Case Studies on Local Reinforcement of Sheet Metal Components by Laser Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

This paper details two case studies that make use of laser metal deposition for local reinforcement of sheet metal components. Two benchmark scenarios are investigated, both using aluminum alloys: (i) using laser cladding to increase the stiffness of a pre-formed component, and (ii) applying a local cladding on sheet metal for increasing the thickness prior to a hole-flanging operation. The results show that both routes are viable. Applying claddings onto sheet metal before a metal forming operation must ensure suitable formability, which may be limited by the layer material and undesired changes in the microstructure of the sheet. The limited formability has to be taken into account in the design of the forming operation. Cladding onto already formed components has to cope with inevitable distortion of the component. Nevertheless, introducing additive manufacturing into the field of sheet metal forming opens the possibility to produce new products such as tailored laser-cladded blanks, combinations of sheet and bulk components and to develop new methods such as stiffness management in lightweight design.

Additive manufacturing and supply chains – a systematic review

“…The previously mentioned increased raw material efficiency of AM also effects the environmental sustainability positively (Attaran 2017;Bambach et al 2017;Ben-Ner and Siemsen 2017;Chiu and Lin 2016;Faludi et al 2015;Ford and Despeisse 2016). Not only is less raw material required but it can also be transported in powder form which allows a more efficient space utilisation and yields a reduction of carbon emissions .…”

“…Due to the design freedom of AM, the consolidation of separate parts into one more complex part becomes possible (Weller, Kleer, and Piller 2015;Waller and Fawcett 2014;Wagner and Walton 2016;Strange and Zucchella 2017;Rylands et al 2016;Mothes 2015;Kellens et al 2017; Ben-Ner and Siemsen 2017; Grzesiak, Becker, and Verl 2011; Knofius, van der Heijden, and Zijm 2019a). Overall, products could even be of higher quality with novel designs that were previously not feasible (Bambach et al 2017;Kellens et al 2017).…”

“…. (2015),Chekurov et al (2018),Durão et al (2017),Muir and Haddud (2017) Product recycling, remanufacturing and repair withAM Baechler, DeVuono, and Pearce (2013),Bambach et al (2017),Ford and Despeisse (2016),van Le, Paris, and Mandil (2017) Localisation of production and its implicationsGebler, Schoot Uiterkamp, and Visser (2014),Huang et al (2017),Durão et al (2017) Raw material efficiency Ingarao et al (2018), Bambach et al (2017) Combination with other manufacturing techniques to increase performance Bambach et al (2017), Mothes (2015), van Le, Paris, and Mandil (2017), Tosello et al (2019), Zanoni et al (2019) Product redesign and customisation Petrovic et al (2011), Rylands et al (2016), Simons (2018), Westerweel, Basten, and van Houtum (2018), Ingarao et al (2018) Military Distributed production of spare parts and other goods Audette et al (2017), Meisel et al (2016) Construction Architectural designs and the production of scale models Kothman and Faber (2016), Attaran (2017) Additively built structures with concrete Verhoef et al (2018), Kothman and Faber (2016), Attaran (2017) Medical Fabrication of personalised and optimised medical goods such as implants, prosthetics, or instruments Ben-Ner and Siemsen (2017), Attaran (2017), Eyers and Potter (2015), Gebler, Schoot Uiterkamp, and Visser (2014), Ramola, Yadav, and Jain (2019) Additively manufactured body parts and human organs Attaran (2017), Ramola, Yadav, and Jain (2019) Aerospace Printing spare parts on demand, on location Attaran (2017), Eyers and Potter (2015), Ghadge et al (2018), Khajavi, Partanen, and Holmstr€ om (2014), Khajavi, Holmstr€ om, and Partanen (2018), Knofius, van der Heijden, and Zijm (2016), Liu et al (2014), Mandolla et al (2019), Rehnberg and Ponte (2018), Togwe, Eveleigh, and Tanju (2019), Verhoef et al (2018), Wagner and Walton (2016), Westerweel, Basten, and van Houtum (2018) Reduced weight, fuel requirement, and emissions Attaran (2017), Deschamps et al (2017), Gebler, Schoot Uiterkamp, and Visser (2014), Mami et al (2017), Mellor, Hao, and Zhang (2014), Tang, Mak, and Zhao (2016), Togwe, Eveleigh, and Tanju (2019), Verhoef et al (2018), Wagner and Walton (2016), Westerweel, Basten, and van Houtum (2018), Ford and Despeisse (2016) Unique designs Attaran (2017), Mellor, Hao, and Zhang (2014), Rehnberg and Ponte (2018), Tang, Mak, and Zhao (2016), Wagner and Walton (2016) Less waste during production Gebler, Schoot Uiterkamp, and Visser (2014), Khajavi et al (2018), Mami et al (2017), Mellor, Hao, and Zhang (2014), Rehnberg and Ponte (2018), Tang, Mak, and Zhao (2016), Verhoef et al (2018), Wagner and Walton (2016), Ford and Despeisse (2016) Reduced tooling and assembly requirements Khajavi et al (2018), Rehnberg and Ponte (2018), Verhoef et al (2018), Wagner and Walton (2016), Westerweel, Basten, and van Houtum (2018) Repair and qualification of parts Portol es et al (2016) Shorter product development cycles Rehnberg and Ponte (2018) Economic production for low volume or obsolescence parts Ghadge et al (2018), Khajavi, Partanen, and Holmstr€ om (2014), Knofius, van der Heijden, and Zijm (2016), Rehnberg and Ponte (2018) Increased SC responsiveness Khajavi et al (2018) Automotive Reduction of assembly steps due to part integration Thomas (2016), Ben-Ner and Siemsen (2017), Dwivedi, Srivastava, and Srivastava (2017) Customisation of vehicle designs and layouts Ben-Ner and Siemsen (2017), Dwiv...…”

Investigation of microstructure and hardness of a rib geometry produced by metal forming and wire-arc additive manufacturing

“…These features, such as cooling or reinforcement ribs or other structural or functional elements are then added via AM. Bambach et al [13] showed that AM can be used to create local reinforcements on sheet metal parts. Extensive work on additively manufactured features which are added to formed parts have been performed by Merklein et al [14][15][16][17].…”

High-Speed Laser Cladding on Thin-Sheet-Substrates—Influence of Process Parameters on Clad Geometry and Dilution

“…While Gabriel et al [18] used an ytterbium-fiber laser with powers up to 82 W to clad cobalt-based powder onto Inconel 718 substrates with a thickness of 0.2 mm, Tebaay et al [19] investigated the use of a 2.5 kW diode-laser for cladding of AISI 316L powder on a DC01 sheet in either cold-rolled steel or a condition after incremental sheet-forming. The use of laser cladding for reinforcement of aluminum [20] or steel sheets [21,22] prior to forming operations has also recently attracted pronounced attention.…”