Group Final Project  Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained increasing popularity in the last decade

Group Final Project 

Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained increasing popularity in the last decade. It enables the generation of complex geometries and lattice structures to make lighter components, avoids the need for expensive tooling for short production runs (particularly for more customized products such as in aerospace or biomedical engineering). However, the excitement surrounding these processes has been tempered by the recognition of difficulties introduced by AM, including the inducement of undesirable residual stresses, undesirable microstructure, porosity, as well as the challenge of maintaining dimensional stability. Due to the inherent digital nature of AM, simulation offers vast potential to optimize the settings of AM within product design while avoiding failures experienced during the build process.

Problem Statement

Choose a mechanical component and evaluate its in-service performance by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) both for the ‘as-designed’ model (without residual stresses or distortions) and the ‘asmanufactured’ model (with residual stresses and distortions from 3D printing). The component can be anyone: an aerospace bracket, a knee implant, or some of your own design. To evaluate in-service performance, appropriate boundary conditions (BCs) and loadings should be defined on the model. FEA results of the stress, strain, deformation distribution, or any other pertinent quantities should be considered as evaluation criteria.

Deliverables

The project consists of two phases:

Phase 1: Evaluate in-service performance of ‘as-designed’ model (no 3D printing involved thus no residual stresses or distortions)

Phase 2: Evaluate in-service performance of ‘as-manufactured’ model (Perform 3D printing process simulations first to generate the model with residual stresses and distortions. Then apply in-service BCs and loadings to access results)

For Phase 2, different (at least two) 3D printing process configurations (build orientations, tool path, layer thickness, etc.) should be studied and compared to evaluate their effects.    

You will present your study (phase 1) during class time (presentation slides due Dec. 3^rd 3:30pm). Presentation should be no longer than 15 minutes. Written report (phase 1 & 2) is due on Dec. 15^th mid-night (11:59pm). The report should be minimum 6 pages with figures and list the contribution of each group member.

Thorough discussions and justifications of your study and FEA results are important for the project. Why you choose this mechanical component for your study (background and motivation)? How you determine the material properties, BCs and loadings, mesh and elements…? Are the results justified from your understandings? What you learn from the results? Can you propose optimal 3D printing process configurations to minimize the part distortions and thermal residual stresses?