Modeling Metal 3D Printing Processes

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2020) | Viewed by 12139

Special Issue Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP–School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Interests: tribology; coatings; manufacturing processes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal 3D printing is definitively a disruptive manufacturing process that will modify the way we design a huge number of mechanical parts. Due to the different approaches in the manufacture of structural parts, these can be optimized using simulation software able to help the designer in opting for the best geometry, saving material and time. Thus, a large field of investigation is now open to researchers, who can create new algorithms and models in order to optimize these routines. This Special Issue intends to attract high-quality papers in metal 3D printing modeling, disseminating the most recent advances in this field of investigation. Works on topological optimization, structural analysis, improvements on manufacturing processes, and other related issues will be welcome.

Prof. Francisco J. G. Silva
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • direct metal deposition
  • 3D printing of metal alloys
  • topological optimization
  • FEA applied to additive manufacturing
  • direct metal laser sintering
  • laser powder bed fusion

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7921 KiB  
Article
History Reduction by Lumping for Time-Efficient Simulation of Additive Manufacturing
by Andreas Malmelöv, Andreas Lundbäck and Lars-Erik Lindgren
Metals 2020, 10(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10010058 - 29 Dec 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3996
Abstract
Additive manufacturing is the process by which material is added layer by layer. In most cases, many layers are added, and the passes are lengthy relative to their thicknesses and widths. This makes finite element simulations of the process computationally demanding owing to [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing is the process by which material is added layer by layer. In most cases, many layers are added, and the passes are lengthy relative to their thicknesses and widths. This makes finite element simulations of the process computationally demanding owing to the short time steps and large number of elements. The classical lumping approach in computational welding mechanics, popular in the 80s, is therefore, of renewed interest and is evaluated in this work. The method of lumping means that welds are merged. This allows fewer time steps and a coarser mesh. It was found that the computation time can be reduced considerably, with retained accuracy for the resulting temperatures and deformations. The residual stresses become, to a certain degree, smaller. The simulations were validated against a directed energy deposition (DED) experiment with alloy 625. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling Metal 3D Printing Processes)
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25 pages, 8634 KiB  
Article
Density-Sensitive Implicit Functions Using Sub-Voxel Sampling in Additive Manufacturing
by Diego Montoya-Zapata, Aitor Moreno, Juan Pareja-Corcho, Jorge Posada and Oscar Ruiz-Salguero
Metals 2019, 9(12), 1293; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9121293 - 30 Nov 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3464
Abstract
In the context of lattice-based design and manufacturing, the problem of physical realization of density maps into lattices of a particular family is central. Density maps are prescribed by design optimization algorithms, which seek to fulfill structural demands on a workpiece, while saving [...] Read more.
In the context of lattice-based design and manufacturing, the problem of physical realization of density maps into lattices of a particular family is central. Density maps are prescribed by design optimization algorithms, which seek to fulfill structural demands on a workpiece, while saving material. These density maps cannot be directly manufactured since local graded densities cannot be achieved using the bulk solid material. Because of this reason, existing topology optimization approaches bias the local voxel relative density to either 0 (void) or 1 (filled). Additive manufacturing opens possibilities to produce graded density individuals belonging to different lattice families. However, voxel-level sampled boundary representations of the individuals produce rough and possibly disconnected shells. In response to this limitation, this article uses sub-voxel sampling (largely unexploited in the literature) to generate lattices of graded densities. This sub-voxel sampling eliminates the risk of shell disconnections and renders better surface continuity. The manuscript devises a function to produce Schwarz cells that materialize a given relative density. This article illustrates a correlation of continuity against stress concentration by simulating C 0 and C 1 inter-lattice continuity. The implemented algorithm produces implicit functions and thus lattice designs which are suitable for metal additive manufacturing and able to achieve the target material savings. The resulting workpieces, produced by outsource manufacturers, are presented. Additional work is required in the modeling of the mechanical response (stress/strain/deformation) and response of large lattice sets (with arbitrary geometry and topology) under working loads. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling Metal 3D Printing Processes)
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15 pages, 4413 KiB  
Article
Modeling the Effect of Different Support Structures in Electron Beam Melting of Titanium Alloy Using Finite Element Models
by Usama Umer, Wadea Ameen, Mustufa Haider Abidi, Khaja Moiduddin, Hisham Alkhalefah, Mohammed Alkahtani and Abdulrahman Al-Ahmari
Metals 2019, 9(7), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9070806 - 22 Jul 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4102
Abstract
Electron beam melting (EBM) technology is a novel additive manufacturing (AM) technique, which uses computer controlled electron beams to create fully dense three-dimensional objects from metal powder. It gives the ability to produce any complex parts directly from a computer aided design (CAD) [...] Read more.
Electron beam melting (EBM) technology is a novel additive manufacturing (AM) technique, which uses computer controlled electron beams to create fully dense three-dimensional objects from metal powder. It gives the ability to produce any complex parts directly from a computer aided design (CAD) model without tools and dies, and with variety of materials. However, it is reported that EBM has limitations in building overhang structures, due to the poor thermal conductivity for the sintered powder particles under overhang surfaces. In the current study, 2D thermo-mechanical finite element models (FEM) are developed to predict the stresses and deformation associated with fabrication of overhang structures by EBM for Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Different support structure geometries are modeled and evaluated. Finally, the numerical results are validated by experimental work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling Metal 3D Printing Processes)
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