[ additive manufacturing ]
Cost comparison of conventional manufacturing versus LPBF-3D printing shows the significant savings possible .
manufacturer in Velo3D ’ s global network ), the choice was made to use Inconel 718 – one of the nickel-based alloys with a strong temperature tolerance that withstand the stress of rotation best .
“ Inconel was very attractive to us because it ’ s chemically inert enough and retains its mechanical properties at pretty high temperatures that definitely surpass aluminum or titanium ,” says Mohawk mechanical engineer Hannah Lea .
Although Velo3D had already certified Inconel 718 for their machines , Mohawk did additional material studies to add to the body of knowledge about the 3D-printed version of the superalloy . “ Our tests demonstrated that LPBF 3D-printed Inconel 718 had mechanical properties , like yield stress and creep tolerance , that were higher than those of cast material ,” Lea says . “ This was more than adequate for high-stress centrifugal blower and compressor applications within the operational temperature range .”
strategies . “ It was really interesting because we didn ’ t have to make any major design changes to the original impeller we were working with – with Velo3D ’ s Sapphire system we could just print what we wanted ,” says Cordova . “ We did do some process adjustments and tweaking in terms of support-structure considerations and surfacefinish modifications .”
Of course , tweaking is just another day in the office for design engineers . As the impeller project progressed , AM provided much faster turnaround times than casting or milling would
Iteration made easy
As their impeller work progressed , Mohawk ’ s engineers collaborated with Velo3D experts on design iterations , modifications and printing
A 3D-printing trial build with multiple impeller designs for an AORB
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 8 | February 2023 33