Additive manufacturing of automotive components
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Högskolan Väst - Institutionen för ingenjörsvetenskap |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 500 000 |
| Project duration | October 2012 - September 2013 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | FFI - Sustainable Production |
| Call | 2012-02182-en |
| End-of-project report | 2012-02520sv.pdf(pdf, 460 kB) (In Swedish) |
Important results from the project
The objective is to evaluate the suitability of additive technology for creating possibilities for the use of new materials and new processing strategies in the production of lightweight components with high demands on product characteristics and reasonable production costs.
Expected long term effects
For additive manufacturing to compete with today´s manufacturing methods for existing components in the automotive industry, deposition rate needs to be increased significantly and the investment cost reduced. In order to achieve this, the robustness and the automation level of the process must increase. However, this requires a long-term investment in process development and control. Nevertheless, given today´s maturity of the technology, additive manufacturing could be used as a value-adding technology for new designs of lightweight components and prototypes.
Approach and implementation
The project was conducted in close collaboration with Volvo Trucks. Different fabrication scenarios have been examined from the existing products, but also new designs of lightweight structures. Laser metal deposition process developed at University West has been examined from the deposition rate point of view of thin substrates (~ 2mm). Active cooling has been tested to reduce heat input. However, results show that high traverse speed of the molten pool is more advantageous from a thermal perspective. However, this requires a more robust process and also a high level of automation.