Project Details
Projekt
Autonomous and self-adapting, high-resolution 3D additive manufacturing by high energy impacts of fine particles
Subject Area
Mechanical Process Engineering
Term
since 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504954383
The challenge for cold-spray-based additive manufacturing processes in achieving high usability and efficiency lies in the fact that particle properties, such as size, shape, and chemical composition, have a strong effect on deposition. In particular velocity and temperature are the main factors here. Since these properties vary, the system must adapt to different materials while minimizing inaccuracies in layer deposition. Therefore, a hierarchical control system must be developed with a focus on achieving autonomous operation regardless of variations in particulate materials. To guarantee high accuracies during 3D manufacturing an inline 3D profile laser sensor is used, to control the smoothness of the deposition layers and compensate for uncertainties and limited speed of adaptation. The controller is developed based on a discrete element model incorporating a plastic shape change approach. To further enhance process efficiency, recycling of not-deposed particles in combination with an additional mechanical activation stage is included as an extension. The overall control system aims to allow for an operation without human interaction even in the presence of unforeseen disturbance or changes in the raw material. Therefore, low-level control and real-time optimization are integrated with an additional higher-level supervisory control, which allows for failure detection, e.g. to detect nozzle clogging, and automatic troubleshooting.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
