The challenge for the best customer-supplier collaboration on an Additive Manufacturing project
Hall of Fame - Trophy 3D Print Congress & Exhibition - Lyon 2022.
The Hall of Fame trophy is awarded each year for the achievement of a part in additive manufacturing (including the design, manufacturing, post-processing and part control phases) in the context of a customer-supplier collaboration.
The project must be presented via a complete application file and an oral presentation to a panel of experts.
Among the many projects, only 5 are nominated. On April 6, 2022, the 5 nominated companies will present their project to the jury and to the visitors of the exhibition.
The JANUS Engineering x IREPA ALSER project
Additive Manufacturing in XXL mode from idea to design to manufacturing.
The original industrial challenge
The challenge faced by IREPA LASER in responding to the request of the company Wine & Tools (to produce a very large mold - height 2.6m and maximum diameter 2.25m - intended to produce wine tanks by rotational molding) was to design and manufacture large format parts that were correct from their first production run (in terms of material and geometry).
Other major challenges were to reduce deadlines, while ensuring competitive production costs, all while implementing a user-friendly process. Faced with these issues, JANUS Engineering responded to IREPA LASER's request by being available, using all its expertise and adapting to the project's particularities, in particular the combination of two robots and the resulting 17 axes.
It was therefore essential to be able to pilot this robotic cell, to program this huge part, and to transmit the necessary skills to implement a brand new manufacturing process !
Why was additive manufacturing considered ?
In the realization of this project, Additive Manufacturing by DED-CLAD® process appeared as an evidence because it answered entirely to the complexity of the constraints imposed by the manufacture of XXL parts.
Additive Manufacturing provides great flexibility in manufacturing, which translates into great freedom in geometries and easy modification of a design, allowing for optimization and functionalization of the part design. In addition, manufacturing times and delivery times can be reduced. Finally, the latest developments in DED processes offer the possibility of mastering the manufacture of very large parts, with construction speeds of several kg/h (nearly 4 kg/h in the case of the DED-CLAD® process used).
The challenge
Obviously, as we are in the XXL range, the size of the mold itself represented a real challenge. Numerous difficulties arose from this, including first of all the thermomechanical constraints which generate deformations, but also the need to obtain a good surface quality, in order to limit the subsequent machining. In addition, there was the time constraint, the realization of the whole mold requiring 17 days of manufacturing in 3x8, the process had to be as stable and repeatable as possible. IREPA LASER and JANUS Engineerieng therefore had to be able to develop a high-performance, efficient process that met the most stringent requirements. In short, a project never seen before, an innovation in design and manufacturing.
The solutions provided
First of all, in front of the size of this enormous metal part which is the mould (height 2.6m), a decision was taken to redesign it in 3 parts of less than 1m height in order to make it manipulable on the 2-axis positioner, taking into account the external diameter reaching at most 2.25m.
Then, within the framework of a PSPC project named PAMPROD and supported by the BPI, IREPA LASER was equipped with a powerful robotic cell to implement these new means of DED-CLAD® laser-wire and laser-powder Additive Manufacturing.
This cell has been dimensioned to be able to work on very large parts: up to 5 m in length and more than 5 tons, which has allowed the processing of the 3 parts of the mold. Given the number of synchronized axes to be controlled and the need to process data from process monitoring sensors, the CNC solution proposed by SIEMENS was preferred, offering an operation close to what can be obtained with conventional machining. This solution also offers the advantage of being more easily assimilated by personnel coming from the world of traditional Cartesian machines, which has accelerated its implementation.
To control this machine, IREPA LASER has chosen the NX software solution from the Xcelerator platform of Siemens Digital Industries Software, which already has the entire Siemens dedicated environment. This digital solution allows to go from the idea to the realization, through the design, the topological optimization, the specific DED programming, and the process simulation, while remaining in the same environment.
