Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the most trending technologies nowadays, and it has the potential to become one of the most disruptive technologies for manufacturing. Academia and industry pay attention to AM because it enables a wide range of new possibilities for design freedom, complex parts production, components, mass personalization, and process improvement. The material extrusion (ME) AM technology for metallic materials is becoming relevant and equivalent to other AM techniques, like laser powder bed fusion. Although ME cannot overpass some limitations, compared with other AM technologies, it enables smaller overall costs and initial investment, more straightforward equipment parametrization, and production flexibility.This study aims to evaluate components produced by ME, or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), with different materials: Inconel 625, H13 SAE, and 17-4PH. The microstructure and mechanical characteristics of manufactured parts were evaluated, confirming the process effectiveness and revealing that this is an alternative for metal-based AM.

Benchmarking L-PBF Systems for Die Production: Powder, Dimensional, Surface, Microstructural and Mechanical Characterisation

“…Additive manufacturing (AM), particularly Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), offers a transformative solution with its layer-by-layer fabrication approach [10][11][12]. L-PBF's ability to produce intricate designs and minimise material waste holds significant promise for optimising die production processes [13][14][15]. With its high strength, toughness, and widespread applications in tooling, maraging steel is a prime candidate for AM die manufacturing [16][17][18][19].…”

“…Figure 1. Schematic representation of the L-PBF system apparatus: (1) laser source, (2) beam expander, (3) adjustable mirrors, (4) Z -axis system, (5) scan head (or galvanometric scanner), (6) laser beam, (7) building part, (8) metallic powder, (9) build plate, (10) build compartment, (11) roller, (12) container of powder to be delivery system, (13) recoater, and ( 14) powder overflow container. (3) adjustable mirrors, (4) Z -axis system, (5) scan head (or galvanometric scanner), (6) laser beam, (7) building part, (8) metallic powder, (9) build plate, (10) build compartment, (11) roller, (12) container of powder to be delivery system, (13) recoater, and ( 14) powder overflow container.…”

The Heat Treatment Effects on the Microstructure, Hardness, and Sigma Phase Content of L-PBF SAE 316L Stainless Steel

“…This way, it is possible to have significant personalization of the fabricated parts, which can be attractive for industries such as aerospace and biomedical since this method can produce near-net shape parts with complex geometries at no extra costs [4][5][6][7]. Within AM techniques, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is currently the most widely adopted metal AM technology among diverse options like Binder Jetting and Fused Filament Fabrication [8]. In L-PBF, thin layers of powder feedstock are spread onto a build plate, and a laser selectively fuses pre-defined regions based on a computer-aided design (CAD) part model referenced in an execution build file with stacked layers [9].…”

Design and Optimization of a Gripper Clamp

“…This evolution has enabled the significant personalization of manufactured components, making it particularly appealing to industries such as aerospace and biomedical. The methodology allows for producing near-net shape components with complex geometries at minimal additional cost (Costa et al 2021;Bedmar et al 2022).…”

“…Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) has recently piqued the design and engineering research community's interest. It can be understood as the process of creating, optimizing, or adapting the form and function of a part, assembly, or product to fully utilize the advantages of AM processes (Costa et al 2021). Thus, respecting the methodologies of this technology and at the same time taking advantage of its unique capabilities, it is possible to achieve an interesting performance.…”