March 27, 2019IDAMThe joint project held a kick-off meeting in Munich, aiming to pave the way for additive manufacturing to enter automotive series production. IDAM’s goal is to promote the “industrialization and digitization of AM technology in the automotive sector”. In this project, 12 project partners are making continuous efforts to sustainably strengthen Germany’s technological pioneer status and lay an important cornerstone for Germany’s status as a manufacturing power in the next industrial revolution.
The IDAM project has been halfway in progress so far. In this issue, we will work with netizens to understand the status of the IDAM project on the progress of one of the member units of the cooperation plan, GKN.
BMW mass-produced3D printingcar parts
Car industrialization,3D printingBreakthrough Road
This 20 million euro project was partly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and gathered 12 partners: RWTH Aachen University Digital ManufacturingDAP Academy,Fraunhofer ILTFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Faculty of Metal Forming and Casting, Technical University of Munich,GKNPowder metallurgy,BMW Group, Aconity (additive manufacturing business spin-off from Alcoa), Concept Reply, Myrenne, Intec, Kinexon Industries, Volkmann, Schmitz Spezialmaschinenbau.
Each partner contributes in its specific area of expertise to help establish a fully automated, industrialized additive manufacturing pilot production line. IDAM’s goal is to establish two test lines, one at GKN’s factory in Bonn and the other at GKN’s factory in Bonn.BMW GroupFactory in Munich.
BMW Munich3D printingProduct development in the park.Source: BMW
Modular production line
The IDAM team is working towards the direction of additive manufacturing technology to meet specific requirements to produce parts of consistent quality and individual spare parts based on specific components.The goal is every year3D printingAt least 50,000 mass-produced parts and more than 10,000 parts and spare parts. The IDAM trial production line contains an open architecture, which can be applied to any LPBF system (selected laser metal melting3D printingTechnology).
GKN powder metallurgy is an important member of the IDAM alliance and the organizer of one of the two pilot production lines at the Bonn plant in Germany. GKN uses its extensive knowledge in conventional powder metallurgy series production and its experience in metal additive manufacturing to create industrialized, automated factory settings.
The modular approach in IDAM can also enable other additive manufacturing technologies in the GKN product portfolio (such as metal binder injection) to be digitally connected and benefit from new developments. Within the framework of the IDAM project, GKN acts as a key bridge between project members, transforming the concept of process development from an academic perspective to an application-centric strategy. GKN and BMW also provided important insights into the qualification process and provided support to small and medium enterprises that are developing trial modules.
BMW Munich3D printingThe park uses VR for production planning.Source: BMW
At present, the IDAM project is in the stage of checking the concept of the pilot line module, and plans to accept the remaining modules in early 2021. There is still about one year to test and verify. In other words, the digital architecture is nearing completion. Due to the modular structure of the production line, it can be upgraded if necessary, and each module can be adapted to different production requirements. In addition, the process steps can be flexibly controlled. By comprehensively considering the requirements for integration into the automobile production line, the project partners plan to reduce the manual part of the process chain from the current approximately 35% to less than 5%. at the same time,3D printingThe unit cost of metal parts should be halved.
Build a digital architecture
In the past year, the most critical issue to be solved was the creation of a digital architecture, including digital standards and an overview of IoT connectivity for the AM process chain. The digital architecture covering the entire additive manufacturing process is essential to ensure the communication between the modules of the additive manufacturing process chain and to achieve the reliability required for mass production.
One of the biggest obstacles to adapting to the digital architecture is the various LPBF systems (selected laser metal melting3D printingTechnology) to create a comprehensive solution, these systems are different in the interface with the process chain.
EOS equipment in the GKN factory. Source: GKN
LPBF system on the market (selected area laser metal melting3D printingThe diversity of technologies) makes it very difficult to implement reliable and flexible interfaces. GKN is currently verifying the recently purchased EOS M300-4 four-laser system, testing the multi-laser exposure strategy, and improving the productivity of the system. Currently, the new metal additive manufacturing system has been installed in the company’s Bonn plant in May 2020.
Industrial potential of DP600 steel
With nearly half the progress of the IDAM project, one of the most significant advances is the identification of metal powder materials by GKN, which proves the huge potential of DP 600 duplex steel for industrialization in the automotive market. This is a dual-phase steel whose mechanical properties can be adjusted by heat treatment.
The DP 600 dual-phase steel gas atomized material has been verified on the EOS M300-4 system. Its elongation rate reaches 13% (as it is), reaches 22% (after heat treatment), and its tensile strength reaches 700 MPA (after heat treatment). ). These characteristics make dual-phase steel materials an ideal choice for structural applications in the automotive and other industrial markets. By using water atomized powder for future applications, the cost of parts can be further reduced.
Scientific research escorts the IDAM project
It is worth mentioning that there are two heavyweight members in the IDAM Alliance: Digital Manufacturing at RWTH Aachen UniversityDAP Academy,Fraunhofer ILTFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology. Since 1995, Fraunhofer of Aachen has been pushing the boundaries of additive manufacturing, from hybrid manufacturing, to the birth of the patent of selective laser melting technology SLM, to mold application development, implant application development, etc., gathered here in Aachen The frontier development trend of the two main lines of technology and application.
Video: ACAM navigates complex additive manufacturing
In the video, the two direct leaders of ACAM, Professor Schleifenbaum, are from Fraunhofer ILT and Chairman of the DAP Faculty of RWTH Aachen University, and Dr. Artnz is from Fraunhofer IPT
In 2015, based on Fraunhofer ILT, Fraunhofer IPT, RWTH Aachen UniversityACAMEstablished to gather Aachen’s resources and application needs through ACAM to further promote the development of the industry. At present, more than 100 researchers are engaged in the research of additive manufacturing, unlocking the complex secrets of additive manufacturing. ACAM concentrates Aachen’s superior resources to promote the development of additive manufacturing certification, joint research and development, training and education, and industrial incubation.
The Aachen campus where ACAM is located has been built asEuropean 5G Industrial Park, The 5G network was launched on May 12, 2020. With an area of nearly 1 square kilometer, 19 5G antennas and a bandwidth of 10 Gbits per second, the Aachen campus in Germany runs the largest 5G research network in Europe. The innovative value that 5G brings to the manufacturing industry is Networked, Adaptive Production. Starting from the goal of adaptive production, the R&D modules of the European 5G park include: 5G wireless sensors for monitoring and controlling highly complex manufacturing processes, manufacturing adaptation: distributed manufacturing control and intervention, blockchain, edge cloud computing, digital Twin technology, etc.
In Aachen, based on the 5G network, researchers have targeted the additive and subtractive manufacturing and repair processes of blades (such as milling and laser metal deposition metal3D printingTechnology (LMD)) to establish process simulation and reconfiguration of the process chain. By recording the actual data in detail in the process, optimized planning tools can be used to make the data consistent and ensure the transparency of the plan.
along with3D printingEntering the category of mainstream production technology, seamless integration with other traditional processing techniques, digitalization, automation, and self-adaptation, will become the development direction and main line of research topics for researchers to promote the development of the industry.
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