New technique improves finishing time for 3D printed machine parts

North Carolina State University researchers have demonstrated a way that permits individuals who manufacture metallic machine components with 3D printing applied sciences to conduct automated high quality management of manufactured components in the course of the ending course of. The method permits customers to determine potential flaws with out having to take away the components from the manufacturing gear, making manufacturing time extra environment friendly.

“One of the reasons people are attracted to 3D printing and other additive manufacturing technologies is that these technologies allow users to quickly replace critical machine components that are otherwise difficult to make outside of a factory,” says Brandon McConnell, co-corresponding writer of a paper on the work.

“And additive manufacturing tools can do this as needed, rather than dealing with supply chains that can have long wait times. That usually means using 3D printing to create small batches of machine parts on demand.” McConnell is an assistant analysis professor in NC State’s Edward P. Fitts Division of Industrial and Programs Engineering.

After a metallic machine half is printed, it requires further ending and must be measured to make sure the half meets crucial tolerances. In different phrases, each facet of the half should be the appropriate measurement. Presently, that includes taking a component out of the related manufacturing gear, measuring it, after which placing it again into the manufacturing gear to make modest changes.

“This may need to be done repeatedly, and can take a significant amount of time,” McConnell says. “Our work here expedites that process.”

Particularly, the researchers have built-in 3D printing, automated machining, laser scanning and touch-sensitive measurement applied sciences with associated software program to create a largely automated system that produces metallic machine parts that meet crucial tolerances.

Here is the way it works.

When finish customers want a selected half, they pull up a software program file that features the measurements of the specified half. A 3D printer makes use of this file to print the half, which incorporates metallic assist buildings. Customers then take the printed piece and mount it in a ending machine utilizing the assist construction.

At this level, lasers scan the mounted half to determine its dimensions. A software program program then makes use of these dimensions and the specified crucial tolerances to information the ending machine, which successfully polishes out any irregularities within the half.

As this course of strikes ahead, the ending machine manipulates the orientation of the printed half in order that it may be measured by a touch-sensitive robotic probe that ensures the half’s dimensions are throughout the needed parameters.

To check the efficiency of the brand new strategy, researchers manufactured a machine half utilizing typical 3D printing and ending methods, after which manufactured the identical half utilizing their new course of.

“We were able to finish the part in 200 minutes using conventional techniques; we were able to finish the same part in 133 minutes using our new technique,” McConnell says. “Depending on the situation, saving 67 minutes could be incredibly important. Time is money in most professional settings. And in emergency response contexts, for example, it could be the difference between life and death.”

The researchers word that this work focuses on printing and ending machine components that embody circles or cylinders, similar to pistons. Nevertheless, the strategy might be tailored for machine components with different options.

“All of the hardware we used in this technique is commercially available, and we outline the necessary software clearly in the paper—so we feel that this new approach could be adopted and put into use almost immediately,” McConnell says. “And we are certainly open to working with partners who are interested in making use of this technique in their operations.”

The paper, “Automatic Feature Based Inspection and Qualification for Additively Manufactured Parts with Critical Tolerances,” is revealed within the Worldwide Journal of Manufacturing Expertise and Administration.

The primary writer of the paper is Christopher Kelly, a former graduate scholar at NC State who now works for Celonis, Inc. The paper was co-authored by Richard Wysk, professor emeritus within the Fitts Division of Industrial and Programs Engineering; Ola Harrysson, Edward P. Fitts Distinguished Professor within the Fitts Division of Industrial and Programs Engineering; and Russell King, the Henry L. Foscue Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Programs Engineering at NC State.