影响创新是德国工业冷喷雾添加剂制造（CSAM）系统的德国领导者，已与英国的推进系统设计师合作空降工程（AEL）通过CSAM技术证明制造推进系统组件的概念。
The partners worked together to design a combustion chamber demonstrator to test a 3D printed demo inlet manifold – the part of an engine that supplies fuel to the cylinders – and demonstrate the advantages of the CSAM process over other additive manufacturing techniques.
冷喷雾3D打印
CSAMis a material deposition process that involves the acceleration of solid powder particles using a supersonic gas jet. Particles are fired through a nozzle onto a substrate at four times the speed of sound, whereby they behave like a liquid and cool, forming an atomic bond with the substrate.
The process differs from laser-based, electron beam and wire-arc 3D printing processes as it does not require high temperatures. As such, this means a protective atmosphere during the printing process is not required, eliminating the impact of thermal residual stresses on the printed part.
In December last year, Impact Innovationsdeveloped a new CSAM processespecially for the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V which uses nitrogen gas as a propellant. The alloy had previously been challenging to print via cold spray deposition due to its high critical velocities which ultimately lead to high porosity in printed parts, however the firm’s new method achieved Ti-6Al-4V parts with porosity levels below 0.2 percent.
影响创新is not alone in its development of CSAM technology, with该过程的其他变化是由像GEto repair a gearbox on itsGE90引擎, andspee3d, which has commercialized its cold spray technology in the form of itsLightspee3d 3D打印机。此后，Spee3D的技术已被澳大利亚军队为了various field testsand is also being deployed to fabricate low-cost metal3D印刷火箭发动机。
Over the past few years, cold spray 3D printing processes have also been explored for the fabrication ofhigh-performance magnets为了electric motors, and there has been multiple initiatives tofurther the research and adoption of CSAManddevelop new materials为了the technology.
Proving CSAM for combustion chamber manufacturing
In recent years increasing attention has focused on developing fast and low-cost additive manufacturing processes for the production of commercial rocket engines. Powder bed fusion (PBF) technologies, in particular, have been explored for this application, due to its design freedom and prevalence on the market.
However, as Impact Innovations points out, PBF 3D printing does face challenges in regards to combustion chamber manufacturing, namely limited build envelopes and processing of metals and alloys, in addition to high surface roughness, specifically in the cooling channel inner walls, which can reduce cooling efficiency within the component.
影响创新is seeking to address these limitations with its CSAM technology, and has turned to AEL to prove the process for manufacturing combustion chamber components. With guidance from Impact Innovations, AEL designed a combustion chamber demonstrator suitable for testing a CSAM-printed inlet manifold comprised of a regeneratively cooled liner made of a high-strength Cu-alloy and an Inconel outer jacket.
合作伙伴通过CSAM制作了入口歧管组件的演示样本，他们声称这证明了该过程对于制造燃烧室的过程的适用性，其与其他3D打印技术相比具有显着好处。
CSAMadvantages over other AM technologies
根据Impact Innovations和AEL的说法，CSAM工艺比其他添加剂制造技术的优势之一是在印刷过程中不需要保护氛围。CSAM还提供了一种简单的连接技术，包括不同的材料和合金，可以在不焊接的情况下连接其他零件。
该过程还为零件带来了可忽略的热应力，同时否定了组件冷却通道中的表面粗糙度问题。另外，与填充整个构建体积的PBF工艺相比，仅需要沉积材料。
The demo sample of a combustion engine manifold’s cooling channels was manufactured to determine the mechanical properties of the part’s Cu-alloy and Inconel. The CSAM process had a deposition rate of 10 kg per hour for the Cu-alloy and 6.7 kg per hour for Inconel, which is reportedly more than 20 times faster than comparative PBF 3D printing processes.
At Impact Innovation’s spray-lab, the firm’s spray lathe allows the manufacture of components up to 1.5 meters in diameter and two meters in length with a max weight of 1,500 kg. A full-size combustion chamber is currently being manufactured via the CSAM process at the company’s facility, and will soon be fire tested at AEL’s site.
Subscribe to the3D打印行业通讯为了the latest news in additive manufacturing. You can also stay connected by following us on推特并喜欢我们Facebook。
Looking for a career in additive manufacturing? Visit3D打印作业在行业中选择一系列角色。
订阅我们YouTube channel最新的3 d打印视频短裤、评论betway必威手机版登录nd webinar replays.
Featured image showsa demo sample of the combustion chamber inlet manifold fabricated via CSAM. Image via Impact Innovations.
