Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WAVETAILOR (Modular laser sources for sustainable production of short personalized production series)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-01-01 do 2025-06-30
The European industry is facing a huge challenge in the coming years: to find the suitable and affordable technologies for the mass transitioning to clean, climate-friendly production system to develop Sustainable Products. Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing (LBAM) is a fast, flexible, and reconfigurable method for fabrication of products with complex geometries and high precision.
Despite the major advantages of LBAM, it is still facing challenges of meeting customer demands and competitiveness in the market. These challenges are: 1) high initial cost of production equipment; 2) the high reflectivity of many metals at the certain wavelength needs a high input of laser power, limiting the range of materials and products that can be manufactured; 3) the low energetic efficiency of the laser systems may rise production costs; 4) due to lack of understanding of AM materials-geometry-process-structure-property-performance relationships, is resulting in wasting energy, material, and time of highly qualified people; 5) highly variable product quality due to inadequate dimensional tolerances, surface roughness and defects and 6) due to the complexity of LBAM technologies, wider industrial acceptance requires skilled experts.
The WAVETAILOR project aims to contribute to solving mentioned challenges by demonstrating capabilities of novel economical, energy efficient and flexible LBAM technologies in distributed and sustainable manufacturing of complex multi-material components and assemblies. By engaging different and geographically distributed LBAM production cells WAVETAILOR will contribute to the repair of manufacturing broken chains.
Despite the major advantages of LBAM, it is still facing challenges of meeting customer demands and competitiveness in the market. These challenges are: 1) high initial cost of production equipment; 2) the high reflectivity of many metals at the certain wavelength needs a high input of laser power, limiting the range of materials and products that can be manufactured; 3) the low energetic efficiency of the laser systems may rise production costs; 4) due to lack of understanding of AM materials-geometry-process-structure-property-performance relationships, is resulting in wasting energy, material, and time of highly qualified people; 5) highly variable product quality due to inadequate dimensional tolerances, surface roughness and defects and 6) due to the complexity of LBAM technologies, wider industrial acceptance requires skilled experts.
The WAVETAILOR project aims to contribute to solving mentioned challenges by demonstrating capabilities of novel economical, energy efficient and flexible LBAM technologies in distributed and sustainable manufacturing of complex multi-material components and assemblies. By engaging different and geographically distributed LBAM production cells WAVETAILOR will contribute to the repair of manufacturing broken chains.
In the first 18 months, the reference industrial scenarios for two WAVETAILOR use cases - urban delivery drones and multimaterial hypersonic aircraft leading edges – have been defined with detailed manufacturing strategies, materials, and key process parameters documented to support future LCA comparisons. The work focused on defining the target post-WAVETAILOR scenarios, establishing KPI benchmarks (such as Buy-To-Fly ratios), setting sustainability goals, and developing supporting infrastructure like the Data Management Plan and Digital Twin use cases.
All major subsystems for DED-LB have been developed and preliminarily validated, including a dual-wavelength processing head capable of operating with both blue and NIR sources. A common control unit was also completed, supporting multi-wavelength diode integration through a unified interface.
Simulations of component distortion have been done using ANSYS AM Suite and Manufacturing software. Online monitoring systems were tested on a commercial machine and will subsequently be transferred to the new PBF system under development. For the DED-LB portion of the project, preparatory upgrades have been completed to the robot cell and preliminary tests were conducted using a standard disk laser and conventional diode laser with Cu-Cr-Zr and Inconel 718 materials.
The LBAM digital twin strategy has been developed defining key use cases, data sources, and ontology mapping. The digital twin infrastructure was built using standards like Asset Administration Shell (AAS), with recommended methods selected for their cost, efficiency, and practical applicability. Additionally, multi-scale modelling and on-the-fly sustainability assessment tools have been initiated, using experimental data and operator input to support circularity and process optimization throughout the LBAM lifecycle.
Detailed process chain descriptions and literature research have been conducted. Preliminary LCA models have been established to define the goal and scope of a comparative LCA for LBAM-manufactured aero components, focusing on key indicators such as GWP, energy efficiency, and material efficiency. Data collection for life cycle inventory and impact assessment is ongoing.
During the first 18 months strong visibility through attendance at key events like FormNext and collaboration within the LIMES EU project cluster was achieved, supported by consistent social media outreach, website engagement, and dissemination through partner networks. The project also laid the foundation for intellectual property management and exploitation strategies, with an Innovation Committee tracking progress and aligning protection efforts with evolving technical developments.
All major subsystems for DED-LB have been developed and preliminarily validated, including a dual-wavelength processing head capable of operating with both blue and NIR sources. A common control unit was also completed, supporting multi-wavelength diode integration through a unified interface.
Simulations of component distortion have been done using ANSYS AM Suite and Manufacturing software. Online monitoring systems were tested on a commercial machine and will subsequently be transferred to the new PBF system under development. For the DED-LB portion of the project, preparatory upgrades have been completed to the robot cell and preliminary tests were conducted using a standard disk laser and conventional diode laser with Cu-Cr-Zr and Inconel 718 materials.
The LBAM digital twin strategy has been developed defining key use cases, data sources, and ontology mapping. The digital twin infrastructure was built using standards like Asset Administration Shell (AAS), with recommended methods selected for their cost, efficiency, and practical applicability. Additionally, multi-scale modelling and on-the-fly sustainability assessment tools have been initiated, using experimental data and operator input to support circularity and process optimization throughout the LBAM lifecycle.
Detailed process chain descriptions and literature research have been conducted. Preliminary LCA models have been established to define the goal and scope of a comparative LCA for LBAM-manufactured aero components, focusing on key indicators such as GWP, energy efficiency, and material efficiency. Data collection for life cycle inventory and impact assessment is ongoing.
During the first 18 months strong visibility through attendance at key events like FormNext and collaboration within the LIMES EU project cluster was achieved, supported by consistent social media outreach, website engagement, and dissemination through partner networks. The project also laid the foundation for intellectual property management and exploitation strategies, with an Innovation Committee tracking progress and aligning protection efforts with evolving technical developments.
NLI developed a new 915nm direct diode laser source with fibre delivery specifically designed for WAVETAILOR PBF application. The laser system was designed on a common control platform architecture. This prototype is equipped with the monitoring features enabling the Digital Twin approach and is ready for integration in the PBF machine under development. The know-how for the PBF process optimization developed by JOA will be offered as "Laser based PBF AM services." PRIMA Additive co-developed training materials, hosted technology demonstrations, and facilitated engagement with end-users to drive adoption of WAVETAILOR technologies..