Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology has been dramatically attracting attention as a breakthrough technology in advanced manufacturing. However, Japan lags behind Europe and the U.S.A. in addressing this technology. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japanese Government established a new research association, “Technology Research Association for Future Additive...
How can we reduce the cost per parts of metal applications? How do we succeed in the growth of series production?
"Smart Fusion", the innovative EOS software, is not only the solution to these questions, but also ensures a resource-saving and Responsible Manufacturing.
In recent years, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) has become a viable manufacturing technique for production due to the possibility to manufacture complex parts without additional tools. Nevertheless, to facilitate a wider industrial adoption of LPBF, current deficits such as lack of productivity and robustness need to be overcome. The enhancement of process boundaries and the development of the...
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) is one of the most important additive manufacturing processes and extremely flexible in terms of geometrical freedom. With regard to the materials to be processed, however, this flexibility is not yet given in PBF-LB. In general, a limited variety of standard alloys is available. Thus, powders for specialized applications are often very expensive. A new...
This presentation introduces a new method for a significant improvement of the electrical conductivity of thermally sprayed copper layers in multi-material designs. Within the MULTI-FUN project, thermally sprayed coatings are used to create integrated electrical conductors, which are insulated by ceramic layers and subsequently embedded into metallic structures by Wire Arc Additive...
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a widely used additive manufacturing technique for producing lightweight, high-performance components for the automotive and aerospace industries. Its ability to produce complex, geometry-optimised parts is often limited by the size of the printer’s build chamber. To overcome those size limitations, LBPF components can be joined using rivets, screws or...
Outokumpu plans to commence production of spherical metal powders using a Vacuum Induced melting inert Gas Atomization (VIGA) plant in Krefeld in the latter half of 2023. Additionally, collaborative efforts with entities such as IEHK - Steel Institute RWTH Aachen University, and Swerim metals research institute have led to advancements in pilot-scale development of special-grade powders,...
Within the framework of the development of the additive manufacturing processes carried out by the CEA, this work aims at studying the influence of atomization and functionalization treatment conditions of grade 316L(N) steel powder particles, identified as a material of interest for the components of future nuclear reactors, on the microstructure after consolidation by L-PBF. Previous work...
During this presentation, we will share preliminary results of FITFAME project (ESA GSTP GT1A-314MS), focusing on the finishing of additively manufactured components with complex geometries. The first case study selected for this project is a hydraulic manifold, belonging to the Ariane 6 thrust vector control (TVC) actuator. The manifold was completely redesigned in order to exploit the...
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Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is an essential technology in digital manufacturing and has been applied in various fields. Laser beam powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) is the most widely adopted AM technique. However, since the PBF-LB process inevitably generates internal defects in its built material, developing a real-time monitoring and feedback control technology is highly demanded for quality...
In high-tech industries such as nuclear and aeronautic fields, metal components are exposed to harsh environments that can cause their early failure. Preventive maintenance is therefore necessary in order to prevent any risks. This kind of intervention is costly, time consuming and can require the shutdown of the facilities. Moreover, replacements induce a need for spare parts and increase...
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Automation as a Key Factor in LPBF Process Quality Assurance
The majority of the current LPBF systems were originally designed for prototyping use, hence they face challenges with reproducibility as well as many manual operations are still needed for their use. Additive Industries has developed the next-generation highly automated industrial additive manufacturing system that not only...
Additive manufacturing has long since become an essential tool in modern production processes, with an increasing focus on quality assurance and resource-efficient application. Technological advancements aim to increase manufacturing speed, batch size, quality, and ease of handling.
Despite a growing awareness of environmental and climate protection, increased customer interest in...
Ti-6-4 processed by L-PBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) is known to have an anisotropic microstructure due to the unidirectional build process, which leads to anisotropic ductility and fatigue behavior. Boron is known to be a nucleation starter within Titanium alloys, leading to a refinement in the microstructure. Within this work, the effects of in-situ alloying of Ti6Al4V and B on the...
Rapidly advancing technologies and progressive digitalisation are posing challenges to the established quality infrastructure (QI), which is the overarching system of institutions and processes to ensure the quality and safety of products and applications. In response, the key stakeholders of the German QI established the initiative QI-Digital aimed at developing new solutions for modern...
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a 3D printing technology that has gained worldwide acceptance due to its high resolution and accuracy. However, high equipment and material costs, residual stresses in the manufactured parts and internal defects are still major barriers to widespread industrial use. Preheating is a process in which the powder bed is heated during the production run. This...
