Polymer Shaped Punches Produces with Fused Filament Fabrication to Improve Cup Accuracy in Sheet Metal Forming

Rapid tooling has become an effective solution for reducing time and costs in tool production. In sheet metal forming, polymer tools produced via additive manufacturing offer performance comparable to traditional tools. However, a key challenge in this area is compensating for the radial expansion of polymer tools during the forming process, which leads to reduced accuracy in the produced parts and limits the achievable forming depth. To address this issue, the authors of this study proposed a novel punch design aimed at containing radial expansion, thereby enabling greater drawing depth and improved part accuracy. Different punch geometries were designed with a re-entrant angle varying between 150° and 180°. Numerical simulations were conducted to evaluate the optimal geometry, identifying the 160° angle as the best option to compensate for radial expansion and reduce punch load. Experimental tests were then performed to verify the numerical results, demonstrating the potential of this new design producing cups with higher drawing depth and best radial accuracy

Selective laser melting of H13 tool steel powder: effect of process parameter on complex part production

This research work presents the investigation of H13 tool steel powder in the production of parts characterized by complex features via selective laser melting. The authors proposed a benchmark geometry with 40 mm nominal height, self-supported overhanging structure and internal channels. To investigate powder printability and process capabilities, an experimental campaign was designed as a function of laser power, scan speed and hatching distance. Full dense parts exhibiting 99.92% internal density have been achieved by imposing a laser power equal to 150 W, a scan speed equal to 500 mm/s and a hatching distance equal to 120 µm, while high geometrical accuracy in terms of no material drops along sample edges and low-dimensional deviations of the realized sloping surfaces (i.e., + 0.23° and − 0.90° for nominal 35° and 40° overhang, respectively) has been achieved for 150 W, 1000 mm/s, and 100 µm. Findings open the way to use SLM technology in the design of advanced cutting tool solutions

Effects of fiber layout on strength and failure of 3D printed notched composites

This study investigates the effect of printing strategies on the strength of additively manufactured notched fiber reinforced composite specimens. Specimens with varying notch geometries (two radii and two opening angles) and fiber layouts (unreinforced, unidirectional, quasi-isotropic and concentric) were 3D printed and tested under tension. Digital image correlation provided surface strain field data. Results showed that fiber deposition patterns significantly impact notch sensitivity, failure loads and mechanisms, with notch geometry being of secondary importance. The unidirectional layout achieved the highest strength but with progressive failure, while quasiisotropic specimens failed abruptly from the notch. The concentric layout shielded the notch region but induced premature failure away from the notch due to transverse stress. Stress concentration factor approaches, which work well for conventional laminates, have limitations for 3D printed composites due to local differences and complex interactions. Optimizing fiber deposition, instead of geometry, emerges as a promising design route. Combining unidirectional and contouring algorithms may improve performance. However, further studies utilizing multiscale modelling and local failure analyses are needed to fully understand failure mechanisms and guide optimal notch designs for 3D printed composites. With improved understanding and design methods, 3D printing promises to unlock new possibilities for structurally efficient notched composite parts

Driver roll speed influence in Ring Rolling process

Ring Rolling is an advanced local incremental forming technology to fabricate directly precise seamless ring-shape parts with various dimensions and materials. To produce a high-quality ring different speed laws should be defined: the speed laws of the Idle and Axial rolls must be set to control the ring cross section and the Driver roll angular velocity must be chosen to avoid too high localized deformation on the ring cross section. Usually, in industrial environment, a constant rotation is set for the Driver roll, but this approach does not guarantee a constant ring angular velocity because of its diameter expansion. In particular, the higher is the ring diameter the lower is its angular velocity. The main risk due to this constrain is the generation of a non-uniform ring geometry. An innovative approach is to design a Driver Roll speed law to obtain a constant ring angular velocity. In this paper a FEM approach was followed to investigate the Driver roll speed influence on the Ring Rolling process. Different Driver roll speed laws were tested starting from a model defined in an industrial plant. Results will be analyzed by a geometrical and physical point of view

