NLR – Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre launches new AM technology programme
November 30, 2019
The Metal Additive Manufacturing Technology Centre (MAMTeC) at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in Marknesse, the Netherlands, has launched a new Additive Manufacturing technology programme designed to help its participants introduce certified metal AM parts.
The NLR will work with a consortium of partners on the certification of critical metal AM components for aerospace, oil & gas, high-tech/high-spec industry, defence, and automotive applications. The programme is scheduled to run for four years, and is a follow-up of an early successful metal AM programme run by NLR from 2015–2018.
As part of the new programme, the MAMTeC will install a BeAM Modulo 400 Directed Energy Deposition (DED) machine dedicated to part manufacture and repair. The NLR explained that to fulfil stringent certification requirements, a qualified and stable manufacturing process is required. Therefore, research into the application of in-situ process monitoring systems will also be an important part of the programme.
Another important aspect of the programme will be related to process simulation for both Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and DED in order to gain insight into the temperature profile during processing. Using process simulation, the residual stresses in AM products can be predicted and an optimal AM production approach can be designed.
Various materials will also be investigated and test programmes will be executed to define the material properties of high-performance materials such as titanium and nickel-based superalloys.
Participants of the new Public Private Partnership project include Oerlikon, Shell, Patria, BeAM, The Dutch Ministry of Defence, Thales, Aeronamic, KIMS (Korea) and Mokveld Valves.
