WP9 – Nonplanar.DED

The use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in metal processes enables the construction of optimized components that add significant value across the manufacturing chain. The goal of this project is to study three different AM techniques for metals in a laboratory environment and explore their potential for factory implementation.

The project focuses on the applicability of amorphous metallic materials in Selective Laser Melting (SLM) powder bed AM processes to develop mold components for producing optical systems used in the automotive sector. These amorphous materials, lacking grain boundaries, offer enhanced wear and corrosion resistance.

Surface quality is a critical factor, as this process requires supports for part construction, necessitating subtractive processes for surface finishing. This is particularly important in molds, where low roughness surfaces are essential for extracting molded plastic parts efficiently.

To overcome some challenges associated with the SLM powder bed process, the project will also explore Electron Beam Melting (EBM) AM systems in mold production. The EBM technique is similar to SLM in that it uses a powder bed; however, part melting relies on electron melting rather than lasers. The EBM system offers faster part construction due to the ability to conduct larger scans when building layers.

The EBM process also yields improved surface quality compared to SLM, as it does not require supports for part construction. During the initial scanning phase, lower-charge electron scans aggregate the powder, allowing it to serve as a support structure before the consolidation scan.

The project will also study the application of metallic metamaterials within mold structures to introduce alternative mechanical properties and behaviors that are not achievable with traditional materials and processes.

In summary, this project’s objective is the construction of highly optimized and specialized molds using three distinct AM techniques, aimed at optimizing cycle time, reducing energy costs during use, and enhancing the final quality of produced parts. Each technique will be applied to specific components of the case study and will be refined in a continuous development laboratory unit before being implemented on the factory floor, ensuring compatibility with a continuous production system (TRL > 7).