The scalability and flexibility of the solution, coupled with the advanced know-how of the JANUS Engineering teams, enabled IREPA LASER to obtain a platform that was fully adapted to its needs and constraints. At the same time, the company wanted to go even further by integrating various IoT control sensors, enabling it to monitor the laser additive manufacturing process in real time.
It is thanks to this close collaboration between JANUS Engineering, Siemens and IREPA LASER that this new tool was created and allowed IREPA LASER to become a "Solution Partner" of Siemens, synonymous with direct interaction between the development teams. As a first test, this simulation has been applied on the tank and is being finalized to be commercialized in the coming months.
Finally, DED-CLAD® Additive Manufacturing, expert advice from JANUS Engineering coupled with the Siemens software suite, made it possible to control production costs, with a non-contact process, thus without tool wear, but also by controlling the energy input thanks to laser technology. This perfect control of the operating conditions allowed to obtain an excellent quality of the deposited material, from the beginning to the end of the construction.
Perspectives of growth
For Wine & Tools, a plastic model was first made with the NX suite of Siemens Digital Industries Software, it was a first step on a reduced scale in order to be able to project. We then realized the tank in real size and in stainless steel, which allowed us to demonstrate to Wine & Tools the feasibility of such a construction, and the possibilities offered by this new industrial solution machine-software-process to manufacture new molds.
Moreover, this example of realization opens the way to new cases of application of this process, on potential future new markets, whether in the field of activity of Wine & Tools, but also in many other fields: aeronautics, space, energy...
« We were the first in France to manufacture a part of this size. In our opinion, this is not an end in itself, it is only a step, which has shown that we must continue, together, to develop this process to make it even more efficient, especially in terms of manufacturing speed. »
IREPA LASER
Thanks to this close collaboration between JANUS and IREPA LASER, this project has shown that we were able to do it, that additive manufacturing technology opened the doors to many new practices and that the performances went even beyond what could be expected for a first test of this scope. From now on, IREPA LASER is able to produce XXL size parts with an innovative process of Additive Manufacturing DED-CLAD® Laser, knowing how to control its deadlines, its costs and with a result meeting the specifications.
JANUS Engineering and IREPA LASER win the 2022 award for best customer-supplier collaboration
It seemed natural to us to apply for this 2022 trophy because the process is more than innovative and the part to be made is completely out of the ordinary, in an unexpected sector of activity !
This project was a real challenge from start to finish, the constraints were strong, but we had the technological and human means to achieve it.
What this project proves is also and above all the capacity that we have today to develop new uses with additive manufacturing and new practices that can be easily understood by users and thus easily integrated into uses other than those originally planned during the development of the process in question.
« In our opinion, this project demonstrates the importance of collaboration, the power delivered by the association of actors who are experts in their areas and who aim at a common goal. Thanks to the potential of Siemens Digital Industries Software solutions, the perseverance & expertise of our teams, we were able to make possible what no one would have imagined a few years ago. Uncommon innovations shape new technologies and test their potential. It is with such new uses and new processes, among others, that a new technology develops and reaches maturity.»
Nicolas Simon, CEO, JANUS ENGINEERING France
Finally, this project allows to highlight a French manufacturing solution, new, efficient and unique, realized thanks to a close collaboration between French partners, and within the framework of a PSPC project named 'PAMPROD', supported by the BPI.
Nous avons donc été heureux de ce voir décernés cette récompense qui met l'accent sur l'innovation apporté et sur la capacité de deux acteurs français à travailler main dans la main pour la réussite d'un exploit technologique XXL !
Thanks to the members of the jury :
- Pierre-Antoine ARRIGHI, Founder ANIWAA et Consulting Director SOPRA STERIA
- Philippe FERAUD, Scientific and Technical Expert SNCF
- Stéphane LESPRIT, Innovation Engineer Packaging skincare and fragrance L’OREAL
- Lionel RIDOSZ, Additive Manufacturing Manager SAFRAN
- Ramzi TEBOURSKI, Supplier Quality Engineer VOLVO TRUCKS