The use of metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) has increased in recent years with potential benefits for novel design solutions and efficient manufacturing. In order to utilise these potentials, engineers need to address uncertainties related to product design and the AM process. This paper presents a design process utilising product-specific AM Design Artefacts (AMDAs) to assess uncertainties identified during design. The process emphasises the importance of concurrently developing the product and AM knowledge. Based on a research collaboration with industry, three case studies describe the use of this process in the development of products for AM. In total, six different types of AMDAs show how AM-related uncertainties are resolved to provide confidence in design solutions and manufacturability. The contributions of this paper are: (i) a design process where AMDAs are used as support in evolving and defining an AM design specification, (ii) an example of how Design for AM (DfAM) is practiced in industry and of typical AM uncertainties that are encountered and addressed, and (iii) an example of how collaborative research can facilitate new knowledge for both industry and academia. The practical implication is a DfAM process for engineers to use and adapt according to existing AM knowledge.
It is suggested that the space industry is an ideal case for Additive Manufacturing (AM), with a low production volume and need for complex geometries. However, few engineers have experience of AM design. One way to support design engineers with limited experience of AM is the use of design heuristics, to enhance variety, quality and creativity of potential designs. This paper is based on literature studies and observations of creative workshops with companies from the space industry. Results showed that heuristics assisted designers and 8/10 heuristics was utilised during the ideation phase.
One often-cited benefit of using metal additive manufacturing (AM) is the possibility to design and produce complex geometries that suit the required function and performance of end-use parts. In this context, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is one suitable AM process. Due to accessibility issues and cost-reduction potentials, such ‘complex’ LPBF parts should utilise net-shape manufacturing with minimal use of post-process machining. The inherent surface roughness of LPBF could, however, impede part performance, especially from a structural perspective and in particular regarding fatigue. Engineers must therefore understand the influence of surface roughness on part performance and how to consider it during design. This paper presents a systematic literature review of research related to LPBF surface roughness. In general, research focuses on the relationship between surface roughness and LPBF build parameters, material properties, or post-processing. Research on design support on how to consider surface roughness during design for AM is however scarce. Future research on such supports is therefore important given the effects of surface roughness highlighted in other research fields.
Due to the increasing complexity of embedded systems and software in vehicles, the automotive industry faces an increasing need for testing and verification of components and subsystems under realistic conditions. At the same time, development cycles must be shortened for vehicle manufacturers to be competitive on the global market, and an increased amount of testing and verification must thus be performed in less time. However, simply increasing the testing volume can be prohibitively costly, meaning that testing and verification processes must be made more efficient to reduce the need for more prototypes. This paper presents a concept for distributed testing and verification of vehicles in real-time, with the aim of improving testing and verification efficiency. Through a novel combination of software tools for distributed collaborative engineering, real-time simulation, visualization, and black box simulation, the realized system makes it possible for vehicle manufacturers and their subcontractors to work more concurrently and efficiently with testing and validation. An early implementation of a system prototype is described and future development plans for the system are presented. The main software components used to build up the system are ADAMS/Car RealTime, Matlab/Simulink and a Java-based real-time visualization module originally developed for the gaming industry. A main benefit of the concept is that different disciplines involved in the product development process can use the system to enhance the concurrency between them. Control systems and mechanical engineers can view ongoing tests in real-time and change designs, and efficiently re-simulate and influence ongoing tests in a distributed manner. Through advanced visualization of simulation results and measurement data, engineers can get a clearer view of how the system or product behaves, thereby improving the quality of the validation process. The concept for distributed real-time simulation and visualization described in this paper will gather more information during the early stages of product development, and speed up the product development process due to its real-time nature. The fact that engineers can stay at their home office and only follow the test when needed will enhance their efficiency.
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) brings the possibility to manufacture innovative near-net-shape part designs. But unfortunately, some designed surfaces suffer from rough surface finish due to characteristics of the LPBF process. This paper explores trends in managing surface roughness and through a space industry case study, a proposed process that uses Additive Manufacturing Design Artefacts (AMDAs) is used to investigate the relationship between design, surface roughness and fatigue. The process enables the identification of design uncertainties, however, iterations of AMDA's can be required.
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