Does Additive Manufacturing have a place in diesel engine manufacture?Sarah Parsons, Product Design Engineering MEng Undergraduate, Loughborough University

Contents Who am I? An introduction to Additive Manufacturing

(AM) The feasibility of using AM processes for mass

production Conclusion and questions

Who am I? An introduction to Additive Manufacturing

(AM) The feasibility of using AM processes for mass

production Conclusion and questions

An Introduction Final year Product Design Engineering

Master’s student at Loughborough University

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Engineering Leadership Advanced Award awardee

Due to take part in the Global Grand Challenges

Summit 2015 in Beijing with a project on Carbon Sequestration

Who am I? An introduction to Additive

Manufacturing (AM) The feasibility of using AM processes for mass

production Conclusion and questions

What is Additive Manufacturing? Additive Manufacturing is defined as the

manufacturing process to build 3D objects by adding layer-upon-layer of material

The material can be plastic, metal, concrete or even human tissue

AM processes include: Vat Polymerisation Material Jetting Material Extrusion Directed Energy Deposition Powder Bed Fusion

Metal depositing AM processes Direct Metal Laser Sintering/Selective Laser

Melting & Electron Beam Melting (DMLS,SLM & EBM) DMLS & SLM creates metal parts directly from 3D

CAD data without the use of tooling Great choice for functional metal prototypes, high

temperature applications and end-use partsLaser

Platform

Elevator

Mirror

Roller

Metal Powder

Laser Powder Forming (LPF)

Can be used to repair or add volume to pre-existing metal objects as well as manufacture new objects

Bonds between layers of material are created without melting material

Allows for metallic bonds between different metals

Metal Powder

Laser

Platform

Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM)

Platform

Elevator

Milling head

Metal strips

Ultrasonic printhead

Metal depositing AM processes

Metal deposited AM products

Case studiesRolls Royce Considering

embarking on AM of entire components due to faster production and reduced costs

Improved buy-to-fly ratio on materials

General Electric In 2012, GE bought AM

Morris Technologies Manufacturing aero fuel

injection nozzles using AM – the conventional method required 20 separate parts to be made and welded together

By the end of 2016, it is making 10-20 fuel nozzles for each engine using AM (25,000 a year)

Who am I? An introduction to Additive Manufacturing (AM) The feasibility of using AM

processes for mass production Conclusion and questions

Manufacturing for growth – the developing AM sector Three of the fastest-growing areas for AM

include the medical, dental, automotive and aerospace sectors1

In 10 years, the use of AM for the production of final products has gone from almost nothing to 28.3% of the total product and services revenue from AM worldwide.

1 - The Royal Academy of Engineering (2013) Additive Manufacturing: Opportunities and Constraints, London: The Royal Academy of Engineering.

Manufacturing for growth – the developing AM sector

Efficiency, creativity & accessibility – the advantages of AM for engine fabrication

Optimised design More complex geometries are achievable, leading

to improved performance, reliability, product differentiation and weight rationality

Lower cost production Hybrid production incorporating AM can help

reduce outlay on high value materials and reduce part counts

Responsive production Shorter supply chains Improved carbon

footprint

Case study - Turbocharger Central housing

SLM technology – Stainless Steel 316L AM can offer a more optimized design to avoid damage

caused by a weak lubrication or cooling channel system

Turbine impeller and shaft LPF technology – Inconel 718 Welding process of the

turbine impeller and the shaft can be subtracted

Reduce lead time and manufacturing costs

Compressor impeller SLM technology – AlSi10Mg An optimized design of the impellers produced by AM

can increase the pressure ratio and improve the efficiency of the turbocharger

The challenges of AM Software

Today’s CAD programs are considered inadequate for designing for AM

Data management Better data management and increased memory

capacity can accelerate the uptake of AM Affordability

Material feedstock Speed

For high volume production, AM can be a lot slower than traditional methods of manufacture

The challenges of AM Standards

Global standards are already advancing however more are required

Reliability To keep within six sigma rejection rates,

machines and their standards need to advance

Until then, hybrid production can be utilised

Business funding Governments are being terribly half-

hearted about funding existing companies to utilise AM!

Forging a future for AM Education

Students, potential investors and leaders of industry Using AM as a tool in education

Stimulating R&D through competitions Encourages technology stretch

Creating clusters Creates opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas

between companies Finding mavericks

Building a framework Defining the sector

Separating out the market and creating a clearer map of which technology suits which applications

Opening up the bottom end of the market (3D printing) to new people

Improving materials and making inline processing happen at the top end of the market

Understanding the benefits created by different versions of the technology

Who am I? An introduction to Additive Manufacturing (AM) The feasibility of using AM processes for mass

production Conclusion and questions

Does Additive Manufacturing have a place in diesel engine manufacture? The application of AM to commercial engine

production has high potential Hybrid production will most likely be the most cost-

efficient method of manufacture AM can be introduced into the mass production cycle

for components such as valves and injectors before the consideration of its use for larger parts

This is dependant on the improvements made in machine reliability/ repeatability, CAD/CAM software and AM global standards

Thank you for listeningAre there any questions?