I-Corps: Hybrid additive manufacturing that provides computational solutions to fabricate geometrically complex components

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一个软件平台，该平台为设计具有可预测的短期和长期故障率的轻型机械系统提供混合制造解决方案。提供有针对性的混合制造解决方案可以通过提高强度和生产质量来延长使用寿命并降低运营成本。因此，对于具有严格的功能设计和可靠性要求或几何结构复杂的航空航天和生物医学应用，加法制造变得容易实现。几何复杂性和格子结构正成为现代设计的主要元素。目前的工具，如拓扑优化，不能最大化强度与重量比。该软件平台提供了一种混合制造解决方案，可以优化重量，同时通过层间冷加工主动增加强度。在航空航天部件中，这通过减轻重量降低了购买与飞行比率，从而降低了燃料成本。此外，该软件平台还解决了传统飞机和工具模具部件的维护和可靠性问题，显著缩短了更换部件的交货期，提高了售后性能。这项技术可以为工业提供软件解决方案，以最好地制造需要减轻重量或已知故障时间的组件。这个i-Corps项目基于混合添加剂制造技术的开发，该技术将三维打印与二次材料强化工艺(如激光喷丸)相结合，以提高功能性能。激光喷丸是一种表面处理方法，可在部件中产生良好的残余压缩应力，从而在大体积建筑中提高硬度和强度。这项技术解决的技术障碍是了解在整个建造过程中何时、何地以及需要多少激光喷丸。建议的技术为混合添加剂制造提供了计算解决方案，该解决方案确定了在不影响功能或性能的情况下实现尽可能高的强度重量比所需的层间喷丸的最佳位置。该模型能够模拟层间喷丸引起的累积残余应力场的变形和强度。与传统的添加剂制造相比，这项技术可以将不锈钢的韧性提高50%，将生物医用级镁合金的耐腐蚀性提高70%。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a software platform that provides hybrid manufacturing solutions for designing light-weight mechanical systems with predictable short- and long-term failure rates. Providing a targeted hybrid manufacturing solution may extend service life and reduce operational costs by improving strength and production quality. As a result, additive manufacturing becomes accessible to aerospace and biomedical applications that have strict functional design and reliability requirements or geometrically complex structures. Geometric complexity and lattice structures are becoming a staple in modern design. Current tools such as topology optimization are incapable of maximizing strength-to-weight ratios. This software platform provides a hybrid manufacturing solution that optimizes weight while it proactively increases strength through interlayer cold working. In aerospace components, this lowers the buy-to-fly ratio by saving weight, which lowers fuel cost. In addition, this software platform addresses maintenance and reliability issues of legacy aircraft and tool-and-die components by significantly reducing lead times for replacement parts with enhanced aftermarket performance. The technology may provide industry with software solutions to best manufacture components requiring weight savings or known times to failure. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a hybrid additive manufacturing technology that combines three-dimensional printing with secondary material strengthening processes, such as laser peening, to improve functional performance. Laser peening is a surface treatment that induces favorable compressive residual stress in components to increase hardness and strength throughout large build volumes. The technical barrier addressed by this technology is understanding when, where, and how much laser peening is needed throughout the build volume. The proposed technology provides computational solutions for hybrid additive manufacturing that identify optimal locations for interlayer peening needed to achieve the highest possible strength-to-weight ratios without compromising functionality or performance. The model is able to simulate distortion and strength from cumulative residual stress fields induced by interlayer peening. This technology has been shown to increase toughness of stainless steel by 50% and increase corrosion resistance of a biomedical-grade magnesium alloy by 70% compared to traditional additive manufacturing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.