Innovation in DED and WAAM Additive Manufacturing Technologies
During the last years, Laser-based Material Deposition to form coatings, repairs or complete 3D structures has gained substantial interest in industry for applications in Aerospace, Energy conversion, the Oil and Gas industry, Medicine, and Mechanical Engineering[i]. However, systems hardware such as nozzle design and additional energy sources continue evolving to be adapted to the specific process needs. Besides, relevant innovation can be found in aspects like process control and an in-depth understanding of the key processing variables, their effect on the resulting material microstructure and their resulting properties, which are key to guarantee a successful material deposition.
Regarding innovation in materials processing[ii], while rising requirements for high temperate materials used, i.e., in jet engines, and stronger regulations concerning the reduction of CO2 emissions, new high temperature materials, as well as suitable manufacturing technologies to combine different advanced materials, such as Metal Direct Energy Deposition, are under development. By means of multi-material buildups, cost-intensive alloys could be only used in high-loaded areas of the part, whereas the remaining part could be fabricated with cheaper compositions. The selection of combined materials strongly depends on the requested thermophysical but also mechanical properties. Examples in different applications, on power generation, medical technology or wear resistant components, show how alloys can be arranged to fit together, e.g., in terms of a well-chosen coefficient of thermal expansion, corrosion protection, hardness and ductility.
Among Direct Energy Deposition metal technologies, Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) outstands featuring in lower cost and higher efficiency than other metal additive manufacturing technologies, which has a great potential in large-scale industrial production[iii]. However, there is complex physical phenomenon in WAAM, and many technological parameters, such as heat input, current, wire feeding speed, etc., which deeply influence the physical mechanism. Alike in all additive manufacturing processes, monitoring is essential to assess quality, and therefore, optical inspection, spectral sensing, acoustic sensing, thermal sensing, electrical sensing, and multi-sensor monitoring systems are applied.
An overview of INTEGRADDE Project Main Innovations
Several of these innovations in WAAM and other DED technologies, have been developed in the frame of INTEGRADDE Project. Integradde Project has combined research on building strategy optimization, multi-scale and multi-physic modelling, hardware-independent building process, online control, and inline quality assurance for the manufacturing of certified metal parts. In this regard, a self-adaptive control has been developed focused on the implementation of a non-propagation of defects strategy. Finally, a Data-Analytics system, endorsed with cognitive abilities gaining knowledge from overall process, assists in the design and manufacturing of new components, addressing mass customization manufacturing approach.
INTEGRADDE objective focuses on the development of a smart data-driven pipeline, addressing the following key innovations:
In practical terms, INTEGRADDE targeted industrial demonstration of AM deployment in different application driven pilot projects in Aeronautics, Construction, Steel, and Tooling sectors. Moreover, INTEGRADDE also targeted the creation of a network of open pilot lines supported by the facilities owned by the RTOs partners, with the goal of providing services and testing facilities for the uptake of AM in the European industry ecosystem. The main objective of these open pilots is ensuring interoperability and usability of INTEGRADDE concepts and developments in the widest way.
Those application driven pilot projects developed are the following (for more information visit INTEGRADDE Pilot Projects):
-?????????Development and manufacturing of Invar tooling molds for the Aerospace manufacturing sector by WAAM.
-?????????Development and manufacturing of new structural support beams and steel connectors for optimized structures by WAAM.
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-?????????Development and manufacturing of an engine case made of titanium by LMD-wire.
-?????????Manufacturing, functionalization, and reconstruction of high large parts for steelmaking process by LMD powder.
-?????????Development and manufacturing of new multi-material tooling components for the automotive sector by LMD-powder.
The open pilot lines available, ready to apply the developments achieved within INTEGRADDE project, are the following (for more information visit INTEGRADDE Open Pilot Lines): Robot-based cells for LMD-powder (LMD-p) in AIMEN (ES); Robot-based cells for WAAM and LMD-wire (LMD-w) in UNIVERSITY WEST (SE); Robot-based workstation for WAAM and different equipment for inspection of AM components in CEA TECH (FR); CNC-based cells for LMD-p and robot-based LMD-w in IREPA Laser Technology Transfer Centre (FR).
References:
[i] Leyens, C. & Beyer, E.. (2015). Innovations in laser cladding and direct laser metal deposition. 10.1016/B978-1-78242-074-3.00008-8.
[ii] Lopez, Elena & Müller, Michael & Kaspar, J?rg & Mirko, Riede & Brueckner, Frank & Leyens, C.. (2021). Innovative Materials for Laser Metal Deposition.
[iii] Yan Li, Chen Su, Jianjun Zhu, Comprehensive review of wire arc additive manufacturing: Hardware system, physical process, monitoring, property characterization, application and future prospects, Results in Engineering, Volume 13, 2022, 100330, ISSN 2590-1230, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2021.100330.
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1 年Luisa Elena Mondora #WALCHY!!!