Laser decoating of DLC films for tribological applications

Damaged DLC coatings usually require remanufacturing of the entire coated components starting from an industrial chemical de-coating step. Alternatively, a complete or local coating repair can be considered. To pursue this approach, however, a local coating removal is needed as first operation. In this context, controlled decoating based on laser sources can be a suitable and clean alternative to achieve a pre-fixed decoating depth with high accuracy. In the present study, we investigated a laser-based decoating process executed on multilayered DLC films for advanced tribological applications (deposited via a hybrid PVD/PE-CVD technique). The results were acquired via multifocal optical digital microscopy (MF-ODM), which allowed high-resolution 3D surface reconstruction as well as digital profilometry of the lasered and unlasered surface. The study identifies the most critical process parameters which influence the effective decoating depth and the post-decoating surface roughness. In particular, the role of pulse overlap (decomposed along orthogonal directions), laser fluence, number of lasing passes and assist gas is discussed in text. A first experimental campaign was designed to identify the best conditions to obtain full decoating of the DLC + DLC:Cr layers. It was observed that decreasing the marking speed to 200 mm/s was necessary to obtain a sufficient pulse overlap and a nearly planar ablation profile. By operating with microsecond pulses and 1 J/cm2 (fairly above the ablation threshold), less than 10 passes were needed to obtain full decoating of the lasered area with an etching rate of 1.1 μm/loop. Further experiments were then executed in order to minimise the roughness of the rest surface with the best value found at around 0.2 μm. Limited oxidation but higher Ra values were observed in Ar atmosphere

Laser Surface Texturing to Realize Micro-grids on DLC Coating: Effect of Marking Speed, Power, and Loop Cycle

In the present study, laser surface texturing was tested with the aim of improving the tribological properties of a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating. Two experimental campaigns were designed to realize different micro-grids, and to study the effect of marking speed, laser power, and loop cycle. The grid profiles obtained were analyzed using a digital microscope and a laser probe system to measure the track cross section. At the end of the experiments, the authors identified a good-quality track obtained by imposing a marking speed of 300 mm/s, a power of 0.5 W, and one loop cycle. For the identified condition, the presence of defects (such as cracks) on both the coated surface and at the substrate/coating interface was analyzed. Furthermore, the coating nanohardness, adhesion to the substrate, and wear behavior in dry condition were investigated. The results underline how laser texturing can improve the DLC wear behavior (wear tracks lower than 30%) without considerably affecting the other tested coating properties

Milling tool optimization by topology optimization technique

In milling operations, the weight of the milling tool greatly affects the motion speed of the mandrel, especially when a complex tool path must be performed. Thus, it is essential to realize more lightweight tools, without a significant decrease in the mechanical and production performance. Traditionally, due to the limitation of the conventional manufacturing processes, the design of a new milling tool cannot be too much complex and thus cannot fully satisfy the mentioned goals. Nowadays, thanks to the topology optimization technique and the additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, such as the selective laser melting (SLM), it is possible to realize more complex part geometries to obtain more lightweight and high-performance tools. In this paper, a new design of a milling tool with a weight reduced by 30% is presented; SLM process has been selected to realize the milling tool. In order to minimize the use of support structures, required by the SLM process to correctly realize the desired part, the new geometry has been little modified. A more lightweight milling tool has been produced and every support structure has been successfully removed from the component

Influence of Die Threading and Finishing Length in the Thread-Rolling Process Using Flat Dies: A Numerical Analysis

In this paper, a numerical analysis of the cold thread-rolling process using flat dies is presented as a function of the die geometry design. Five die geometries with different threading and finishing ratios were modelled to induce different screw deformation rates. An analytical method was proposed by the authors to design die geometries as a function of screw roll rotation. Screw geometry accuracy, induced stress, and die wear were selected to compare the tested geometries. The results showed that three screw rotations in the threading step were sufficient to guarantee good geometry accuracy. Moreover, the results highlighted that die wear is the most affected parameter among all the tested geometries. Finally, a new solution was proposed by the authors to obtain uniform wear and reduce the die length

Ring Rolling speed rolls optimization to improve ring quality and reduce production time

In this paper, an analysis of the production time reduction as a function of the Idle and Axial rolls speed law in a Ring Rolling process was examined. Starting from an industrial case study, the authors defined a new milling curve able to produce a better ring quality with lower loads. From this result, the authors tested the effect of the production time reduction till the 40% of the initial one. The Ide roll velocity was varied in a range between 0.71 and 1.13 mm/s while the Axial roll between 0.35 and 1.70 mm/s. Geometrical and load parameters have been taken into account to compare the results achieved. The authors identified in the external ring diameter and in the Idle roll maximum load the most critical parameter to control; in particular, a break-even point was determined in order to select a set of rolls speed laws able to produce a good quality ring with lower production time (about 20%) and lower loads (about 10 %). In this research both experimental and numerical approaches were followed