The Metal Additive Manufacturing Technology Centre (MAMTeC) of the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) is going to work within a consortium of partners on the certification of critical metal 3D printed components. These include components for the aerospace, oil and gas, high-tech, defence and automotive industries, for example.
MAMTeC previously launched a similar programme for 3D printing in metal, which ran from 2015 and 2018. This programme focused specifically on laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), a printing method in which raw material is cured in powder form using a laser. For the new programme, MAMTeC will have access to a BeAM Modulo 400 3D printer to produce and repair parts via a Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process.
In DED, raw material is passed along a directed energy source such as a laser beam or electron beam to melt the material. Whereas in L-PBF the powdered material is first placed on the print bed and then cured, in DED the material is melted as it is printed. Generally, therefore, a DED printer is equipped with a nozzle that can move in several directions, allowing the material to be printed at the desired location.
Quality is critical
NLR argues that the aerospace, oil and gas, high-tech, defence and automotive industries can gain much from the benefits that additive manufacturing in metal brings. These include lower weight, improved performance and higher efficiency. However, the quality of components used in these sectors is critical. NLR is responding to this by working with partner to develop certification for such components.
A high-quality and stable production process is needed to meet the stringent requirements often found in these industries. A key part of the programme is therefore research into the deployment of monitoring systems that keep a close eye on the printing process. Research is also being conducted into simulation techniques for additive manufacturing in metal, looking at both simulating prints with L-PBF and DED. These simulations should give more insight into the temperature developments during the printing process, which can have an impact on the material. Using the simulations, NLR aims to arrive at an optimal production process. The main aim here is to develop a 'first time right' production method.
Public-private project
The certification programme is a public-private partnership. Organisations involved in the project include Oerlikon, Shell, Patria (Finland), BeAM (France), the Dutch Ministry of Defence, Thales, Aeonamics, KIMS (Korea) and Mokveld Valves. Interested parties are welcome to join the project. Further information is available on the NLR website.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: NLR
