Robust Additive Manufacturing of Components with Thin Walls and Narrow Channels

Purpose and goal:

This project investigates the robustness of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process with a focus on the integrity of thin walls and narrow channels produced with this technology. For parts where the performance is heavily reliant on thin walls (e.g., for heat transfer) and narrow channels (e.g., for fluid transfer) a robust LPBF production that can guarantee fluid-tightness, high mechanical strength, and dimensional accuracy is critical.

Expected results and effects:

Uncertainty about the robustness of the LPBF process has been the major obstacle for industrialization of this technology for serial production. In this project, the impact of the sources of variation on the integrity of thin walls and narrow channels will be comprehensively assessed. This will facilitate the widespread adoption of the LPBF technology by the manufacturing industry for serial production of parts for high-performance applications.

Approach and implementation:

A new methodology for evaluation of process robustness that is cost-effective and less test intensive will be developed. This new methodology is based on predictions from LPBF process simulation. by utilizing process simulation it is possible to carry out numerous virtual print runs in order to perform a comprehensive repeatability/reproducibility assessment.

The predictions from the process simulations will then be coupled with the data generated with the real-time process monitoring tools and the post-production quality assurance methods.