Drivers and Guidelines in Design for Qualification Using Additive Manufacturing in Space Applications

Abstract

In recent years, reducing cost and lead time in product development and qualification has become decisive to stay competitive in the space industry. Introducing Additive Manufacturing (AM) could potentially be beneficial from this perspective, but high demands on product reliability and lack of knowledge about AM processes make implementation challenging. Traditional approaches to qualification are too expensive if AM is to be used for critical applications in the near future. One alternative approach is to consider qualification as a design factor in the early phases of product development, potentially reducing cost and lead time for development and qualification as products are designed to be qualified. The presented study has identified factors that drive qualification activities in the space industry and these “qualification drivers” serve as a baseline for a set of proposed strategies for developing “Design for Qualification” guidelines for AM components. The explicit aim of these guidelines is to develop products that can be qualified, as well as appropriate qualification logics. The presented results provide a knowledge-base for the future development of such guidelines.

A Design for Qualification Framework for the Development of Additive Manufacturing Components—A Case Study from the Space Industry

“…Furthermore, two other studies performed by the author contributed to the formulation of the framework. The first study focused on how qualification can be given increased attention during the development of AM components [22]. The findings showed that it would be beneficial to consider qualification as early as possible in order to design components that can be qualified, especially when designing for a new manufacturing process like AM.…”

“…The studies are hence referenced in the description of the framework where appropriate. The overall research process is shown in Figure 2 where the time frame for collection of the different data are indicated, as is the completion of the related papers [1,22,59]. Table 1.…”

“…Table 1. Completion of the related papers [1], [22] and [59] are indicated for reference (note that for Reference [59] submission is indicated).…”

“…Common methodologies are Design for Manufacturing (DfM), Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) or Design for Quality [50]. The importance of Design for Qualification is that it should support engineering teams to proactively consider qualification during the development of the AM component [22]. Proactive Design for X supports often use qualitative guidelines due to that they are generic, flexible and open for interpretation [49].…”

“…This is important both in understanding what knowledge that needs to be developed but also to understand what the organizational capabilities are to choose and design products and define their qualification approach according to these capabilities. Supports that aid design teams in this task are needed, specifically for highlighting the necessity to consider qualification early during AM design [22]. This paper presents a study conducted at a company in the space industry developing an AM rocket engine turbine for demonstration testing.…”