No abstract

No abstract

One important purchasing criterion for end customers is the resource consumption of products, which manufacturers aim to reduce through sustainable product designs and optimization of production processes. In order to quantify the resource consumption, in this study the demand of raw materials and operating materials of the selective laser melting process was quantified according to the methodology developed within the initiative Cooperative Effort on Process Emissions in Manufacturing (CO2PE!). The selective laser melting process was selected due to two reasons. First, the process enables lightweight constructions, which offers the potential to reduce the resource consumption during the product use phase. Second, few studies have been published about this process so far which also measure the demand of compressed air and shielding gas apart from the electric energy demand. It was found that the resource demand for the manufactured 0.5 cm3cuboid part amounted to 3.6 kWh electric energy, 0.81 m3compressed air and 0.31 m3Argon. This corresponds to an energy demand of nearly 1000 kWh/kg, though such key performance indicators alone are not very representative for the selective laser melting process, as described below.

Hybrid additive manufacturing technologies combine selective material deposition with a conventional milling process in one machine, enabling the production of complex metal parts and reducing the need for part specific tools. The hybrid technology offers technological advantages compared to more established additive fabrication processes, such as powder bed fusion. Compared to powder bed based additive processes, which are currently in a prevailing positon regarding AM adaption, hybrid additive technologies enable increased build rates, enhanced build volumes and a reduction of machine changes. In the Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) process, metal powder is deposited through a nozzle and melted by a laser on the surface of the part. By integrating the LMD process into a machining center, good surface roughness and low tolerances can be realized by means of e. g. milling without reclamping. In comparison to powder bed based processes, cost and resource input have not been investigated in detail. In this study, hybrid additive manufacturing technologies are analyzed regarding cost and resource input. A cost model for hybrid additive processes is introduced that enables the analysis of the manufacturing cost structure for a given part. Furthermore, the resource inputs for the operation of a hybrid production machine are estimated.

No abstract