IMPC

Muhammad Hussain Ismail B.Engg, M.Sc
PhD Student - Email mtp07mhi@sheffield.ac.uk

Muhammad H. Ismail (Hussain) has joined Sheffield University since Oct 2007 and he is currently a PhD student at the Department of Engineering Materials, under supervision of Dr Iain Todd and Prof H. A. Davies.

He obtained his first degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering in 1999 from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He then pursued his master degree (M.Sc) at the same University and graduated in 2002. His master’s thesis is entitled “The Effects of Powder Loading on Processing Conditions in Metal Injection (MIM) Process”.  He has joined Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia since February 2001 as a lecturer at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. His research interest is Powder Metallurgy, particularly in the Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) process. 

Prior his PhD study, he had led 3 research projects on MIM and members of several research grants. His research projects were focusing on rheological behavior and parts’ characterization in MIM process of 316L Stainless Steel using a water soluble binder system and development of local bio-polymer binder system based on palm stearin. His PhD work is focusing on the fabrication of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) components using pre-alloyed NiTi by MIM route. Most of his research works is conducted at the Innovative Manufacturing Process Centre (IMPC) in Rotheram.

DMLS materials from EOS vary from bronze-based alloys to tool steel and stainless steel. Light metals on the basis of titanium and super alloys, for example cobalt-chrome, have already been developed at EOS for use in EOSINT M systems. Such alloys are especially interesting for applications in the medical device industry, as well as in aerospace.
 

EOS MaragingSteel MS1
EOS MaragingSteel MS1 is a maraging steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 18 Maraging 300, European 1.2709 and German X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5. This kind of steel is characterized by having very high strength combined with high toughness. It is easily machinable after the building process and can be easily post-hardened up to approx. 55 HRC by a simlpe thermal age-hardening process. This kind of steel is conventionally used for complex tooling as well as for high-performance industrial parts, for example in aerospace applications.

Typical applications:

heavy duty injection moulds and inserts for moulding all standard thermoplastics using standard injection parameters, with achievable tool life of up to millions of parts
die casting moulds for small series of up to several thousand parts in light alloys
direct manufacture of heavily loaded functional metal prototypes.

DirectMetal 20
DirectMetal 20 is a very fine-grained bronze-based, multi-component metal powder. The resulting parts offer good mechanical properties combined with excellent detail resolution and surface quality. The surfaces can be easily post-processed by shot-peening and can be polished with very little effort. The specially developed powder mixture contains different components which expand during the laser-sintering process, partially compensating for the natural solidification shrinkage and thereby enabling a very high part accuracy to be achieved.

This material is ideal for most prototype injection moulding tooling applications (DirectTool) and for many functional metal prototype applications (DirectPart). It offers the highest building speed and thus is particularly suitable for larger tools and parts. It also offers a broad window of usable process parameters, e.g. a wide range of achievable mechanical properties and build speeds. Standard parameters use 20 µm layer thickness for the skin and 60 µm layers for the core, but for faster building the entire part can be built using 40 µm layers for the skin and 80 µm layers for the core. Using standard skin parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions, which is especially beneficial for many DirectPart applications.

Areas built with core parameters have a porous structure, but the combination of skin and core produces a strong total part. Parts built from DirectMetal 20 also have good corrosion resistance.

Typical applications:

injection moulds and inserts for moulding up to tens or even hundreds of thousands of parts in standard thermoplastics using standard injection parameters
direct manufacture of functional metal prototypes.

EOS StainlessSteel 17-4
EOS StainlessSteel 17-4 is a pre-alloyed stainless steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 17-4 PH and European 1.4542 and fulfils the requirements of AMS 5643 for Mn, Mo, Ni, Si, C, Cr and Cu. This kind of steel is characterized by having very good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, especially excellent ductility in laser processed state, and is widely used in a variety of engineering applications.

This material is ideal for many part-building applications (DirectPart) such as functional metal prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts. Standard processing parameters use full melting of the entire geometry with 20 µm layer thickness, but it is also possible to use skin and core building style to increase the build speed. Using standard parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions. Laser-sintered parts made from EOS StainlessSteel 17-4 can be welded, machined, micro shot-peened, polished and coated if required. Unexposed powder can be reused without restriction or refreshing.

Typical applications:

engineering applications including functional prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts.
parts requiring high corrosion resistance, sterilisability, etc.
parts requiring particularly high toughness and ductility.

