Cost Savings Through a Defined Design and Validation Process
Additive manufacturing (AM) or industrial 3D Printing enables lighter, stronger, and cheaper parts and systems. Several industries are pursuing the use of AM to expedite the time it takes to get their innovative and complex designs to market. The process uses computer-aided-design (CAD) software to build 3D models, which direct machines to deposit material, layer upon layer, in precise geometric shapes.
Aerospace, like many other industries, has rapidly adopted AM for prototyping. This often costly stage of the development process has been targeted as a key use case for AM. However, the use of AM for in-service parts requires detailed validation against Federal Aviation Administration requirements. This is achieved through extensive fatigue testing, tensile testing, evaluation of material anomalies, and porosity tests to validate parameters that impact the part's quality, life, and performance. The advantages of AM are numerous; one customer that Goken has an ongoing relationship with is using AM to manufacture parts that are incredibly complex to machine with a focus on reducing overall costs.
For this customer, Goken America supports the entire validation process from converting the 3D CAD models of the part to STL-based files suitable to print against parameters established for the specific process. In addition, we support the refinement of process setup to enable part quality through detailed analysis of the system data and simulations. Once post-processing of printed parts is completed, parts are sent for testing by third parties. Goken America then analyzes test data to understand the impacts of various parameters on part quality and adjusts and refine the process to achieve set targets.
Goken America is uniquely suited to support these projects due to our engineers' deep experience designing and building parts for aerospace and automotive industries. Using this experience and expertise in specific additive manufacturing processes and data analysis, we can help build parts that have the green light to be manufactured and certified in commercial applications. Listed on the left are a few key areas we currently serve our clients for additive manufacturing.
Meet Nooka Raju Bommana!
With more than 20 years of engineering experience and a Master’s Degree under his belt, Raju serves our clients in many ways. Located in our Dublin, OH Tech Center, Raju is a leader in the Goken community. In recent years Raju, alongside Goken leadership, identified Additive Manufacturing as a potential offering to help further serve our clients.
Reach out if you are interested in learning more about how you can leverage additive manufacturing or complete process validation for certification and commercial use of additive manufacturing parts!