The processing by Laser powder bed fusion of non-weldable gamma’-strengthened Ni-based superalloys is recognized as challenging, especially due to hot cracking and liquation cracking mechanisms that occur during the solidification and the early cooling stages of the alloys.
The current study, which is based on activities carried out within the Horizon 2020 joint research project CUSTODIAN...
Due to the recent boom in additive manufacturing, there has been an increased interest in, and need for, proper characterization of the powders used. One aspect of powder characterization that has often been ignored in the past is air humidity. However, with additive manufacturing, the requirements for the metal powder used have changed significantly compared to classical powder metallurgy. As...
Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr or Ti-5553 is a metastable β Titanium alloy with excellent mechanical properties. Compared to the most common titanium alloy, the α and β Ti6Al4V, it offers improved tensile and fatigue strength while highly tunable by heat treatment.
In scope of this work, the processability of T-5553 by Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is investigated. The possible advantages of metastable...
Alloy-X is a well-established nickel-based superalloy that is extensively used in petrochemical- and aerospace industry due to its outstanding combination of corrosion resistance and high temperature performance. Since additive manufacturing is more and more establishing itself as a capable method for producing components with complex geometries, also the properties of 3D-printed samples must...
Additive manufacturing using wire arc technology, especially Cold Metal Transfer
(CMT), has become increasingly popular in the generation of large-scale and complex
shaped 3D parts. However, heat input and solidification shrinkage during deposition
causes distortions and residual stresses. These can significantly affect the geometric
accuracy and mechanical properties of the deposit....
The Horizon Europe project MULTi-FUN was creating novel solutions which shall enable multi-functional performance through multi-material additive manufacturing. In the years 2020-2023, successful developments were performed with respect to wire-arc AM machinery, customized materials as well as improved multi-material processing.
The three use cases contain demonstrators related to aerospace...
In the automotive sector, the so-called hairpin technology currently dominates the copper winding of stators in traction drives. In addition to the advantages of higher power density and deterministic production process steps, the winding technology also entails complexities and disadvantages. The production of hairpin stators requires high investments for production machines and their highly...
Wire-based DED/LMD promises some unique advantages compared to powder-based DED. Most relevant are the low cost of the starting material and the reduced health and safety risks. In the recent years, wire DED was mainly used for R&D purposes. In this study, however, we will present the adoption of wire DED to industrial requirements using Inconel 625 and 718 materials. By optimizing the system...
This presentation gives insights into current and upcoming metal applications for Space and Aerospace players based on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). What are the highlights and what are hurdles, that need to be tackled in the next months and years?
What is more, it will provide a status on currently ongoing R&D projects, that show the pro’s and con’s of Direct Energy Deposition (DED) for...
Wire-DED Plasma Arc (W-DED-PArc) has emerged as a promising Additive Manufacturing technology for fabricating high-performance and large-volume metal parts. However, producing multi-material components remains one of the challenges due to the interfacial properties, intermetallic phases, and compatibility of the different alloys to be joined together. The current study investigated the...
Wire-based directed energy deposition (w-DED) is a sophisticated technology for producing structural components. Managing bead features and defining process parameters are critical parts of the w-DED process for producing a flawless final product with minimal material waste. Based on thermo-physical relations, a thermo-capillary-gravity bidirectional model has been devised in this study for...
A notable limitation in current commercial laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems emanates from the non-uniform thermal conditions caused by conventional laser beams. The utilization of Gaussian intensity patterns in existing setups gives rise to significant issues, including excessive overheating and material evaporation, stemming from the concentration of energy at the central beam point....
The speech will also focus on the production of Metal Powders and Powder Metallurgical Steels and especially its associated production technologies like HIP, MIM and AM. As they are and will become key future core technologies for a number of demanding products and thus for the usage in different associated industries. The presentation will also highlight the actual supply and demand situation...
Additive manufacturing offers broad potential for cooling and heating molds or components. Well-balanced, near-contour temperature control channels were only the first step. Modern concepts should be highly energy efficient, meaning both reduction of the component's carbon footprint and optimization of the production process. These can include multi-material solutions (e.g. copper/steel),...
Integration of mass flow and pressure sensors in the gas supply system with the goal to control gas distribution and evaluate gas consumption is already common. A newly introduced FGF sensor module combines thermal mass flow, gas density and pressure in a single flow channel. The FGF module can identify gas type and compensate mass flow measurement accordingly. If, for example, inert gas...
Microstructures of single layer AISI M4 high speed steel deposited on AISI D2 tool steel substrate using L-DED process with two levels of global energy density were characterized and compared.
