SFB 814:  Additive Manufacturing

• Subject Area: Materials Science and Engineering ; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering ; Thermal Engineering/Process Engineering
• Term: from 2011 to 2023
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 61375930

Additive manufacturing processes allow maximum geometrical freedom of design without forming tools, due to the layered structure of the components. Additive processes are ideally suited for the production of complex components that are primarily optimized for design and function. Access to industrial applications of additive processes requires a high degree of process and component reproducibility, reliable and designable processes and tailor-made component properties. The CRC 814 is operating in this field and concentrates on the processes of selective laser beam melting of plastics and metals as well as selective electron beam melting. The CRC 814 aims to produce multi-material components from plastics or metals with defined, reproducible and graded properties using powder- and beam-based additive manufacturing processes. This vision requires the analysis of the entire process chain, from powder production through processing to the final components. The simulation of the individual sub-processes on a micro-, meso- and macroscopic level enables the prediction of process behavior and component properties. In the first funding period of the CRC 814, a basic understanding of powder- and beam-based additive manufacturing processes was created. The modification of the process for the realization of new component properties was the focus of the 2nd funding period. The numerical tools were improved in their efficiency in order to model first complete manufacturing processes and to enable the prediction of component properties in perspective. In the third funding period, the understood processes will be modified to produce components with reproducible, graded and defined properties. In addition, the material design during powder production is carried out with regard to the additive processes. The systematic derivation of correlations between powder, process, structure and the resulting part properties allows an improved process robustness to generate new component properties and multi-material parts. Furthermore, simulations will be qualified to predict the process behavior and component properties on micro- , meso- and macroscopic levels. The consolidation of the simulations implemented in CRC 814 into a virtual laboratory will enable an efficient, computer-aided design of material systems, process strategies and component properties in the future.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• International Connection: Austria, Sweden

Current projects

• T05 - Tailored properties of PBF-LB/M components by local in situ alloy formation (Project Heads Roth, Stephan ;  Schmidt, Michael )
• T06 - Flame retardant additive plastic components (Project Head Drummer, Dietmar )
• T07 - Homogeneous material properties for PBF-EB components (Project Head Markl, Matthias )
• T08 - Two-color thermography for increased process robustness (Project Head Schmidt, Michael )
• T09 - Calibration of a mesoscopic simulation tool for PBF-EB by electron optical evaluation (Project Head Körner, Carolin )
• T10 - Polypropylene components with improved mechanical properties through adjustment of the morphologies (Project Head Drummer, Dietmar )

Completed projects

• A01 - Production of functional polymer particles via liquid-based top-down processes (Project Heads Peukert, Wolfgang ;  Schmidt, Jochen ;  Wirth, Karl-Ernst )
• A02 - Modification and structuring of powders by gas phase processes (Project Heads Bück, Andreas ;  Peukert, Wolfgang ;  Wirth, Karl-Ernst )
• A03 - Process-adapted material characterization for laser beam melting (Project Heads Drummer, Dietmar ;  Peukert, Wolfgang ;  Schmidt, Michael ;  Wirth, Karl-Ernst )
• A04 - Process-related aging behavior of polymers for powder based manufacturing technologies (Project Head Drummer, Dietmar )
• A05 - Selective laser beam melting of composite material for lightweight structures (Project Head Schmidt, Michael )
• A06 - Selective laser beam melting of multi-phase systems (Project Head Drummer, Dietmar )
• B01 - DEM simulations of the powder coating considering the thermal and mechanical properties of molten areas (Project Head Pöschel, Thorsten )
• B02 - Process strategies for selective electron beam melting (Project Heads Körner, Carolin ;  Markl, Matthias ;  Singer, Robert F. )
• B03 - New process strategies for laser beam melting of polymers (Project Heads Drummer, Dietmar ;  Schmidt, Michael )
• B04 - Mesoscopic simulation of selective beam melting (Project Heads Körner, Carolin ;  Singer, Robert F. )
• B05 - Additive and formative manufacturing of hybrid parts with locally adapted, tailored properties (Project Heads Merklein, Marion ;  Schmidt, Michael ;  Singer, Robert F. )
• B06 - Efficient additive manufacturing of multi-material-parts (Project Heads Frick, Thomas ;  Roth, Stephan ;  Schmidt, Michael )
• B07 - Laser beam melting of plastics with reactive liquids (Project Head Wudy, Katrin )
• C02 - Robust Structure-Process-Optimization (Project Heads Leugering, Günter ;  Stingl, Michael )
• C03 - Macroscopic modeling, simulation, and optimization of the selective beam melting process (Project Heads Mergheim, Julia ;  Steinmann, Paul )
• C04 - Geometric measuring and testing technologies for Additive Manufacturing (Project Heads Drummer, Dietmar ;  Hausotte, Tino ;  Weickmann, Johannes )
• C05 - Mesoscopic modelling and simulation of properties of additively manufactured metallic parts (Project Heads Körner, Carolin ;  Mergheim, Julia ;  Steinmann, Paul )
• T01 - Quality assurance system for powders used in selective laser beam melting of polymers (Project Heads Drummer, Dietmar ;  Schmidt, Jochen )
• T02 - Numerical modeling of local material properties and thereof derived process strategies for powder bed based additive manufacturing of bulk metallic glasses (Project Heads Körner, Carolin ;  Markl, Matthias )
• T03 - Process strategies for the production of thin-walled components during selective laser beam melting of plastics (Project Heads Drummer, Dietmar ;  Stingl, Michael )
• Z - Central Services (Project Head Drummer, Dietmar )

• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Participating Institution: Bayerisches Laserzentrum (BLZ) GmbH
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Drummer