Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference - MAMC 2024

The surface finishing of complex metallic parts made by additive manufacturing, remains a challenge. Indeed, this kind of treatment is required to enhance the properties of the parts (cleanliness, mechanical properties, etc.) so that they are made compatible with their final use.

During this presentation, results of the FITFAME project (ESA GSTP GT1A-314MS), focusing on the finishing of additively manufactured components with complex geometries, will be shared.

Two case studies were selected for this project. In both cases, the selected elements were completely redesigned in order to exploit the benefits of additive manufacturing to improve functional performances while reducing weight. End-to-end manufacturing processes were proposed for the two components and evaluated from coupon level to full-scale demonstrators.

The first application case is a hydraulic manifold, belonging to the Ariane 6 thrust vector control (TVC) actuator. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) 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. Different technologies were evaluated for the finishing of the inner of the channels and of the outer surfaces after the additive manufacturing process.

The second application case is a gear of Callisto reusable launch vehicle. E-beam melting (EBM) processing in Ti6Al4V was selected for the manufacturing. The gear features a peripheral groove with poor accessibility. Several finishing procedures were tested in order to provide a complete removal of particle contaminants from the surface and bring the surface roughness to low values.

According to the selected methodology, the most efficient route was chosen and applied to each demonstrator.

In this presentation, the efficiency of the selected surface finishing treatments, as well as the performances achieved with the re-designed and surface treated parts will be introduced. An overview of the project outcomes and lessons learned will be presented.