EOS StainlessSteel PH1
EOS StainlessSteel PH1 is a pre-alloyed stainless steel in fine powder form. This kind of steel is characterized by having very good corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties, especially in the precipitation hardened state. This type of steel is widely used in variety of medical, aerospace and other engineering applications requiring high hardness, strength and corrosion resistance.

This material is ideal for many part-building applications (DirectPart) such as functional metal prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts. One potential application is injection moulding tools for processing of corrosive plastics. Standard processing parameters use full melting of the entire geometry with 20 µm layer thickness, but it is also possible to use 40µm layer thickness and skin and core building style to increase the build speed. Using standard parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions. Parts made from EOS StainlessSteel PH1 can be machined, spark-eroded, welded, micro shot-peened, polished and coated if required.

Typical applications:

engineering applications including functional prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts.
parts requiring high corrosion resistance, sterilisability, etc.
parts requiring particularly high strength and hardness.

EOS CobaltChrome MP1
EOS CobaltChrome MP1 is a fine powder mixture for laser-sintering on EOSINT M 270 systems, which produces parts in a cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based superalloy. This class of superalloy is characterized by having excellent mechanical properties (strength, hardness, etc.), corrosion resistance and temperature resistance. Such alloys are commonly used in biomedical applications such as dental and medical implants (note: widely used in Europe but much less so in North America), and also for high-temperature engineering applications such as in aero engines.

The chemistry of EOS CobaltChrome MP1 conforms to the composition UNS R31538 of high carbon CoCrMo alloy. It is nickel-free (< 0.1 % nickel content), sterilisable and suitable for biomedical applications. The laser-sintered parts are characterized by a fine, uniform crystal grain structure. They fully meet the requirements of ISO 5832-4 and ASTM F75 for cast CoCrMo implant alloys, as well as the requirements of ISO 5832-12 and ASTM F1537 for wrought CoCrMo implants alloys except remaining elongation. The remaining elongation can be increased to fulfil even this standard by hot isostatic pressing (HIP).

This material is ideal for many part-building applications (DirectPart) such as functional metal prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts. Standard processing parameters use full melting of the entire geometry with 20 µm layer thickness, but it is also possible to use skin and core building style to increase the build speed. Using standard parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions. Laser-sintered parts made from EOS CobaltChrome MP1 can be welded, machined, micro shot-peened, polished and coated if required. Unexposed powder can be reused without restriction or refreshing.

Typical applications:

prototype or one-off biomedical implants, e.g. spinal, knee, hip bone, toe and dental
parts requiring high mechanical properties in elevated temperatures (500 - 1000 °C) and with good corrosion resistance, e.g. turbines and other parts for engines, cutting parts, etc.
parts having very small features such as thin walls, pins, etc., which require particularly high strength and/or stiffness.

EOS CobaltChrome SP1
EOS CobaltChrome SP1 is a fine powder mixture which produces parts in a cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based superalloy. In addition to excellent mechanical properties (strength, hardness etc.), corrosion resistance and temperature resistance, it has been especially devel-oped to fulfil the requirements of dental restorations which have to be veneered with dental ceramic material.

Typical applications:

dental restorations (crowns, bridges etc.)

Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) is a process that has developed out of the conjunction between powder metallurgy and plastic injection moulding.

MIM has a wide area of applications which include watch cases, radial rotors, turbocharger rotors, automotive parts, surgical tweezers, gas manifolds, fuel nozzles and many others.

The MIM industry has been driven by reduction in production costs as compared to other methods and MIM has become a mature technique for the fabrication of small and difficult to machine parts with complex shapes. Figure 1 shows competing technologies and Figure 2 identifies the optimal application of MIM.

The MIM cycle

The MIM cycle begins with preparation of a feedstock by mixing together very fine metallic powder with a binder comprising waxes, polymers, lubricants and surfactants as shown in Figure 3. The resulting feedstock is then granulated.

An injection moulding machine is used to heat up the feedstock before injecting it into a mould cavity under pressure. The molten feedstock is allowed to cool, solidify and become what is known as a “green” part.

The binder components are then removed by the process of debinding and the brown moulding becomes a highly porous “brown” part. The brown part is sintered at elevated temperature and shrinks during the process typically to over 95% density.

Alfred Sidambe BSc PhD AMInstP

Dr. Sidambe joined the IMPC/AMRC at the University of Sheffield in December 2006 to work as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. His tasks involve developing improved processing routes to Titanium alloys, with emphasis on Metal Injection Moulding.

