With more than 10 years experience in 3D metal printing, Poly-Shape controls this so-called inclusive technology that more and more interests the big industrialists or start-ups. It is now undeniable that they are more and more numerous to wish this modern path that revolutionizes the way to manufacture metal parts, from prototype to mass production.
Series production is the subject of this case study carried out recently by Poly-Shape who wishes to demonstrate its capabilities to produce parts quality in large number, according to the mechanical characteristics of each. This demonstrator, placed under glass as fragile, is the proof that additive manufacturing can meet constraints of medium production series. The benefits of additive manufacturing are numerous : first it offers freedom of design never achieved before, allowing the creation of parts with very complex geometries. Then, it saves the raw material and significant energy, which has a direct impact on the final cost of each production. Finally, the flexibility of this method allows optimization of each part (weight reduction, addition of functions, etc.), according to the expectations of the specifications or guidelines from the R&D department.
The Wastegate Project
The part on which experts of Poly-Shape have thought is a wastegate actuator, very known by motorsport lovers. It comes from a customer case treated in 2017. The book loads has been changed to a matter of privacy but also to be more difficult to achieve at the level of the values of effort and the fixing points, while keeping its functionality first. Originally, it is a performed part in a traditional way with two welded reinforcements aluminum alloy. To lighten the part and to ensure mechanical strength, Poly-Shape has appealed to 3D metal printing technology, using an aluminum alloy (AlSi7Mg0.6) and a design based on an topological optimization in order to create a judicious distribution of the material.
The real difficulty is to be able to reproduce this piece in large numbers to suit production rates and costs of production. The use of a reduced amount of material per part and a strategy of nesting of parts between them allow to effectively address this problem by minimizing production time while promoting the number of parts on a platter. The geometry of the part is modified to limit the amount of material, and therefore the time manufacturing and withdrawal of these materials that will be eliminated during the times of machining, or even directly by hand. We therefore rehabilitated the design to allow the stacking of parts and produce once to limit the costs of the use of the machine.» explains Jeremy Cousin, Training Manager of Poly-Shape.
Thus on the same platter, with the Laser Beam control by Poly-Shape Melting process, it is possible to simultaneously produce 228 rooms in 76 columns, 5 cubes of porosity and 13 pieces of traction over 5 columns to ensure control of parts throughout the production.
The second innovation we notice in this project is the fact that holders of parts can be remove by hand. A simple pressure of the thumbs it is easy to separate one part to another. Save considerable time in a post-production phase which is usually the more time consuming. Finally a finishing phase achieves the surface of the part.
Convinced that innovation will allow industries of tomorrow to differentiate themselves, Poly-Shape, European leader in 3D metal printing, offers to help companies that wish to take the turn of additive manufacturing to evolve their offerings and why not to position on new markets.
Contact : Luc Debenoit
l.debenoit@poly-shape.com +33 (0)4 13 22 14 09