Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference - MAMC 2023

During this presentation, we will share preliminary results of FITFAME project (ESA GSTP GT1A-314MS), focusing on the finishing of additively manufactured components with complex geometries. The first case study selected for this project is a hydraulic manifold, belonging to the Ariane 6 thrust vector control (TVC) actuator. The manifold was completely redesigned in order to exploit the benefits of additive manufacturing to improve its hydraulic performances while reducing weight. LBPF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) processing in Scalmalloy was selected for the manufacturing.
The manifold features bent and interconnected internal channels with different diameters, which constitutes a real challenge in terms of surface finishing. Three different technologies were evaluated for the finishing of the inner surface of the channels after the additive manufacturing process, namely abrasive flow machining, chemical and electrochemical polishing. Coupons featuring representative internal channels were printed and surface finished using these 3 technologies. The performances of the surface finishing processes were evaluated based on criteria of geometrical tolerances, treatment homogeneity, ability to remove solid particle contaminants and final roughness. A mapping of material removal was performed as well. A methodology based on CT-scans is proposed to map material removal and evaluate surface condition inside the post-treated inner channels in a non-destructive manner. In parallel, coupons, representative for the most challenging geometrical features of the outer surface of the manifold were also printed and surface finished. Five finishing technologies were compared, among which chemical polishing, electrochemical polishing, DLyte™, Coolpulse™ and MMP technology™. This presentation will describe the results of this finishing study at coupon level.