Alfred obtained his PhD in 2006 from Cranfield University (UK) in injection moulding of polymers bonded to magnets. His work allowed him to developed extensive knowledge in the Extrusion, Mixing, Rheological and Injection moulding techniques of polymers as well as Finite Elements Analysis and magnetic properties of materials.

His first degree was in Special Applied Physics with Electronics which he obtained with honours in the First Class from The University of Hull, UK, in 1997.  In his undergraduate days, Alfred was awarded the Idwal Jones Prize in Experimental Physics for his excellence in experimentation.

Dr Sidambe has also worked in industry within the Photoelectronics and Information Technology sectors.

The University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing wins the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Education

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing has won national recognition by winning the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education which commends ‘outstanding achievement at a world-class level’. The award is assessed by a specialist panel over several months, and then put forward by the Prime Minister to the Queen for Royal Assent.

The AMRC has been selected for this prestigious award in recognition of its track record as an outstanding collaborative venture involving world-leading research and over 40 business partners, including the world’s largest aerospace company Boeing and leading companies such as Rolls-Royce, Messier-Dowty and GE Aviation.

The Centre embodies a new approach to collaboration which has been enthusiastically embraced by leading businesses. By rapidly embedding the latest research into manufacturing businesses, step changes in productivity are achieved. Boeing and Rolls-Royce have both publicly stated that they plan to use the AMRC as a model for future research centre partnerships with universities.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, Professor Keith Burnett welcomed the Prize and gives credit to the achievement of the AMRC team and partners:

“The University’s vision includes our stated aim to develop a critical mass of strategic partnerships and collaborations with world-leading companies in which the process of discovery is accelerated. The AMRC is a wonderful example of exactly this. In the five years since its development, growth at the AMRC has been staggering and tangible benefits have been felt in the regional and national economy, with key orders won for this country and jobs secured on the basis of research-led solutions which make companies more competitive.”

Nick West, Director of Communications Boeing UK, warmly welcomed the news of the Queen’s Prize for the AMRC with Boeing.

“Britain has proven itself to be one of the most successful locations for aerospace engineering, design and manufacture in the world. Thanks to Boeing’s partnership with the University of Sheffield, new techniques have resulted in more energy efficient aircraft. We are also using composite materials to push the boundaries of new materials vital to the next generation of aerospace. Such cutting edge developments are the result of a collaboration which develops skills and creates wealth and intellectual property for us as a company, for the University and for the benefit of UK industry.”

The AMRC model is being enthusiastically replicated by governments and partner organisations from around the world. Within the University, the original AMRC premises have been outgrown and an environmentally sympathetic, carbon neutral,  Rolls-Royce sponsored, Factory of the Future, will open early in 2008.

When:    29 November 2007 from 9:30 am

Where:   At the Innovation Technology Centre
Advanced Manufacturing Park, Rotheram

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing invites you and your company to attend our second “Advanced Manufacturing Forum” seminar entitled, “Additive Manufacturing” on November 29, 2007 beginning at 9:30 am at the Innovation Technology Centre, in Rotherham, concluding with a buffet lunch.

The price of materials constitutes an increasing percentage of the total cost of producing a component, with traditional reduction processes wasting up to 90% of the material. As the price of manufacturing materials increases, manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce the amount of materials used.
Our second “Advanced Manufacturing Forum” events considers the impact of additive manufacturing processes by featuring senior managers from industry and academia who are using metal deposition, powder metallurgy, layer forming and other processes to:

•  Decrease material usage
•  Increase design flexibility
•  Improve competitiveness

Non-AMF members may attend this seminar for £25. This seminar is free to all registered AMF members.

Speakers will include:

•  Mike Excell - Editor, Metal Working Production Magazine
•  Dr. Jeff Allen - Staff Technologist, Near Net and Fusion Welding Group, Rolls-Royce plc.
•  Dr. Iain Todd - Research Director, the University of Sheffield Innovative Materials Processing Centre
•  Roger Fairclough - Additive deposition manager TWI
•  Dr. Max Ruffo - Additive Manufacturing Manager, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing
•  Dr. Phil Reeves - Managing Director, Econolyst

Tom Jarvis, MEng Mechanical and Materials
Research Engineer

Tom graduated from Birmingham University in 2005 with a Masters degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Since then he has been working for Rolls-Royce as a Research Engineer and he is working towards an Engineering Doctorate in aerospace metals and related technologies. Back in the past, Tom was an apprentice in 2000, working at Witter Towbars in Chester developing his practical skills in the workshop, NDE and mechanical testing. Between his studies at University he worked at a vacuum casting company in Manchester looking at process quality issues, and then for a tool maker, Survirn Engineering in Birmingham.

