Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components
Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process capable of producing large components for the aerospace and oil and gas industries. This is achieved by mounting the deposition head on a motion system, such as an articulated robot or a gantry computer numerical control (CNC) ma...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/9/5259 |
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| author | Simone Maffia Federico Chiappini Gianluca Maggiani Valentina Furlan Massimo Guerrini Barbara Previtali |
| author_facet | Simone Maffia Federico Chiappini Gianluca Maggiani Valentina Furlan Massimo Guerrini Barbara Previtali |
| author_sort | Simone Maffia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process capable of producing large components for the aerospace and oil and gas industries. This is achieved by mounting the deposition head on a motion system, such as an articulated robot or a gantry computer numerical control (CNC) machine, which can scan large volumes. Articulated robots are more flexible and less expensive than CNC machines, which on the other hand, are more accurate. This study compares two LMD systems with different motion architectures (i.e., an eight-axis articulated robot and a five-axis CNC gantry machine) in producing a large gas turbine axisymmetric component. The same process parameters were applied to both machines. The deposited components show no significant differences in geometry, indicating that the different performances in terms of accuracy of the two machines do not influence the outcome. The findings indicate that LMD can consistently produce large-scale axisymmetric metal components with both types of equipment. For such an application, the user has the option of using an articulated robot when flexibility and cost are essential, such as in a research context, or a CNC machine where ease of programming and process standardization are important elements, such as in an industrial environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:25:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4faf771c4b8240d38e8160d29c19a861 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:25:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4faf771c4b8240d38e8160d29c19a8612023-11-17T22:31:34ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-04-01139525910.3390/app13095259Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large ComponentsSimone Maffia0Federico Chiappini1Gianluca Maggiani2Valentina Furlan3Massimo Guerrini4Barbara Previtali5Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, ItalyNuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l., Baker Hughes, Via Felice Matteucci 2, 50127 Florence, ItalyNuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l., Baker Hughes, Via Felice Matteucci 2, 50127 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, ItalyNuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l., Baker Hughes, Via Felice Matteucci 2, 50127 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, ItalyLaser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process capable of producing large components for the aerospace and oil and gas industries. This is achieved by mounting the deposition head on a motion system, such as an articulated robot or a gantry computer numerical control (CNC) machine, which can scan large volumes. Articulated robots are more flexible and less expensive than CNC machines, which on the other hand, are more accurate. This study compares two LMD systems with different motion architectures (i.e., an eight-axis articulated robot and a five-axis CNC gantry machine) in producing a large gas turbine axisymmetric component. The same process parameters were applied to both machines. The deposited components show no significant differences in geometry, indicating that the different performances in terms of accuracy of the two machines do not influence the outcome. The findings indicate that LMD can consistently produce large-scale axisymmetric metal components with both types of equipment. For such an application, the user has the option of using an articulated robot when flexibility and cost are essential, such as in a research context, or a CNC machine where ease of programming and process standardization are important elements, such as in an industrial environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/9/5259laser metal depositiondirected energy depositionarticulated robotgantry computer numerical control machinelarge components3D scans |
| spellingShingle | Simone Maffia Federico Chiappini Gianluca Maggiani Valentina Furlan Massimo Guerrini Barbara Previtali Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components Applied Sciences laser metal deposition directed energy deposition articulated robot gantry computer numerical control machine large components 3D scans |
| title | Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components |
| title_full | Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components |
| title_fullStr | Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components |
| title_short | Comparison between Eight-Axis Articulated Robot and Five-Axis CNC Gantry Laser Metal Deposition Machines for Fabricating Large Components |
| title_sort | comparison between eight axis articulated robot and five axis cnc gantry laser metal deposition machines for fabricating large components |
| topic | laser metal deposition directed energy deposition articulated robot gantry computer numerical control machine large components 3D scans |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/9/5259 |
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