Development of an Innovative Metal/Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Technique for Efficient and Lightweight Automotive Applications

Summary

One of the aims of Egypt’s Vision for 2030 is to boost the local manufacturing owing to reduce the number of imported products and to achieve national macroeconomic stability. Moreover, there is an evident lack in the local manufacturing of metallic parts (such as molds, tools, special gears, engine components, … etc.) and other ceramic-based products as well, especially for applications requiring lightweight and efficient structures. These products are usually imported from foreign manufacturers which represents an overload on the national economy. Additive manufacturing technologies could offer wide solutions in custom-made, rapid manufacturing, and what most significantly matters is the local manufacturing of these products. However, the high capital cost of the metal/ceramic additive manufacturing equipment limits the adoption of such technologies in the local industries.

From this perspective, the proposed project aims to develop an in-house and affordable additive manufacturing technique for producing various metallic and ceramic products. In a more detailed manner, the proposed technique is a modified version of the material extrusion additive manufacturing process, that would offer more flexibility, precise monitoring, and extended control, as well as overcome the challenges in the feedstock preparation. The project will be executed by developing powder feeding mechanisms and polymer extrusion modules, which will be later integrated with a 3-axis robotic machine to obtain an additive manufacturing system for producing metal and/or ceramic products. The processing parameters will be optimized, and the processed green product will be subject to de-binding and sintering thermal treatments to achieve full density of the final product. In a further step, a prototype demonstrator such as complex-shaped and lightweight gear for automotive applications will be processed by the developed system to highlight its ability and efficiency for manufacturing of reliable products.

A successful implementation of the proposed project could yield to patent the developed additive manufacturing system, besides the dissemination of results and scientific publication in prestigious journals. Moreover, the project will aid in capacity building and enhancing skills of the junior and young researchers of the team by participating in the design and manufacturing of metal/ceramic additive manufacturing process, as well as scientific evaluation of the products. Additionally, the outcome of the project is expected to raise the local industrial awareness of the advanced manufacturing processes and facilitate the wider adoption of such technologies, including localized manufacturing of metal and/or ceramic products which are difficult to process with the current facilities and are usually imported from foreign markets. Hence, contributing to Egypt’s 2030 Vision for developing an industrial-based economy.

Achievements

List of Publications from the Project

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Project Leaders