A five-axes PRECO-SL 8600 CNC machine was used to deposit the M4 powder feedstock with a continuous wave laser source, near-infrared wavelength laser beam, 2.0 mm spot size and coaxial continuous feed...
Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a metal 3d printing process suitable for building large, semi-complex, near-net shape components. The Welding and Additive Manufacturing Centre at Cranfield University has been at the forefront of WAAM development, working on this technology for over 17 years, investigating processes, materials, and the manufacture of components. WAAM can replace...
This study investigates the fatigue behaviour of a specially designed drive wheel made of Ti6Al4V using cold metal fusion. In addition to its actual task, the drive wheel also serves as a spring element to cushion force peaks caused by the application and thus protect surrounding components. The special design with integrated spokes and stop points allows for a rotation within the drive wheel...
Metal additive manufacturing is lacking behind on the adoption by industry for industrial production. Despite the well-known advantages, the total production, handlings and integration efforts are the main barriers, especially for aluminium alloys. Molten Metal Deposition is a new metal AM technology that tackles these barriers. This is realized be use of wire feedstock, absence of lasers,...
Reduced and real-time modelling is one of the main pillars of digital “process models” for twining of manufacturing processes. Starting from the data processing and model building, a digital twin of additive manufacturing (AM) processes involves creating virtual replica where predictions and corrections can be made in real-time. Developing such fast predictive/corrective digital models involve...
Most commercial Directed Energy Deposition(DED) machine tools use pneumatic methods of feedstock handling; the current study proposes a gravity-based design. The powder metering in the current design is accomplished via a helical-grooved metering rod rotating inside a powder-filled hopper, continuously dispensing powder mass in a small user-defined quantity. This powder is then shaped into a...
Ti-6Al-4V alloys are extensively used as a substitution for human bones as they are biocompatible, lightweight, corrosive resistant, and have low elastic modulus. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the best suitable process for realizing complex biomedical implants of Ti-6Al-4V alloys. However, some implants require a mirror-like polished surface typically obtained through a post-processing...
The actual state of the art in SLM is linked to the utilization of certain parameters according to the metal powder. Nevertheless, the shape and geometrical features of the parts to print as well as unexpected defects during the fusing process may lead to inconsistencies in the final part properties. In addition, there is a lack of monitoring tools that allow to analyze the process in-situ and...
The introduction of additive manufacturing (AM) has dramatically increased design freedom, and at the same time complicated the identification of the most suitable manufacturing technology for mechanical parts. Manufacturing process selection is typically carried out by experts, but this operation is increasingly challenging and experts are difficult to recruit. Hence, the main aim of this...
Wire-based Directed Energy Deposition (W-DED) is an often preferred method for the fabrication and repair of large metallic mechanical components because of its high deposition rate and cost-effectiveness. Utilizing higher kinematics for deposition in robotic W-DED facilitates the creation of overhanging structures without the need for additional support structures. However, there is currently...
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes, such as laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF), are commonly used to produce various components by using a laser to melt metal powders. Due to its widespread utilization, stainless steel 316L is one of the most commonly used materials in LPBF. It is well known that powders used in LPBF are affected by various factors, such as the manufacturing process,...
The Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process commonly known as Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (LB-PBF), enables the production of structures with unprecedented degrees of freedom that represents an excellent condition for development of metallic implants for biomedical applications. In this study, the effects of laser energy density on relative density and microstructure (presence of internal...
Components such as cables, screws, nails and many other things vital for our modern society are made from cold drawn wire. The wire is produced by pulling hot rolled wire through a single or a series of tools called drawing dies. In this process the cross-section of the wire is reduced, and the mechanical properties of the material is enhanced. Even though it is classified as a cold working...
Lattice structures (porous scaffolds) with interconnected pores provide better osteointegration compared to solid implants and minimize the stress shielding effect by reducing the effective elastic modulus of implants closer to the natural bones. This research focuses on developing biocompatible Orthopedic implants with reduced stress-shielding, better load-bearing and osteointegration...
Powder bed Electron Beam Melting of Ti-6Al-4V possesses better ultimate tensile strength than the conventional mill annealed Ti-6Al-4V. The changes in microstructure, tensile and fatigue crack growth rates were observed in the heat-treated samples below and above β transus temperature for one hour residence time followed by water and furnace cooling. Heat treatment below β transus temperature...
In the context of additive manufacturing, bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are a type of material that has gained attention due to their potential for producing large and intricate parts. However, when using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique to 3D print BMGs, there are challenges associated with the reheating of previously solidified layers during the process. This reheating can impact...
