Additive Manufacturing has recently seen increased interest from industry as a realistic manufacturing option. It is unlikely that the technique will be used heavily in mass production, but it is clearly a useful tool in the march toward mass customisation and waste reduction, among many other benefits.
Additive Manufacturing, which is also known as Additive Layer Manufacturing and previously called Rapid Prototyping, is the creation of parts from CAD data usually in a layered manner. This opposes the more conventional subtractive processes, and hence has the benefit of potentially being far less wasteful and more versatile.
AM does not require tooling, so almost every component it produces can be subtly or substantially different for no extra production cost. A good example of this is the production of customised dental crowns.
The industrial exploitation of AM has mainly been driven by the production of plastic parts for rapid prototyping and functional applications. Metallic components and other materials, such as ceramics are now being developed using AM. These have mainly been driven by the medical and aerospace sectors.
Figure 1 shows the size of the AM market with a prediction for significant future growth. Dental implants and hearing aids have been particular commercial successes. Aerospace, a traditionally long lead time industry, is taking a little more effort, but there is considerable momentum, especially in the UK, with companies such as EADS and Rolls-Royce leading the way.
Particularly in the aerospace sector AM is seen as an enabling technology for light-weighting or topology optimisation, because of its capability to create complex structures. This can have the additional benefits of improving performance and reducing waste, because of the ability to recycle the feedstock.
Figure 2 shows how component price can be reduced when AM deposition rate is increased, also increasing potential market share.
AM has other key environmental benefits, such as minimal use of water and chemicals, however, as with most processes, the true environmental impact of AM enabled manufacturing chains is often product specific, and difficult to determine exhaustively.
TWI is uniquely placed in its potential to develop AM. AM requires the use of a heat source, or some other method of consolidation, in a very similar way to materials joining. For example, in metallic AM lasers, electron beams, and arc processes are the tools of choice, all of which have a rich history at TWI. Metallics are of particular interest at the moment because their development is predominantly seen to have a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) in the 3 to 6 zone, where TWI traditionally operates.
For enquiries about AM please email Emma Ashcroft or call +44(0)114 269 9046.