Tom’s research at the IMP-C is for the development of metal injection moulding of high temperature alloys for aerospace applications.  Tom is also keen to hear about innovations in the area of metal injection moulding, and also the joining of nickel and titanium alloys.

IMPC has a DMLS powder bed machine in-house, which is used for the production of complex components in stainless steel and superalloys.

EOSINT M 270 builds metal parts using Direct Metal Laser-Sintering (DMLS). The technology fuses metal powder into a solid part by melting it locally using a focussed laser beam. The parts are built up additively layer by layer. Even highly complex geometries are created directly from 3D CAD data, fully automatically, in just a few hours and without any tooling. It is a net-shape process, producing parts with high accuracy and detail resolution, good surface quality and excellent mechanical properties.

A wide variety of materials can be processed by the EOSINT M 270, ranging from light alloys via steels to super-alloys and composites. EOS has developed novel alloys especially for the DMLS process, and has also optimized and qualified standard industrial materials such as stainless steels for this machine. Further materials are continually being developed and qualified.

New Perspectives in Manufacturing with DirectPart
EOSINT M 270 is widely used to produce positive parts directly from CAD data. This application is called DirectPart. The components can be prototypes, series production parts or even spare parts. Whether the requirement is to deliver a functional metal prototype within one day, or to economically manufacture hundreds of individualized implants in bio-compatible alloy each week, EOSINT M 270 offers the solution.
 

Rapid and High-Performance Tooling with DirectTool
DMLS is well known as a leading technology for toolmaking, an application known as DirectTool. With its high accuracy and surface quality, EOSINT M 270 is an ideal platform for this application. The direct process eliminates tool-path generation and multiple machining processes such as EDM. Tool inserts are built overnight or even in just a few hours. Also the freedom of design can be used to optimize tool performance, for example by integrating conformal cooling channels into the tool. Increasingly, both strategies are combined to create improved performance in shorter time. DirectTool is best known for plastic injection moulding. However, the technology is also used for other tooling types including blow moulding, extrusion, die casting, sheet metal forming etc.

For more info visit the EOS website.

Sinan Al-Bermani, MSc
PhD Student  -  Email

Sinan completed a Masters degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2005.  Upon graduation, he has been employed by Firth Rixson Ltd as Development Metallurgist and he has been based in Glossop and Sheffield for two years.  Sinan was responsible for the forging and the rolling of superalloys and for the development and approval of innovative production routes.

Sinan rejoined the University of Sheffield in August 2007 to work on a research project titled “Rapid Manufacturing of high strength titanium components”.  The aim of his research is to produce titanium parts that are capable of withstanding the high temperatures and pressures exerted in both the automotive and the aerospace applications.  There are high expectations from Sinan’s project and this is proved by the name of his sponsor, which is Renault Formula 1.

IMPC has an Electron Beam Melting powder bed machine in-house, which is used for the production of complex components in Titanium alloys.

The Arcam EBM S12 enables Free Form Fabrication (FFF®) of components in solid metal directly from CAD. It offers unique geometrical possibilities for manufacturing in metal.  The Arcam EBM S12 is based on Arcam’s CAD to Metal® technology. The fundamental idea behind the CAD to Metal® technology is to build up metal parts in layers of metal powder, each of which is melted by an electron beam to exactly the geometry defi ned by the computer model.  The Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process is efficient and provides access to high power to fully melt the metal powder.  The parts are built up in a vacuum chamber. Vacuum is a necessity so that the electrons have a clear path to the metal. Vacuum also provides a clean environment, resulting in excellent material characteristics.

Furthermore, the vacuum provides a good thermal environment, leading to good form stability and controlled thermal balance in the part.  The Arcam EBM S12 enables Direct Manufacturing of functional metal parts for applications where strength and material requirements are strict.  The CAD to Metal® technology produces parts in solid metal. Final machining of parts can be done with any conventional method such as high-speed milling, turning, grinding, EDM etc…  The technology brings short lead times compared with conventional manufacturing methods. It also allows for the development of new design solutions by way of high level of geometric freedom.

More info on the Arcam website.