“DIGIFUS 4.0 – Phase 2: Digitization of manufacturing processes based on focused energy deposition of metallic materials to increase energy efficiency and reduce material consumption: welding and additive manufacturing.”
Program: AID ESTABLISHED TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE BUSINESS GROUPS WITH A VIEW TO IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PLAN FOR RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND RESILIENCE.
Referencia: AEI-010500-2023-114
RESOLUTION Date: 11/28/2023
Execution date: May 2023-April 2024
This research project is focused on the innovative and sustainable development of additive manufacturing processes by means of focused energy deposition of metallic materials. The aim is to acquire the knowledge and absolute control of the operating variables in order to achieve its digitalization and automation. The AEI ARAGONESE AERONAUTICS ASSOCIATION (hereinafter AERA), the AEI AUTOMOTIVE AND MOBILITY CLUSTER OF ARAGON (hereinafter CAAR), the entities ALOT METAL, S.L., GALAGAR S.L. and the Technological Institute of Aragon (hereinafter ITAINNOVA) collaborate in this Project. Its main objective is the development of a digital twin of manufacturing processes based on focused energy deposition of metallic materials aimed at analyzing manufacturing feasibility, determining optimal parameters and estimating quality indicators of the manufactured parts.
The project is structured in three phases, the first of which was successfully completed in August 2022 (DIGIFUS4.0 – Phase 1. File: AEI-010500-2021b-71). In this first phase, an additive manufacturing process using gas-shielded arc welding with a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) filler electrode and WAAM (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing) filament, i.e. a GMA-DED (Gas Metal Arc – Directed Energy deposition) type process, was selected as the object of study. The heat source that generates the melting of the filler material was also digitally characterized and defined, selecting the double ellipsoid model (Goldak model) to carry out the simulations of the welding process. The manufacturing process was then simulated using the commercial simulator Abaqus using a physics-based numerical model to predict and understand the effect of the different operating variables on the quality of the final product. On the other hand, the characteristics of the fabricated and simulated specimens were defined as process demonstrators, considering only the experimental fabrication and its corresponding numerical modeling of the deposition of a weld bead in this initial phase of the Project. Finally, the results obtained with the first digital twin developed and the experimental measurements performed on the test specimens were compared, concluding that the trends were coincident and that the model reproduced with sufficient accuracy the physical behavior of the system. The results obtained in Phase 1 will serve as a starting point for the development of Phase 2 of the Project.
In Phase 2, which is the subject of this call, the main objective is to deepen the models generated of the heat source and the thermomechanical state of the material under study in order to determine the impact of successive additions of material on the lower layers, monitoring the quality of the final product. The potential generation of residual stresses, defects in the microstructure and dimensional problems in the material will be studied, as well as the quantification of the mechanical and functional behavior of the final part. Data analysis and reduction techniques will be applied to the range of operating variables that allow a correct prediction of the same, avoiding trial and error tests and therefore minimizing the consumption of material in each manufacturing process. Likewise, the results obtained from the simulation models will be validated with the experimental results of the tests with the specimens, analyzing their robustness by means of sensitivity analysis of the different variables of interest.
Finally, in Phase 3, the design of the final version of the digital twin of the GMA-DED process will be undertaken, integrating it into the simulation software and analyzing the impact that the implementation of additive manufacturing techniques will generate in the companies participating in the project.
ARAGONESE AERONAUTICAL ASSOCIATION
Alot Metal S.L.
GALA GAR SL
Automotive Cluster Association of Aragón
INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE ARAGON
TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET: 117.516,00€.
TOTAL BUDGET ITAINNOVA: 44.975€.
TOTAL PROJECT FINANCING: 85.666,00€.
TOTAL FINANCING ITANNOVA: 29.233€.
This project is funded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Government of Spain, under the support program for innovative business clusters and by the European Union “Next GenerationEU” PRTR, being project reference AEI-010500-2023-114.
