Oak Ridge scientists spent eight weeks 3D-printing a nearly 2-ton steel mold measuring 6 feet tall; Boeing will use the massive tool in NASA’s project to speed composite aircraft manufacturing– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
A team at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has spent eight weeks 3D-printing a massive steel mold that stands 6 feet tall, measures 4 feet wide and weighs nearly 2 tons. The tool, developed with Boeing, is designed for manufacturing thermoplastic composite aircraft components and will contribute to NASA’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. According to ORNL, the project explores whether large metal tooling can be produced through additive manufacturing in ways that improve manufacturing flexibility, cost and efficiency. The work combines robotic metal printing, multiple steel types and computer simulations to overcome the challenges of producing a tool of this scale.
A massive mold built layer by layer
The tool is known as a Stamp Form Die (SFD), a type of punch press used to cut or shape materials. In aircraft manufacturing, SFD metal molds can be used to form thermoplastic composite parts. Thermoplastic aircraft doors, for example, are made by stamping heated plastic between two SFD molds. Traditionally, such molds are produced through conventional metalworking processes including machining, casting, forging and drilling. ORNL and Boeing wanted to investigate whether 3D printing could provide a faster and more flexible alternative for producing a thermally controlled SFD mold.The team used a process known as wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). Instead of starting with a large block of metal and removing material, WAAM uses a robotic arm and welding torch to melt metal wire and build a structure layer by layer. ORNL’s Arc-1 system was used for the project. One feature that distinguishes the system is its ability to print with more than one type of metal by feeding multiple wires simultaneously. This allows engineers to combine materials in different parts of a structure depending on the performance required.
