Additive Manufacturing of Plastics, Reinforced Polymers & Composites
FEA & CFD Based Simulation Design Analysis Virtual prototyping MultiObjective Optimization
Additive manufacturing of plastics and composites is evolving from rapid prototyping to industrial production. We use advanced additive manufacturing simulation platforms such as MSC Digimat, Ansys and Abaqus for simulation solution for manufacturing process of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of reinforced materials. For printer manufacturers and end-users, the part fidelity is the top challenge to overcome. Simulation-based design allows our engineers to predict warpage and residual stresses of a polymer part as a function of the manufacturing process parameters. We can further optimize the process and minimize the part deformation right at their fingertips.
Virtual engineering is the solution to minimize printing trial and errors because it enables the user to explore the process sensitivity to manufacturing parameters. By applying multi-scale material modeling techniques to the additive manufacturing of polymers (unfilled and reinforced), our engineers able to significantly reduce physical tests, understand the key parameters driving the material’s behavior, and easily create new material systems, such as lightweight lattices
Our solution’s functionality helps you to answer challenges in Metal AM (Additive Manufacturing) Finite Element Simulation-based design and Optimization:
- Identify the best build orientation
- Determine and compensate final part distortionGenerate and optimize support structures
- Process window pre-scanning tool
- Powder coating
- Melt pool shape and dimensions
- Consolidated material porosity
- Surface roughness
- Thermal history as a function of deposition strategy
- Residual stresses
- Distortion during build process and after release
- Identify manufacturing issues such as cracks, layer offsets, recoater contact
- Predict the influence of several components in the build space
- Identify cold and hot spots due to thermal/thermo-mechanical simulation
- Examine conditions of highly elevated temperatures and pressures – HIP proces
Optimizing the design parameters for additive manufacturing
FEA Based Simulation enable our engineering team to gain insight into the microscale meltpool phenomena by performing full factorial studies with various process parameters for determine the best process parameters for any machine/material combination, and ensures the achievement of the highest integrity parts, as well as the expected microstructure and physical properties:
- Optimize and fine-tune their machine and material parameters.
- Develop new metal powders and metal AM (Additive Manufacturing ) materials and material specifications.
- Determine optimum machine/material parameters.
- Control microstructure and material properties.
- Manufacture using new metal powders faster and more efficiently.
- Reduce the number of experiments needed to qualify components.
- Mitigate risk while accelerating innovation.
- Analyze Porosity and Meltpools.
- Thermal history and microstructure information.
- Determines the percentage of porosity in a part due to lack of fusion.