Additive manufacturing (AM) will be a vital component in shaping the future of manufacturing, says Dr Evren Yasa, Head of Additive Manufacturing at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).
Yasa made the observation on the TCT Additive Insight podcast, where she appeared as the latest Executive Interview guest to talk about the work the AMRC is doing to further AM adoption in the UK.
With a network of facilities across the country, the AMRC runs the gamut of advanced manufacturing manufacturing processes. AM is just one of them but Yasa believes the technology, particularly in metals, has a significant role to play in the future of the manufacturing sector.
“Additive manufacturing has become one of the well explored routes for manufacturing functional and very complicated geometries. This is very interesting because normally additive manufacturing is considered to replace conventional manufacturing," Yasa said. "But we don't agree with that idea because if it's cheaper and more convenient to produce parts with conventional manufacturing, there is no need for additive manufacturing. But there should be some value added by additive manufacturing.
"Additive manufacturing can provide many advantages to demanding industries like weight reduction, lower buy to fly ratios, design freedom, and others. That's why it has become a complementary process route for conventional manufacturing, and it has also unlocked a new design philosophy, which is very critical.
"Without additive manufacturing, there are some geometries that are impossible to make. So shaping the future of manufacturing without additive manufacturing is not possible. We see it that way and we plan to grow our team as well as our capabilities significantly to address the challenges."
Having worked in AM since 2005, when she embarked on a Ph.D. in Rapid Manufacturing at the Catholic University of Leuven with TCT Hall of Fame inductee and renowned AM researcher Professor Jean-Pierre Kruth, Yasa describes her current role at the AMRC as her dream job thanks to the unique intersection between AM academic research and and serial production. With a network of 70 universities and more than 500 researchers and engineers, the AMRC bridges the gap to advanced manufacturing expertise for numerous sectors including aerospace, automotive, construction, food and drink, healthcare and medical. On the podcast, Yasa shares an example from the energy sector where the AMRC is exploring Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) for the manufacture of liquid hydrogen storage tanks.
"Hydrogen is considered to be the fuel of the future due to its advantages, but still the storage of this fuel is problematic because you need to store it either in a pressurised gas form or a liquid state, and both of them require different specifications," Yasa explains. "Therefore, in this recent project, we have investigated the feasibility of using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing for making liquid hydrogen storage tanks from aluminium alloys. We have chosen that method because it provides the advantages of large-scale manufacturing, as well as being able [to deliver] geometries that may be necessary for compact areas to store hydrogen.
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"So we have addressed the problem from various perspectives like geometrical complexity and the position parameter optimisation, but still there is much to do in terms of testing the permeability and cryogenic mechanical properties of AM materials so that we can prove the performance against the conventionally processed ones. So that's an interesting application area of additive manufacturing for future propulsion."
Yasa also spoke about the need for collaboration in order for AM to thrive, common misconceptions for first-time AM users, and what she believes are the most interesting developments emerging from the UK's AM market.
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