Validation of a novel control system for additive manufacturing in aeroengine component fabrication

Important results from the project

Additive manufacturing (AM) with laser and metal wire offers great opportunities for e.g. material savings in the manufacture of structural aircraft engine components, but the technology needs to be quality assured. The project intends to test a new control system developed by Procada with increased redundancy in the sensory module. The goal is to achieve higher robustness than today´s control systems by adding optical sensors to the electrical sensor system. The results show that higher robustness is possible but full redundancy was not achieved for all test cases.

Expected long term effects

Quality-assured Additive Manufacturing for high-value applications can give Swedish manufacturers a strong competitive advantage in a global market through more freedom for weight reduction, less material waste and shorter lead times. Furthermore, AM technology leads to significant reduction in environmental impact both during production of a product and during the product´s service life. Going forward, based on the successful test cases from the project, the team has identified repair of thin turbine blades as a suitable application.

Approach and implementation

The project is divided into 4 activities: 1. Definition of test cases relevant to the production of aircraft engine components 2. Control system design with focus on sensor fusion 3. System analysis (robustness and repeatability) 4. Potential for future production. Knowledge transfer to relevant actors in the aerospace and energy sector. The above activities have been carried out together with University West in their AM cell at Production Technology Centre in Trollhättan. With a number of test cases, the system has been evaluated and gaps towards TRL4 / TRL5 have been identified.