An Investigation of Process Variables Influencing Fatigue Properties of Components Produced by Direct Metal Laser Sintering

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is one of the methods in layered manufacturing technologies by which metal powder can be directly used to produce both prototype and production tools. Fatigue strength is one of the important mechanical properties for the functional application of DMLS parts. This study was carried out to determine the optimum process parameters influencing the fatigue cycles to failure of DMLS components. Sintering speed, scan spacing, post-contouring speed, infiltration and hatch type are the process parameters taken up for the study. Statistical design of experiments using Taguchi’s orthogonal array was employed for this study. Experimental data obtained were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). From the results, it is found that one of the process parameters, sintering speed affects the fatigue properties of parts produced by this technology to a significant exten

Redesigning of Shopping Cart for Cost Reduction Using DFMA

Product Design is a way of creating new designs for various products to be sold by a business to customers. It is very efficient as certain new designs and ideas can lead to products with less cost. The two methodologies of design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) include design for manufacture (DFM) which is concentrated on reducing the number of redundant parts for the ease of manufacturing and also design for assembly (DFA) which is concentrated on reducing the assembly time of the parts included in the design of the product. It also helps to reduce the inefficiency and waste in the product design. This paper includes a case study of manufacture and assembly costs estimation of a shopping cart which is widely used in supermarkets, department stores all around the world. The main aim of this paper is to reduce the overall manufacturing cost of the shopping cart. The CAD model of the different parts of the shopping cart was generated using solid works and then analysed using the DFMA software. The outcomes were studied and the re-design is done. The final assembly cost of the re-designed product was compared to that of the existing design and the results are discussed

Redesigning of Shopping Cart for Cost Reduction Using DFMA

Product Design is a way of creating new designs for various products to be sold by a business to customers. It is very efficient as certain new designs and ideas can lead to products with less cost. The two methodologies of design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) include design for manufacture (DFM) which is concentrated on reducing the number of redundant parts for the ease of manufacturing and also design for assembly (DFA) which is concentrated on reducing the assembly time of the parts included in the design of the product. It also helps to reduce the inefficiency and waste in the product design. This paper includes a case study of manufacture and assembly costs estimation of a shopping cart which is widely used in supermarkets, department stores all around the world. The main aim of this paper is to reduce the overall manufacturing cost of the shopping cart. The CAD model of the different parts of the shopping cart was generated using solid works and then analysed using the DFMA software. The outcomes were studied and the re-design is done. The final assembly cost of the re-designed product was compared to that of the existing design and the results are discussed

INVESTIGATIONS ON THE LUBRICATED WEAR OF DIRECT METAL LASER SINTERED COMPONENTS FOR FUNCTIONAL APPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT Direct Metal Laser Sintering(DMLS) is a sequential layered manufacturing method to produce any desired three dimensional parts with simple or complex shapes with no or minimum post-processing. In this study Bronze-Nickel powder was used to make the samples. The samples were produced with the optimized set of parameters such as sintering speed, scan spacing, hatch type, hatch distance and infiltration based on previous studies. To investigate the tribological behavior of the sintered components for functional applications, reciprocating wear tests under lubricated condition were carried out. A ball-on-flat configuration was chosen for the tests. Using Design of Experiments, Taguchi's modified L9 orthogonal Table has been implemented to carry out the experiments. Hardness, load and temperature were the three parameters considered and three levels were chosen for each to create the orthogonal array. Wear tests were carried out with the set parameters and wear rates of the DMLS samples were found out. ANOVA statistical method was used to find the influence of major parameter and the contribution of each parameter on the wear rate of the samples. It has been found that the applied load, one of the selected test parameters had more influence on lubricated wear as compared to other parameters. Keywords: lubricated wear, DMLS, ANOVA, Taguchi. INTRODUCTION Over the years, rapid prototyping (RP) have become popular in new product design and development. Increased concern for the process cost and cycle time, rapid prototyping technology helps in reducing the product development cycle time For most of the functional products, failure due to wear is considered as a complex one. Abrasive wear mechanism is known to be the prevailing cause of wear in reciprocating components. Coating is suggested to improve hardness and wear resistance of RP component

Redesign of an in-market food processor for manufacturing cost reduction using DFMA methodology

Reducing the time and cost involved in the product development is very important to stay competitive in the market. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is a cost-reduction framework for designers to evaluate manufacturing aspects of a product design. A case study on an in-market food processor, this paper aims to demonstrate the significance of DFMA implementation on an Indian consumer product. Even though many DFMA case studies have been published till date, very few have dealt with the Indian consumer durables category. In this paper, various cost-reduction opportunities are identified in the design of a food processor manufactured by a reputed company in India. Using the DFMA study, design ideas are developed with an objective of reducing the overall manufacturing cost of the product. As a result of DFMA implementation, significant improvement in terms of the product’s architecture, assembly time and design efficiency is identified. Overall cost reduction of 0.25 USD (United States Dollar) was achieved and an improvement in the Design for Assembly (DFA) index from 15.99 to 19.93 is reported. This procedure utilized in this paper can be adopted for any consumer durable products of similar type and design improvements and cost reduction can be achieved