The British University of Sheffield is joining INTEGRADDE. This European consortium aims to improve the reliability, speed and quality of additive manufacturing techniques.
INTEGRADDE is a European consortium involving 26 partners from 11 different countries. One of the participants is Dutch company MX3D, known among other things for 3D printing bridges. Other participants include the companies Atos, AcelorMittal, DataPixel, Loiretech and Prima Industries. A range of universities are also involved in the consortium, including Brunel University London, Imperial College London, Portugal's University of Coimbra and Sweden's University West.
Direct Energy Deposition
The INTEGRADDE project aims to develop an intelligent data-driven pipeline for the production of certified metal parts via Direct Energy Deposition (DED). DED is a 3D printing technique specifically for printing metal parts. Two types of raw material can be used in DED: metal powder or metal wire. Both are pushed through a nozzle and heated to their melting point here, after which the material is printed onto a print bed. By printing layers on top of each other, it is possible to build an object layer by layer.
The main aim of INTEGRADDE is to develop an end-to-end solution that can demonstrate the potential of DED processes for the production of large-scale certified metal parts in metalworking. The project should lead to the development of a new product methodology that allows to guarantee the reliability, quality and manufacturability of a metal component from the initial product design.
Sub-objectives
Several sub-objectives have been established within the project:
- The development of pilot plants based on DED processes, combining additive manufacturing with existing manufacturing technologies to produce various metal parts.
- The development of a new data-driven pipeline that supports design, simulation and manufacturing planning for additive manufacturing.
- Implementing a Quality-by-Design manufacturing strategy based on real-time management systems, inline quality controls and minimal use of raw materials.
- The implementation of a digital end-to-end engineering concept.
- Demonstrating the INTEGRADDE approach in several pilot production lines for manufacturing certified metal components.
Pilot production lines
For these pilot production lines, INTEGRADDE is working with manufacturers from different sectors. A total of five production lines will be set up:
- Working with France's Loiretech to produce moulds for the aerospace industry.
- Dutch company MX3D is developing new structural support and steel connectors for optimised structures.
- Titanium enclosures for motors are being developed in collaboration with Sweden's GKN.
- Collaborate with AccelorMital on the production, functionalisation and reconstruction of large parts for steel processing.
- Slovenian company Corda is developing tooling for the automotive industry.
Unpredictable defects
"Production costs and the presence of currently unpredictable defects in metal products and parts produced with additive manufacturing limits the wide-scale embrace and deployment by industry. Therefore, the potential of 3D printing in the manufacturing industry has not yet been realised," reports the University of Sheffield in a press release.
"To address this, consortium members are developing a strategy of continuous and integral optimisation and management of additive manufacturing processes, from product design to final verification. This will enable the implementation of new production frameworks that are faster and defect-free. The project also seeks solutions to optimise current industrial pilot production lines using data science and artificial intelligence."
More information about INTEGRADDE can be found on the project's website.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: INTEGRADDE
