Application driven development for increased robustness and reliability utilized in metal additive manufacturing
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | SWERIM AB - Swerim AB, Kista |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 5 577 194 |
| Project duration | June 2018 - December 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme for Metallic material |
Purpose and goal
The verification technology developed within the project makes it possible to monitor the process layer by layer in real time. Even though it was possible to produce samples with different properties after printing, the properties of the selected material in the project (cold work tool steel) were normalized by the heat treatment. In this way, robust and predictable properties on components could be created.
Expected results and effects
The developed verification technology is now commercially available, which increases the possibility for faster optimization of the process and development of new materials in PBF-EB. The material manufacturer in the project has increased its knowledge of their material´s properties in manufacturing through PBF-EB and what opportunities there are for future commercialization. In the project, the project partners have developed their methods for testing AM materials, which is of great importance for increased industrialization.
Planned approach and implementation
The development of the verification technique was challenging and instead ran in parallel with the process development of the material in PBF-EB. Since the impact of the process parameters on the properties was normalized by the heat treatment, the focus was instead on more quickly exploring the process window to find areas with interesting properties. An empirical prediction model was developed where parameters that provide high density over a wide process window were found with good precision.