5-Axis HSC Machining Center for finishing of additively manufactured Workpieces

• Subject Area: Mechanics and Constructive Mechanical Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 421647192

Additive manufacturing for metals is currently a highly important area of production engineering research. It is of great scientific and industrial relevance. Additively manufactured components provide a very high variety of possible shapes, require no special molds or tools, and have an excellent ratio of raw material to final component volume. However, a major disadvantage of additive manufacturing, which will persist in the medium- and long-term view, is the comparatively high surface roughness. Technical functional surfaces can only be achieved by subsequent machining processes and non-functional surfaces often need to be smoothed to avoid micro-cracks as well. Via this post-processing, manufacturing process chains are created in which a subsequent machining operation follows the additive manufacturing of a workpiece before a finished and ready-to-use component is completed. Such process chains already are an important field of research at the Chair of Manufacturing Technology and Productions Systems at TU Kaiserslautern, where the requested machine tool shall be installed.The requested machine tool, a 5-axis HSC machining center, is specially designed for high-performance grinding, coordinated grinding and high-speed milling of additively manufactured workpieces. It thus allows the application of those machining processes that are best suited for the post-processing of additively manufactured workpieces. With this machine, research projects are planned in the following fields:- Grinding of additively manufactured workpieces (using novel, innovative tool concepts)- High-speed milling of additively manufactured workpieces- Investigation of process cooling in the machining of additively manufactured workpieces- Surface conditioning of additively manufactured workpieces- Post-processing of additively manufactured molds and toolsA comparable machine is not available at TU Kaiserslautern, so that the procurement is a central requirement for the planned research project.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: 5-Achs HSC Bearbeitungszentrum zur Nachbearbeitung additiv gefertigter Bauteile
• Instrumentation Group: 2030 Fräsmaschinen
• Applicant Institution: Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jan C. Aurich