MEG611:

COMPUTER AIDED
ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN

M15-3: APPLICATIONS
OF CAD – RAPID
PROTOTYPING
BITS Pilani Prof. Srinivasa Prakash Regalla, PhD
Hyderabad Campus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Learning Outcomes

 Introduction: How RP is different from AM?

 What is AM? Definitions and terminology of AM

 Basic principles of AM

 What the AM is used for

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Introduction: What is RP?
How RP is different from AM?
 Rapid prototyping

 Rapid tooling

 Rapid Manufacturing = Additive Manufacturing

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

 The three requirements of prototyping
lead to different types of prototypes Example: Cell Phone

The three requirements:

1. The implementation of the

prototype; from the entire
product (or system) itself to
its sub-assemblies and
components
2. The form of the prototype;
from a virtual prototype to a
physical prototype
3. The degree of the
approximation of the
prototype; from a very rough
representation to an exact
replication of the product
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 Exercise:

What are the three aspects of interest in describing a prototype?

Solution: Complete

1. Level of Implementation
Component level
Physical

2. Form
Virtual
Accurate

3. Degree of Approximation
Rough

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Major Thrust of AM?
• These "three dimensional printers" allow designers
to quickly create tangible prototypes of their
designs, rather than just two-dimensional pictures.

• Generally the more complex the part the greater

the time saving in comparison to traditional
prototyping
 AM, is it really “rapid”?
• Of course, in rapid prototyping, "rapid" is a
relative term.
– Most prototypes require from three to seventy-two
hours to build, depending on the size and complexity of
the object.

– This may seem slow, but it is much faster than the

weeks or months required to make a prototype by
traditional means such as machining.

– These dramatic time savings allow manufacturers to

bring products to market faster and more cheaply.
Why we need “rapid” feature
of AM?
• Why we need prototyping?
• - For verification of design

• Why we need prototyping to be “rapid”?

• For new products to reach the market as early as
possible, before the competitors

• Time pressure (lead time) is a major factor in

determining the direction of the development and
success of new methodologies and technologies for
enhancing its performance

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Part Complexity Versus Lead
Time over the years

Project time and product complexity in 25 years’ time frame

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Lead Time Saving Due to
Integration of AM technologies

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The Most Popular AM Technologies
 Stereolithography (SLA)

Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

Laser Enhanced Net Shaping (LENS)
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies

Criteria for classification of AM Processes

• They can be classified as per several criteria:

 Baseline technology:
• uses lasers, printer technology, extrusion technology etc.

 As per the raw material type used:

• Powder, solid wire, photopolymer etc.

 Based on how each layer is constructed:

• Vector based, raster based etc.

 Multi-dimensional classification using multiple criteria

Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)
Most successful of these:
 Stereolithography (SLA)

 Laminated Object
Manufacturing (LOM)

 Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

 Fused Deposition Modelling

(FDM)

 Direct Metal Laser Sintering

(DMLS)

 Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

 Laser Enhanced Net Shaping

(LENS)

 Electron Beam Melting (EBM)

Classification and brief account of the most successful
AM processes & technologies (contd)
Stereolithography (SLA)

• Photo-curable liquid polymer is

used as raw material

• Separate support material is

used for inclined and thin
portions

• UV light or laser beam is used

to complete the photo-
polymerization of support
material and build material

• Very small layer thicknesses

are possible

• Post-processing is needed to
complete polymerization
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

• Paper or polymer sheet is

used as raw material
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)

• Separate support material is

NOT needed as the unused
paper of previous layers
serves as support material

• Laser beam is used to

selectively cut the
paper/sheet to produce
each layer that is bonded to
the previous layer with a
gum/adhesive

• Simple process though

needs expensive laser

• Post-processing is needed
to clear the unused paper,
which is shredded by the
laser itself
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) • Powder particles of build material are used as
raw material, which are joined together by
sintering process

• Separate support material is NOT needed as

the unused loose powder of previous layers
serves as support material

• Laser beam is used to selectively scan over

the powder as per the layer geometry and
supply heat to promote sintering of powder
particles

• Versatile process as binder coated powder

particles of high melting point also can be
process

• Post-processing is needed to clear the unused

powder; safety against inhalation is required.
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) • Thermoplastic polymer in solid wire form is

used as raw material

• Separate support material is needed for high

geometrical accuracy; though low-cost and
low-accuracy systems do not need support
material

• Most inexpensive process because uses

simple inductive/resistive heat to partially melt
the wire, extrude through nozzle and deposit
layer by layer on build platform

• Available in both closed chamber (more

accurate) and open chamber architectures

• Minimal post-processing is needed and it is

one of the cleanest processes
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) • DMLS allows you to manufacture

components in a variety of metals and alloys
by sintering of powder bed layer-by-layer

• Very fine, properly sized granular powder

made of a variety of metals and alloys
including Aluminium, Titanium, Monel,
Inconel and Stainless steel is used as raw
material

• Similar to SLS, a scanning laser beam

provides the necessary heat to sinter the
powder particles

• Some modern DMLS machines fully melt the

powder instead of only sintering

• The part needs to be allowed to cool to room

temperature before it can be taken out of the
build chamber
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) • Selective laser melting (SLM) is a specific

3D printing technique, which utilizes high
power-density laser to fully melt and fuse
metallic powders to produce near net-shape
parts with near full density (up to 99.9%
relative density).

• Very fine, properly sized granular metals and

alloys including Aluminium, titanium, cobalt-
chromium and nickel alloys used as raw
material

• Similar to DMLS, a scanning laser beam

provides the necessary heat to sinter the
powder particles

• Main difference with DMLS is that the

powder is always completely melted
whereas DMLS may only sinter the powder
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

 Laser Enhanced Net Shaping (LENS) • The process fabricates metal parts directly from the
Computer Aided Design (CAD) solid models using a
metal powder injected into a molten pool created by a
focused, high-powered laser beam.

• Fully dense metal components are fabricated directly

from raw materials, bypassing initial forming
operations such as casting, forging, and rough
machining.

• Parts have been fabricated from stainless steel alloys,

nickel-based alloys, tool steel alloys, titanium alloys,
and other specialty materials; as well as composite
and functionally graded material deposition.

• Microscopy studies show the LENS® parts to be fully

dense with no compositional degradation. Mechanical
testing reveals outstanding as-fabricated mechanical
properties.
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

 Electron Beam Melting (EBM) • Metal powder or filament is completely

melted by a concentrated beam of electrons
produced off a superheated tungsten
[1] vacuum chamber filament in a vacuum chamber, that
[2] electron beam prevents oxidation of metals and collision of
electrons with air molecules.
[3] metal powder
[4] building platform • Electrons accelerate to approximately one-
[5] rake half the speed of light and is focused and
directed to the required spot on the powder
packed bed by magnetic fields.

• CNC machining, sandblasting and shot

peening, plating and electro-polishing are
available to refine the slightly bumpy finish
and obtain critical tolerances.

• Titanium, cobalt-chrome and Inconel are

the metals/alloys that can be processed by
EBM.
Classification and brief account of the most
successful AM processes & technologies (contd)

Growing viability and popularity of metal AM for product manufacturing:

The Wohlers Report 2018 saw an 80% rise in the sale of metal AM systems
 Thank You!
In our next session: AM Process Chain