Product category:
Automatic and robotic welding systems
News Release from: Rolls-Royce | Subject: Shaped metal deposition weld-forming process
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 July 2004
SMD builds fully dense, near-net-shape
structures
Shaped metal deposition, using a robot and a TIG arc-plus-wire welding torch, can build up a fully dense, near-net-shape component at up to half the to half the cost of traditional manufacturing.
Shaped metal deposition, using a robot and a TIG arc-plus-wire welding torch, can build up a fully dense, near-net-shape component at up to half the cost of traditional casting, investment casting, forging or machining from a billet A Rolls Royce 'Trent' jet engine's inter chamber casing, about 1400mm diameter and around 700mm high, stood outside a robotic welding booth at a recent 'Technology Open Week' of demonstrations organised by Kuka Automation and Robotics (www.kuka.co.uk) at its Halesowen, Birmingham, UK, factory
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 3 Dec 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The booth was being used to demonstrate the Rolls Royce (RR) patented Shaped Metal deposition (SMD) process using a standard Kuka robot and a Hitachi PC Weldmetals power source.
Rolls Royce is now making SMD commercially available.
It is not restricted to aircraft components; it can be applied to process components for chemical, petro-chemical, Formula 1 racing and oil and gas industries.
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It came almost as a shock to realise that the inter chamber casing on show by the booth had been fabricated entirely by SMD.
The robotic system at RR at Derby had shaped the inter section, using traditional wire-fed TIG depositing some130km of1.2mm diameter titanium welding wire and a Fronius straight DC TIG power source (www.tpsweld.co.uk).
The process took 19 x 24h days to complete the casing.
Present at Halesowen from RR was Dr Steve Jones who explained that the project was a trial to get an idea of SMD product quality and costs when compared with, in the example of the inter chamber casing, the traditional investment casting.
He said that with casting, the tooling is expensive and the process is expensive.
"The project has helped to communicate the SMD idea," said Dr Jones.
He added that with investment casting some welding repair is always necessary.
With SMD, the component offers superior longitudinal tensile stress and proof stress performance.
The largest defect found during a 100% X-ray NDT of the inter chamber was of 200 micron in the base interface.
"We had X-rayed the whole structure to search for any transfer defects," said Dr Jones, "And we had X-rayed it after heat treatment.
We have found it is possible to build better structures with SMD." He said that it is possible to design in and construct galleries and ways in SMD components to carry services and cabling.
"But without CAD, simulation and programming software engineers, SMD would not have been possible." Every SMD step has to be closely monitored.
As Dr Jones said, "Anyone can buy a power source, the wires, a robot and two-axis positioner but the real expertise lies in simulation and welding engineering." "There are SMD components in the air," said Dr Jones.
He mentioned the outer guide vanes in the Trent 500, 700 and 800 engines.
The vanes were originally fabricated from forgings and formed parts using electron beam welding (EBW).
Now they are produced by SMD, including the building of bosses.
Among materials used in SMD by RR are Inconel 625, Inconel 718 (turbine bearing housings), JetHeat (12% chrome) and Waspalloy.
Dr Jones said SMD could be used if the material can be successfully multi-pass welded (not exhibiting strain age cracking) and heat-treated (not exhibiting thermal cracking).
Dr Jones added that when a potential user evaluates SMD, the 'upstream' and 'downstream' work should also be taken into account.
For example, SMD is a near-net-shape process and is more accurate, than say, forging.
"It is possible to build better structures with SMD", said Dr Jones.
RR hopes to build a second SMD system, using an argon-purged chamber, for Sheffield's Hallam University.
It is only during the last 6 - 8 months that RR has been opening up SMD for general commercial availability.
At RR, the original SMD development team has been disbanded, but the Okey people1 are still there, including Dr Paul Blomerus, RMT Licensing Officer, and Dr Steve Jones.
* SMD package - the SMD technology package includes all RR patented SMD technology and know-how required to set up a turnkey SMD production cell together with a licence to exploit the technology for practically any application.
SMD equipment is designed, specified, installed and supported by Kuka.
Software is supported by BYG Systems.
The University of Nottingham, UK, supports research and technology development.
Applications include rapid prototyping and fast, low-cost development parts, producing spares direct from CAD, production components, repair and production salvage and continuous cladding with minimum arc terminations.
(Mike Page).
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