Sustainable materials and additive manufacturing processes for the automotive sector

金属添加剂制造(AM)在用途和能力方面都有了显著的增长，在工业和消费市场上的采用率也越来越高。这一领域令人望而却步的挑战仍然是原料成本、生产产量和可靠/合适的部件性能。为了应对这些挑战，该项目将专注于(1)通过使用定制的低成本水雾化(WA)合金钢来降低成本壁垒(2)采用粘结剂喷射添加剂制造(BJAM)，它能够在AM技术中具有最高的建造率，(3)通过原位合金化实现定制的性能和性能。该项目的总体目标是证明通过BJAM的金属AM可以作为金属部件生产的低成本和可靠的替代方案部署，并直接应用于备件市场和汽车行业。这项研究将与力拓(Rio Tinto)、设计和制造高效推进和能源管理解决方案的领先企业达纳加拿大公司(Dana Canada Corporation)和加拿大3D打印机制造公司Nanogrande(QC)密切合作。力拓是一家制造金属粉末的领先金属和矿业公司。实现拟议目标的方法将分四个阶段展开。首先，将进行一项全面的调查，包括对使用西澳原料面临的挑战进行分类，并将确定长期机会。在第二阶段，将使用固态助烧剂(通过机械混合或通过粘结剂提供)，以受控的方式提高印刷部件的致密性。在第三阶段，将固态添加剂混合到钢系统中以调整力学性能。烧结助剂和添加剂方面的工作包括粉末表征、印刷工艺优化、烧结方案的发现和模拟以及最终产品的表征，如机械性能和微观结构分析。第四阶段包括根据AM原则进行设计优化，并为特定的汽车零部件量身定做BJAM。将使用开发的策略制造具有目标特性的部分演示器。

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.