimisations were presented and discussed. In addition to shot peening, one focus was on laser shock peening, which is constantly evolving.

In his lecture "Shot Peening 4.0", Volker Schneidau from sentenso presented technologies for process and quality management in shot peening with an outlook on possibilities for simulating the process.

At the sentenso booth, visitors were able to experience the "flux:on" Media Flow Management as well as the "vector:on" Media Speed Management with speed measurement of peening particles live in a robot peening cell. Furthermore sentenso presented the µ-X360s Stress Analyser with automated stress determination and the battery-operated "RotoFlapMaster" for mobile rotary flap peening.

World's most important conference in gears and transmission industry

From 12 to 14 September 2022, the International Conference on Gears was held at the Technical University of Munich in Garching. Leading experts from the international gear and transmission industry met to exchange the latest developments and research results.

For sentenso, application expert Sebastian Holz was present at the Pulstec booth. Using the example of the tooth flank of a bevel gear, he showed the automated generation of residual stress mappings with the µ-X360s Stress Analyser and a robot. Furthermore, live measurements with the muraR hardness variance scanner could be seen.

First shot peening workshop in the Czech Republic

The newly launched Mid European Shot Peening Workshop at WISTA in Zlin, Czech Republic was a complete success. Dave Barkley, head of the seminar, Volker Schneidau, head of the practical, Nils Kaben from KrampeHarex and Jiri Neuwirth from the shot peening machine manufacturer WISTA, provided the 16 participants with a complete programme of lectures and practical training and with excellent care from the WISTA team. The participants took the exams in Level 1, Level 2 and Rotary Flap Peening.

Offline robot programming using CAD data

Shot peening of components with complex geometries is becoming increasingly common. In modern compressed air peening systems, the peening nozzle is moved by a robot at a fixed angle to the component surface. Usually, the robot movements, which consist of individual path points, are recorded manually by teaching-in. In the case of curved surfaces, this is very difficult to do because the peening angle to the surface can often not be determined correctly.

In order to create a suitable robot motion programme for parts with complex geometries, the sentenso programmers work with so-called offline programming software. After virtually integrating the peening chamber and the setup with part fixture or rotary table and peening nozzles once, it is now possible to place part models as 3D CAD files in the peening area. The programming software can then generate robot movements along a surface path semi-automatically. On one hand this procedure provides stability and continuous adaption of the desired peening angle along the surface path. On the other hand it avoids machine downtime needed for long lasting robot teaching.

Review of sentenso Shot Peening Workshop in Datteln

From 03 to 05 May 2022, the spring edition of the Shot Peening Workshop took place at sentenso. The 13 participants from various companies, including aviation, once again had the opportunity to learn and deepen their knowledge of shot peening in theory and practice.

As in every sentenso Shot Peening Workshop, the practical part was carried out in the technical centre under expert guidance on a real production part.

During the Workshop, the participants successfully passed FAA and Nadcap-relevant training content in the form of an examination. A special congratulations applies to the four participants who were able to successfully complete the sophisticated Level 3 exam.