Sustainable materials and additive manufacturing processes for the automotive sector

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Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has seen a significant growth in both use and capabilities, with an increased adoption in industrial and consumer markets. The prohibitive challenges in this space remain cost of feedstock, the production yield, and reliable/suitable part performance. To tackle these challenges, this project will focus on (1) lowering the cost barriers by using custom low-cost water atomized (WA) alloy steels (2) deploying binder jetting additive manufacturing (BJAM) which is capable of highest build rate among the AM techniques, (3) enabling custom-tailoring of properties and performance by in-situ alloying. The overall objective of the project is to demonstrate that metal AM via BJAM can be deployed as a low-cost and reliable alternative to metal part production with a direct application to the spare parts market and automotive industry. This study will be conducted in close collaboration with Rio Tinto (QC), a leading metals and mining company involved in the manufacture of metal powders, Dana Canada Corporation (ON), a leader in the design and manufacture of highly efficient propulsion and energy-management solutions, and Nanogrande ( QC), a Canadian-based 3D printer manufacturing company. The methodology to achieve the proposed objective will be deployed in four stages. Firstly, a comprehensive survey including classification of challenges in using WA feedstocks will be performed and long-term opportunities will be identified. In the second stage, solid state sintering aids (delivered by mechanical mixing or via binder) will be used to enhance densification of printed parts in a controlled manner. In the third stage, solid state additives will be mixed with the steel systems to tailor the mechanical properties. The work on sintering aids and additives includes powder characterization, printing process optimization, discovery and simulation of sintering protocols and characterization of final products such as mechanical properties as well as microstructural analysis. The fourth stage includes design optimization according to AM principles and tailored for BJAM for specific automotive components. Part demonstrators with target properties will be manufactured using the strategies developed.