Coaxial Wire Additive Manufacturing Processes and In-Line Monitoring Tools

In this section

Back to Core Research Programme AMorph – 4D Printing for Field Morphing Structures Automation of Composite and Hybrid Joining Process Coaxial Wire Additive Manufacturing Processes and In-Line Monitoring Tools Development of Coded Excitation Technique for Non-Metallic Pipes Inspection Development of Digital Twin technology as a demonstrator for real-time integrity assessment of crack growth in tensile specimens Development of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) for Hydrogen Fuel Storage Tanks Development of Leak-Before-Break Hydrogen Storage Composite Pressure Vessels With Polymeric Liner Establishing Assessment Methods for Determining Safe Service Limits of High-Temperature Materials in Extreme Environments Fracture toughness in aggressive environments: effect of crack monitoring techniques on test results In-process detection and non-destructive testing of electron beam weld imperfections Internal Bore Coatings for Applications in Corrosion and Hydrogen Environment Joining of Additively Manufactured Materials Long term behaviour of polymeric liner materials/coatings in hydrogen service Techniques for High Temperature Ultrasonic Inspection of Arc Welding Ultimate Leverage Fund

Project Code: 34793

Start date and planned duration: January 2022, 36 months

Objectives

Develop an enhanced capability and flexibility for meter-scale additive manufacturing with coaxial-wire directed energy deposition (DED) technology
Produce benchmarking data and comparison between electron beam (EB)- and laser beam (LB)-DED technology and resultant materials
Validate in-line process monitoring tools for process control and quality assurance
Demonstration of advantages and technology potential

Project Outline

Additive manufacturing (AM) can produce parts by adding material layer-upon-layer, this is enabled with assistance of CAD/CAM. AM is often renowned for improving material utilisation, and manufacturing speeds for complex components.

DED technologies are unable to produce features and geometries as complex as powder bed fusion (PBF), but are generally much faster at adding material and can produce parts much larger >1000cm3. Additionally DED technologies can be used for a wider range of applications including coatings, repair, hybrid/feature addition, and large-scale near-net shape AM
Wire deposition offers a number of potential advantages over powder deposition
Higher productivity (5-20x faster deposition rates)
Cheaper feedstock material (£15/kg cf £60/kg for tool steel)
High material utilisation (99% vs 85%), and completely free from powder inflicted porosity (though still susceptible to other causes of porosity)
One of the key barriers to uptake in some of these sectors is quality assurance of components produced by AM

Industry Sectors

- Aerospace

- Construction & Engineering

- Oil & Gas

- Power

- Equipment, Consumables & Materials

- Surface Transport

Benefits to Industry

Offering state-of-the-art innovative services to its Industrial Members
Enhance staff knowledge & expertise
Knowledge of performance testing and its results can also be used to generate future business, from customers interested in surface modification and hard-facing coatings for high-value components
Know-how from this work can be further developed from advanced rotatory coating applications, to repair and freeform AM
Develop DED AM beyond the current state-of-the-art and increase future member business in AM, particularly in the production and/or repair of high value components
Knowledge gained will inform members’ decisions around AM and process selection. TWI will continue to grow its portfolio of AM and expertise, enabling ideal selection specific member manufacturing challenges
Machine access, technology transfer leading to more rapid qualification of AM parts.