The additive manufacturing of metals is an important promise of the 4th Industrial Revolution, already a reality in some niches: aerospace and bioengineering are the highlights. This Center aims at to expand its applications by tackling the technological bottlenecks still existing in each step of the production chain, from alloy design to the proper final post processing. In the first phase, the project will address the positive effects of niobium in precipitation hardening stainless steel and high-strength low-alloy steel.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a process characterized by the progressive overlapping (addition) of material, layer by layer on micrometric scale, aiming at manufacturing a component with defined shape and dimensions from a 3D model data. This process is opposed to subtractive manufacturing, characterized by obtaining a component by removing (subtracting) materials from a starting block, as in the classic example of the machining process.
Such characteristics enable the production of components with complex geometry directly from their 3D design, without needing auxiliary devices such as tools or molds, normally of high cost. Additionally, they allow the production of spares on demand, reducing their inventory and promoting the reduction of the lead-time (notably those already out of the current catalog).
MAM's operation is conducted through "research axes" and the inaugural axis involves two families of metallic alloys - 'High strength low alloy steels' and 'Precipitation hardenable stainless steels' - both modified with niobium and designed for MA processing, aiming at superior properties.
One understands that the combination of the thermal history typical of the various MA techniques (high cooling rate in the liquid and solid states after localized melting of each added layer) with the thermodynamics of niobium in iron-based alloys can play important role in obtaining microstructures with nanometric phases, thus inducing a significant increase of the strength of these steels.
The operation of the Research Center for Additive Manufacturing of Metals - MAM formally started on 2023 January 1st.
The goal is to develop the additive manufacturing production chain for metallic components by tackling the technological bottlenecks still existing in each step of this chain through world-class research conducted by arrangements involving research institutes, universities and companies.
Further Reading
The expansion of the set of companies and STIs participating in the MAM is highly desirable and will be continuously stimulated. New comers have access to the free use and exploitation results generated in the open research axes, as is the case with the niobium-modified steels research axis, and to the experimental infrastructure that supports MAM's work.
The mandatory requirement is to provide financial resources for the implementation of a new research axis or to reinforce the scope of on-going one. In the case of companies, it is possible to get support from funding agencies. In the case of STIs, all the financial resources will come from funding agencies and economic resources also are necessary, preferably complementary to the existing ones (infrastructure, researchers).
Under the legal aspect, two documents govern the MAM's operation:
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