Manufacturing

For this major review carried out for the Society of Automotive Engineers, I interviewed engineers at the global leader in additive manufacturing (AM) technology. A few of the contributing companies include EOS, Liebherr-Aerospace, Renishaw, DM3D and Norsk Titanium. I brought their views together to understand the state of the art in AM for structural aerospace components.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is currently being used to produce many certified aerospace components. However, significant advantages of AM are not exploited due to unresolved issues associated with process control, feedstock materials, surface finish, inspection, and cost. Components subject to fatigue must undergo surface finish improvements to enable inspection. This adds cost and limits the use of topology optimization. Continued development of process models is also required to enable optimization and understand the potential for defects in thin-walled and slender sections. Costs are high for powder-fed processes due to material costs, machine costs, and low deposition rates. Costs for wire-fed processes are high due to the extensive postprocess machining required. In addition, these processes are limited to low-complexity features. Incremental improvements in all of these areas are being made, but a step change could potentially be achieved by hybrid processes, which use wire feedstock to deposit the bulk of the part and powder for fine detail.

The full report can be purchased from SAE International.

Composites offer significant advantages where high strength and low weight are required. These materials are, unfortunately, also very difficult to recycle. Composites consist of fiber reinforcement embedded within a polymer matrix. The polymer may be a thermoset, such as epoxy, or a thermoplastic, such as polyester. Separating the fibers from the matrix is a huge challenge for recycling, especially where thermoset materials are used. Production costs for composite components are also very high. Now ProDrive, a UK motorsport specialist, has developed a process that looks set to reduce production costs while enabling low-cost recycling, therefore also reducing material costs. This may open up new applications for composites in mass-market products such as cars. Read the full article published on engineering.com…

A new £8 million research project, led by GKN Aerospace and backed by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), is focusing on developing and demonstrating robotic and digital technologies required for the next generation of aircraft wing manufacturing. Read the full article, published on engineering.com…

There has been huge excitement in recent years about new forms of carbon such as graphene, carbon nanotubes and Buckminsterfullerene (buckyballs). This article looks at the new forms of carbon, such as nanotubes and graphene, and considers whether we may be on the verge of a carbon revolution. Read the full article, published on engineering.com…

Researchers are developing ways of using machine learning to adjust process parameters in automated composites manufacturing. This is removing the need for human intervention and improving quality. Read the full article, published on SAE.org…